To help protect plan participants from fraud, American Trust is placing additional requirements on distribution forms received from our clients. The new Requirements include: Signature Date Requirements: The participant signature must be first (meaning the PS/TPA...
Does your Plan Administration Process Need to Change? Recent legislation under SECURE 2.0 introduces a new requirement for 401(k) plans: Long-Term Part-Time (LTPT) employees—those who have worked at least 500 hours in two consecutive years—must be allowed to...
Safe Harbor Adds/Changes Amendments – Deadline: October 1 If your plan is adding of removing a safe harbor plan design feature or wants to make changes to your current safe harbor design, amendment requests must be submitted to your American Trust team by October 1 to...
Under ERISA (Employee Retirement Income Security Act), a 402(a) named fiduciary is the individual or entity designated in the plan document as having the overall authority to manage and control the operation and administration of a retirement plan. This person or...
Managing a 401(k) plan involves more than offering retirement benefits—it requires fulfilling fiduciary duties under ERISA (Employee Retirement Income Security Act). Many plan sponsors don’t fully understand these legal responsibilities, putting themselves at risk....
Many businesses are seeing the benefits of Cash Balance (CB) plans Offering Cash Balance as a sidecar to a 401(k) plan unlocks an additional retirement savings benefit for highly compensated employees. For high-income business owners or partners, a CB plan may create...
Starting in 2025, most new 401(k) and 403(b) plans will be required to automatically enroll eligible employees, a change brought by the SECURE 2.0 Act passed by Congress in 2022. The provision aims to boost retirement savings by making enrollment the default option...
When deciding to implement a retirement plan for your business, you will be presented with two options: a 401(k) or a SIMPLE IRA. While a 401(k) is more recognizable, both options offer retirement savings for eligible employees, and can include contributions from both...
In an attempt to address the country’s retirement savings crisis, several states have now started requiring certain employers to offer a retirement savings option. If employers are unable to provide a private retirement plan, they must adopt their state-mandated plan....
As the calendar flips into the new year, 401(k) compliance teams across the country are prepared for long days as they race against a March 15 deadline to complete the required Nondiscrimination Tests. These tests are required by the IRS to ensure that every employee...