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Terminate the plan before the deal

Company A wants to buy Company B and everyone wants to terminate Company B’s 401(k) Plan. In an ideal world, this should be done before the closing date of the deal. If A has a plan and wants to terminate B’s plan, that successor plan rule could be a prob...

A good plan provider will admit they’re wrong

A long-time advisor-client called with a chuckle that both he and I were right and a partner at a law firm admitted that we were. I said it’s better to be right than wrong, but too many providers out there will make excuses, claim the earth is flat, blam...

There is no such thing as free administration

In England, many of the top pubs are owned by British breweries because watering holes are an effec...

I hate short plan years

When drafting new 401(k) plans for clients during the middle of the year, I like drafting them with...

I wish the DOL would act over TPA termination

It’s all friendly between the plan sponsor and the Third-Party Administrator (TPA) until the plan...

Filing that late 5500 can be a weapon of mass destruction

Missing that deadline to file a Form 5500 is a huge problem. Sometimes people forget even when the ...

The Problem of Plan design

When you start fixing up the house (for me, a never-ending battle) and replacing appliances or item...

Which Plan To Set Up?

I call this time of the year Retirement Plan Crazy Season where plan sponsors decided to change pla...

The problem with too much loyalty to providers

When I first started in the retirement plan business in 1998, I worked for a law firm that served a...

Some TPAs are in the administration business, some are not

There are those TPA that sell financial products, there are some that sell insurance, and there are...