Download The Action DocEveryday companies large and small make decisions to combine forces. In fact, in 2017, more than 15,000 companies announced a merger or an acquisition. And it probably won’t surprise you, but M&A activity spans all major industry sectors and nearly all geographies. F...

Many American workers participate in company retirement plans, methodically contributing to their accounts over time to fund for life after work. Beyond benefiting from employer-funded plans, retirees commonly draw from additional savings tucked away in IRAs or after-tax savings accounts as well...

Being a plan sponsor comes with a good bit of responsibility. You’ve taken the important step of hiring a third-party administration firm to help you navigate the myriad of processes that are required to keep your plan in compliance with applicable regulations. Below are a few helpful hint...

Download The Action DocThe Employee Retirement Income Security Act known as "ERISA" regulates 401k and most other types of employee benefit plans. Under ERISA, anyone who handles plan funds must be covered by a fidelity bond. The bond protects the PLAN from losses that may result from fraudulent or ...

Download The Action DocMost of us live in homes that were not custom-designed for us. We adapt to them rather than expect them to be optimized to how we like to live. Most retirement plans are sold the same way. Companies buy something off the shelf that was intended for a generic audience, but not ...

Download The Action DocWhen it comes to the administration of retirement plans, most TPAs can execute the work pretty competently. And while there are differences in quality of process and internal expertise, most of this is technical work that happens behind the curtain. The result is that the vast...

If your company has decided to offer a high deductible health plan, don’t worry, you are not alone. Recent studies show that an increasing number of employers have elected to offer high deductible health plans (HDHP) either to completely replace or be offered in conjunction with a more tra...

Maintaining a retirement plan for your employees is no easy task. At various points during the year, employers and HR departments field participant questions, help with enrollments, deliver notices and statements, and participate in the distribution process. However, an additional responsibility...

Download The Action DocThere are some things that we’re happy to buy right off the rack. After all, mass production usually means consistency and cost-savings. On the other hand, when we do buy off the shelf, we compromise on individual choice and sometimes flexibility in getting the exact qua...

 Download The Action DocYour clients are familiar with the idea of an audit on their personal or corporate tax return, but they may not be familiar with an audit of their qualified retirement plan. There are two broad categories of plan audits. Today, we’ll focus quickly on two groups of plans...