2012

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2012

	2011 Tax Season Considerations - February 2012 You do not want to pay more in taxes than you have to. That means taking advantage of every deduction and credit that you are entitled to, and recognizing [...] Read More
	2012 Plan Limits Reminder - February 2012 Last October the Internal Revenue Service announced cost of living adjustments affecting dollar limitations for pension plans and other retirement-related items for 2012. [...] Read More
	4Q11 Market Review - March 2012 Equity markets bounced back over the fourth quarter, finishing on a strong note, but leaving mixed results for the year. For the quarter, U.S. equity markets posted a strong positive 12.0% return [...] Read More
	4Q11 Retirement Legal and Compliance Update - March 2012 Fourth Circuit Rules on Fiduciary Duty to Investigate and Diversify Investments: In Plasterers’ Local Union No. 96 Pension Plan v. Edgar Pepper and James Lertora (4th Cir. Dec. 1, 2011), the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Fourth [...] Read More
	Annuities: Your Questions Answered - March 2012 Can I provide annuity payments to my heirs after I die? You may be able to provide income payments to your heirs for the rest of their lives through the use of a stretch annuity. A stretch annuity, also known as a legacy annuity [...] Read More
	Are You Monitoring Your Forfeiture Account? - February 2012 Qualified plans have a requirement to not carry forward any unallocated assets from year-to-year. [...] Read More
	Asset Protection Strategies Beyond Insurance - April 2012 You have worked hard to accumulate your assets and property; that's why it's so important to take measures to protect your wealth. Often, the simplest way to protect assets is by shifting the risk to an insurance company. [...] Read More
	Business Owner Succession Planning - March 2012 Every successful business owner must eventually face the question: What will happen to my business when I become disabled, retire, or die? Sooner or later, you will generally need to identify someone [...] Read More
	By the Numbers: Industry Report Reveals Retirement Plan Trends - March 2012 Principal recently released their The Total View 2011 report, which examines changing trends within the retirement plan services marketplace. Principal gathered data from a variety of retirement plans [...] Read More
	Election Year Tax Talk: Deciphering the Terminology - March 2012 This year's election chatter is sure to include a healthy dose of tax talk. To keep up, here are five terms you should know. The "Bush tax cuts": A number of major tax changes were enacted in 2001 and 2003, including lower federal [...] Read More
	Every Fund Has Style! - March 2012 New Wealth Advisor’s Investment Due Diligence process places an important emphasis on a fund’s style, employing a technique called “quadratic optimization.” A big word, and even bigger mathematical equation [...] Read More
	Fiduciary Focus: ERISA 404(a) and 404(c) Revisited - April 2012 With so much change facing our industry and the ongoing challenges confounding plan sponsors today, now is a good time to review basic fiduciary responsibilities. At your next Committee meeting, consider a discussion around the basic guidelines [...] Read More
	Financial Planning - Helping You See the Big Picture - January 2012 Do you picture yourself owning a new home, starting a business or retiring comfortably? These are a few of the financial goals that may be important to you, and each comes with a price tag attached. That is where financial planning comes in. [...] Read More
	Going Paperless: In Real Estate & At Home - April 2012 What is an e-closing? An "e-closing" refers to a real estate closing process where the parties to the transaction (e.g., sellers, buyers, brokers, and attorneys) can access closing documents online so they can be reviewed [...] Read More
	Hidden Taxes: What Is Your True Cost? - May 2012 We are pretty well aware of the taxes we must pay as U.S. citizens: income taxes, payroll taxes, sales taxes, property taxes, and gift and estate taxes, to name a few. We can easily see these taxes on our pay stubs [...] Read More
	Investing: Stop Limits, Market Orders and Stop-Loss Orders - January 2012 Is a stop limit the same as a stop order? A stop limit is typically used when you are trading during a volatile market and want to target a specific price as closely as possible. When placing a market order, the price you pay [...] Read More
	Keeping Market Volatility in Perspective - February 2012 When markets are volatile, sticking to a long-term investing strategy can be a challenge. Though past performance is no guarantee of future results, it might help you keep [...] Read More
	Locating Missing Participants - February 2012 At one time or another all plan sponsors will likely be in the position of having to locate missing participants. [...] Read More
	Making Financial Resolutions? Look Back at Last Year - January 2012 Each New Year brings the chance for a fresh start, and the opportunity to improve your financial picture. As you make financial resolutions for 2012, looking back at what happened last year can help you make some positive changes this year. [...] Read More
	Monitoring Asset Allocation Funds for Meaningful Analysis - April 2012 The Scorecard^SM System ranks active, passive and asset allocation strategies based on a zero to ten scale (worst to best). In evaluating asset allocation funds (most commonly seen in the form of target date funds), we address two major [...] Read More
	Monte Carlo Analysis - April 2012 When you sit down with a financial professional to update your retirement plan, you are likely to encounter a Monte Carlo simulation, a financial forecasting method that has become popular in the last few years. [...] Read More
	Mortgage Refinancing Considerations - February 2012 With mortgage rates so low, does it make sense to refinance? Historically low mortgage interest rates have prompted many homeowners to think seriously about refinancing [...] Read More
	Non-Equity Alternatives to Rock-Bottom Yields - April 2012 As interest rates have fallen to record lows and stayed there in recent years, the yield on your savings may be stuck in neutral. If you have focused on capital preservation and kept your assets in U.S. Treasuries, a money market [...] Read More
	Pass or Fail? Corrective Actions to Remedy Your Test Results - April 2012 Each year you receive a “pass” or “fail” from your service provider regarding required non-discrimination testing – the Actual Deferral Percentage test (ADP) and the Actual Contribution Percentage (ACP) test. The ADP/ACP tests govern the [...] Read More
	Pay Down Debt or Save and Invest? - May 2012 There are certainly a variety of strategies for paying off debt, many of which can reduce how long it will take to pay off the debt and the total interest paid. But should you pay off the debt? Or should you save and invest? [...] Read More
	Q & A on Filing the Federal Financial Aid Application - January 2012 The federal government's Free Application for Federal Student Aid, the FAFSA, should be filed as soon after January 1 as possible in the year your child will be attending college. The reason is that some federal aid programs operate [...] Read More
	Record Retention: What to Keep and for How Long - March 2012 When it comes to plan-related document storage, remember that your primary goal should be to preserve materials in a format allowing for quick and easy retrieval. It is appropriate to store plan records electronically [...] Read More
	Retirement Plan and IRA Limits for 2012 - February 2012 Many retirement plan and IRA limits are indexed for inflation each year. Some of the key numbers for 2012 are discussed below. [...] Read More
	Survey Says: Younger Workers More Diligent About Saving for Retirement - April 2012 A significant challenge for many plan sponsors is to encourage, educate and explain the benefits of saving for retirement to their younger employees. Historically, it is the younger group that chooses not to participate, but according to a recent survey [...] Read More
	The Investment Tax Landscape: Countdown to 2013 - March 2012 In December 2010, Congress extended the so-called Bush-era tax cuts by passing the Tax Relief, Unemployment Insurance Reauthorization, and Job Creation Act of 2010. However, for investors, the legislation may represent [...] Read More
	The Three Stages of Rebuilding - February 2012 Over the past few years participants have seen widely varied results in their retirement plans. First we saw tremendous drops in values, most notably in the fourth quarter of 2008. [...] Read More
	Why Women Need Social Security - May 2012 Did you know that the first person ever to receive ongoing Social Security benefits was a woman? Ever since Ida May Fuller received the first retirement benefit check in 1940, women have been counting on Social Security to provide [...] Read More