Independent Actuaries Blog Category: Tax Implications
Required Minimum Distribution Time
A reminder that Required Minimum Distributions (RMDs) are payable for anyone over the age of 70-1/2. These rules can be complicated. For money held in an IRA, 401(k) or Profit Sharing Plan, the amount of the distribution is based on … Continue reading
Tax Season is Over! Could Your Business Use a Deduction?
Now that the extended tax season is over, it’s a great time to consider if a qualified retirement plan is right for your business. Since contributions to these plans are deductible, setting up a qualified retirement plan is an effective … Continue reading
Two Wrongs Don’t Make a Right
The deadline to make a contribution to a qualified defined benefit plan with a plan year of January 1st – December 31st is September 15th. If you missed this deadline and your plan has unpaid minimum required contributions, the IRS … Continue reading
We’ve Got Videos!
Did you know that we now make informational videos about retirement plans and related topics? This is part of our efforts to expand our Client Resources and General Resources, and make sure our clients and referral sources have the information … Continue reading
Changes in Pension Accounting Standards Taking Effect this Year
The soon-to-be-effective Accounting Standards Update (ASU) 2017-07 makes changes to the way pension plans are accounted for, designed to improve the transparency of pension plan operational costs. Under the old rules, all components of pension-related expenses were aggregated together as … Continue reading
Sports Betting and Actuaries
On May 14th the Supreme Court voted 6-3 to strike down the Professional and Amateur Sports Protection Act, which barred state-authorized sports betting (with the notable exception of Nevada). As a professional Actuary, and an enormous sports fan, I found … Continue reading
Tax Reform and Retirement Plans
We’re getting a lot of questions these days about how the proposed tax reform bills might impact retirement plans. For reference, this Forbes article provides a good summary and comparison of current law versus the House and Senate bills. Here … Continue reading
IRS Announces Retirement Plan Limits for 2018
The IRS has announced the new retirement plan limits for 2018. Some limits increased from 2017 to 2018, and some stayed flat. Highlights include: The compensation limit used to determine benefits and contributions for both defined benefit and defined contribution … Continue reading
Death, Taxes, and Pension Actuaries
Benjamin Franklin noted that “nothing is certain but death and taxes”. That phrase has particular irony for pension plan actuaries. While ultimately certain, we use mortality assumptions to calculate pension liabilities that in turn determine tax advantages. The mortality assumptions … Continue reading
Tips For The Self-Employed: How To Ensure A Stable Financial Future
Self-employed people aren’t always as prepared for retirement as their corporate counterparts. They don’t have their company telling them to contribute to a retirement plan that just happens to already be set up for them. Self-employed people must take the … Continue reading
