Tax Planning Strategies for Retirees: Cut Your Tax Bill
Retirement is not just about enjoying the years you have worked toward. It is also about protecting your income by managing taxes with some real intention. Even small shifts in strategy can have a lasting impact on how much of your savings you actually keep. This guide walks through practical, step-by-step strategies for reducing your […]
The Ultimate Guide to Retirement Plan Financial Management
Managing an employer-sponsored retirement plan can feel like running a complex project with real stakes attached. ERISA requirements, shifting IRS limits, and strict fiduciary duties leave little room for error. A single misstep, an overlooked document or a delayed compliance test, can trigger audits, fines, and frustrated participants. A methodical approach, on the other hand, […]
Cash Benefit Pension Plan: Definition, Benefits, and Drawbacks
Balancing real retirement security with strict ERISA requirements can strain even a well-resourced HR team. Cash benefit pension plans, often called cash balance plans, offer a genuinely useful hybrid here. They combine the guaranteed structure of a traditional pension with the transparency of an individual account statement, which lets business owners and key employees accelerate […]
6 Suggested Asset Allocation Models by Age for Plan Sponsors
Every retirement plan sponsor faces the same balancing act: meeting regulatory requirements while actually serving participants who span several generations and very different risk tolerances. Offering a diversified, prudent investment lineup is not just good practice, it is a fiduciary obligation under ERISA. A one-size-fits-all fund lineup usually falls short of that duty. Age-based asset […]
Cash Balance Scheme: Definition, How It Works, Pros and Cons
A cash balance scheme—often called a cash balance pension plan—is a type of defined benefit plan that looks and feels like an account. Each year, the employer credits a participant with a set “pay credit” (for example, a percentage of pay) plus an “interest credit” tied to a formula or index. The employer funds and […]
Retirement Health: 9 Tips To Manage Rising Health Care Costs
Health care costs keep climbing faster than most other prices. Over the last ten years, medical costs have grown about 4.5% a year, while everyday prices have grown closer to 2%. Even Medicare, the program most retirees count on, only pays for about two thirds of approved costs. That leaves you to cover the rest […]
How to Choose a 401k Financial Advisor for Your Plan
Choosing the right 401(k) financial advisor can mean the difference between a cost-efficient, ERISA-compliant retirement plan and one weighed down by unchecked fees, missed deadlines, and unnecessary liability. For plan sponsors, that decision carries real consequences for budgets, regulatory risk, and employee satisfaction. A 401(k) advisor handles everything from investment selection, performance monitoring, and benchmarking […]
Cash Balance Plan Administration: A Guide to Fiduciary Compliance in 2026
As of 2026, cash balance plans outnumber traditional defined benefit plans by nearly two to one, yet the legal weight of these hybrid vehicles has…
Contributory Defined Benefit Plan: How It Works & Key Facts
A contributory defined benefit (DB) plan is an employer-sponsored pension that promises a formula-based retirement income yet requires—or at least allows—employees to chip in through payroll deductions alongside the company’s funding. Think of it as a shared-cost guarantee rather than a do-it-yourself investment account. Because 401(k)s dominate private-sector headlines, you may rarely hear about contributory […]
Defined Benefit Actuary: What They Do & Why You Need One
A defined benefit actuary is the credentialed professional who calculates and certifies the contributions needed to keep a pension’s lifetime promises funded—and, under ERISA and the Internal Revenue Code, most defined benefit plans cannot file their annual reports without one. Because these plans involve millions of dollars, volatile markets, and stiff IRS and PBGC penalties, […]
