Category: Plan Administration

Learning How to Count Again

March 29, 2023

Retirement plan administration is not a costless endeavor. Plan sponsors must administer the retirement plan following plan provisions, legislative requirements, and participant elections. To help administer the plan, plan sponsors hire service providers to help with recordkeeping, custody of assets, investment advisor tracking, and auditing the plan. Regulatory authorities want to promote retirement readiness with … Continued

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2023 Plan Limits

October 24, 2022

Posted By: Saaib T. Uppal, CPA, QKA IRS Announces Increases on Benefits and Contributions Dollar Limitations for 2023 The IRS has announced cost-of-living adjustments that should be noted for retirement planning purposes. Below is a chart that outlines employee benefit plan limits for 2023: Plan Limits RETIREMENT & SOCIAL SECURITY 2023 Limit 2022 Limit 2021 Limit … Continued

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Universal Availability Audit Steps

June 09, 2022

Posted by Maria T. Hurd, CPA Yes, the Audit Extends to Excluded 403(b) Employees: Testing Compliance with Universal Availability It’s never a good sign when an employer sponsoring a 403(b) plan says: “You don’t need to see backup for employees who are excluded from the plan.” Ohh! But we do! Not often, but sometimes, clients … Continued

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2022 Plan Limits

November 05, 2021

Posted By: Saaib T. Uppal, CPA, QKA IRS Announces Increases on Benefits and Contributions Dollar Limitations for 2022 The IRS has announced cost-of-living adjustments that should be noted for retirement planning purposes.   Below is a chart that outlines employee benefit plan limits for 2022   Plan Limits   RETIREMENT & SOCIAL SECURITY 2022 Limit … Continued

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Quick Reference Guide to the Taxation of Retirement Plan Distributions

March 10, 2021

Posted By: Chris Ciminera, CPA, QKA A major benefit to employees who are participating in a qualified retirement plan is the deferral of taxes. Pre-tax deferrals, employer contributions, and the related earnings grow tax-free until the amounts are distributed from the plan. Unfortunately, when a participant takes a distribution upon retirement or an early distribution … Continued

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Missing Participants: A Cruel Game of Hide-and-Seek – What to Do When a Participant Can’t Be Found?

February 05, 2021

Posted By Chris Ciminera, CPA, QKA I am sure it feels like a cruel game of hide-and-seek for plan sponsors that are unable to find a participant or beneficiary to pay retirement benefits that are due. The administrative procedure seems cut and dry; however, an issue arises when there is old contact information, or the … Continued

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“Give it BACK!!!”…”No!”…”OK, Keep It!”

January 19, 2021

Posted By: Maria T. Hurd, CPA, RPA What if the Participant Already Spent the Overpayment from the Plan?     Ineligible or excess distributions from qualified plans happen all the time. In our last 30 years of auditing retirement plans, our distribution tests have uncovered all the following ineligible or excess distributions:   Hardship reason … Continued

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Why Should Taking a Hardship Distribution be a Hardship?

January 07, 2021

Posted By: Maria T. Hurd, CPA Taking a hardship distribution should not be, in itself, a hardship to a participant going through challenging times, nor should it be an administration hardship to the employer trying to help. Although obtaining documentation to substantiate a hardship is not, in itself, difficult, missing hardship backup is one of … Continued

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Form 5500 Penalties Increased by How Much?

November 20, 2020

Posted By Maria Hurd, CPA The SECURE Act increased IRS Late Filing Penalties for Form 5500 by how much? How can I avoid them? IRS Penalties Tenfold. That’s how much the SECURE Act (the “Act”) increased the penalty for the late filing of a Form 5500 –TENFOLD! Before the Act, the IRS could assess a … Continued

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Safe Harbor Match Notice Not Distributed

November 17, 2020

Posted by Maria T. Hurd, CPA Distributing a Safe Harbor Match Plan Notice Slipped Through the Cracks. What is the Correction? The barrage of changes introduced by the SECURE Act, closely followed by the CARES Act, along with furloughs, remote work, and all the work-life changes of pandemic year 2020 may have resulted in administrative … Continued

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Belfint Lyons Shuman is a Certified Public Accounting (CPA) firm that audits Defined contribution plans (profit-sharing, 401(k), 403(b) , 401(a), 457(b))), and Defined benefit plans (pension and cash balance), and Health and welfare plans. We serve a variety of plan sponsors including for-profit, nonprofit, governmental, and Taft-Hartley collectively-bargained plans located in Delaware, Pennsylvania, New Jersey, Maryland, Washington, D.C., Virginia, Massachusetts, and nationally. For additional information contact us at info@belfint.com