Strategic Thinking Wins!

Frequently Asked Questions

 

Here we will address some of the questions we are asked on a regular basis.

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Chess - Proactive or Reactive

When engaged in Chess, It is always best to be proactive in your thinking. Your first move sets the tone for all future moves. Acting first (Proactive Thinking) keeps you ahead. Responding after the fact, (Reactive Thinking) means you are playing catch up.

Strategic Thinking

Once engaged in Chess, one needs to have at least three possible next moves in mind to help assure of having all contingencies covered. The same is true with Retirement Plans.

Strategic Planning

Understanding the possible impact of these three possible moves means you are keeping an eye on all of the factors that could cause either a negative or positive impact on your retirement plans.

Exit Strategy

Always having a clear picture of the end game keeps the Stategic Thinking and Planning in tune with your future as your retirement plans mature.

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Frequently Asked Questions

  1. Why a Cash Balance Pension Plan ?
  2. Whats the difference, Assets vs Liability?
  3. Do I plan for Higher Deductions or Higher Accumulation?
  4. How much paperwork is involved?
  5. Can I pass payout fees on to the participant?
  6. What is the PBGC?

Why a Cash Balance Pension Plan?

  • In most cases, a Cash Balance Pension Plan attached to a Profit Sharing/401(k) plan provides a much larger piece of the pie for the business owner.

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Whats the difference, Assets vs Liability?

  • Cash Balance Pension Plans are a type of Defined Benefit Plan. This means that participants in the plan are promised a certain amount upon payout. The overall payout amount for all participants is the plan liability. The acutal plan asset amount at the end of the current plan year is the asset amount. When it comes time to terminate the plan, these two items, assets and liability, have to be equal.
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Do I Plan for Higher Deductions or Higher Accumulation?

  • The answer to this question is not "cut and dried". To give you a meaningful answer click below for my response to this question.

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Why do you ask me every year for end of year data?

  • Basically, we must keep track of your Assets, Census and Contribution data for yearly reporting. Click the button below for more details.

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Can I Pass Payout Fees on to the Participant?

  • Concerning Defined Contribution Plans such as Profit Sharing Plans or Profit Sharing/401(k) Plans, it is legal to pass on these fees on to the participant upon payout. However, concerning Defined Benefit Plans, such as Cash Balance Pension Plans, it is illegal to pass these fees onto the participant upon payout. So, for Defined Contribution Plans, Yes: for Defined Benefit Plans, No.
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What is the PBGC?

  • Essentially pension plan insurance, the Pension Benefit Guaranty Corporation (PBGC) is a federal agency created by the Employee Retirement Income Security Act (ERISA) of 1974 to protect pension benefits in private-sector defined benefit plans that typically pay a set monthly amount at retirement. Should your plan end without sufficient money to pay all benefits, PBGC’s insurance program will pay your pension benefit up to the limits set by law.

    Financing does not come from taxes, but rather from insurance premiums paid by PBGC protected companies, from investments, from the assets of pension plans taken over as trustee, and from recoveries from companies formerly responsible for the plans.

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