Ted Godbout

TCJA Changes Could Affect 401(k) Hardship Withdrawals

By Ted Godbout 1/23/2018

In the wake of any new tax law, there are always issues that cause problems when they are actually put into practice. One such issue is that hardship withdrawals from a 401(k) plan to address a personal casualty loss of a principal residence may no longer be allowed unless the loss is attributable... READ MORE

FINRA 2018 Budget Shows no Rate Increases for Member Firms

By Ted Godbout 1/22/2018

As a step toward increasing transparency, the Financial Industry Regulatory Authority (FINRA) for the first time has released its annual budget, showing that the 2018 budget does not include a fee rate increase for its member firms, despite certain “evolving” challenges.FINRA’s Financial Guiding... READ MORE

Average IRA Balance for Consistent Account Owners up Nearly 50% Since 2010

By Ted Godbout 1/18/2018

Individual retirement accounts generally show consistent growth, but differences do arise when comparing data samples, according to a new report from EBRI.For example, while the cross-sectional overall average balance increased 36.1% from 2010 to 2015, the increase for those IRA owners who... READ MORE

How Do Millennials’ Savings Habits Compare to Other Generations?

By Ted Godbout 1/17/2018

Every month, it seems, new research comes out suggesting that Millennials are doing better at saving than their older counterparts. But are they really?The latest results come from Discover, which found that Millennials apparently are outperforming older generations as a whole when it comes to... READ MORE

New Jersey Legislation Would Require Non-Fiduciary Disclosures

By Ted Godbout 1/16/2018

Legislation has been reintroduced in the New Jersey state legislature to require certain disclosures by non-fiduciary investment advisors regarding their fiduciary status with clients.Reintroduced Jan. 9 by state Senator Patrick Diegnan, Jr., (D-Middlesex), along with Assemblywoman Nancy Pinkin (D-... READ MORE

Project Seeks to Expand Cyberattack Support for Retirement Plan Data

By Ted Godbout 1/12/2018

What are firms in the retirement industry doing to help protect against cyberattacks and the threat of financial and participant account information being held hostage?A recent Bloomberg News article, “Wall Street Aims to Thwart a Hacking Nightmare for Your 401(k),” reports that there is a... READ MORE

What Does Sen. Hatch’s Departure Mean to the Retirement Industry?

By Ted Godbout 1/8/2018

Sen. Orrin Hatch (R-UT), one of the longest-serving U.S. senators and current chairman of the powerful Finance Committee, announced Jan. 2 that he will be retiring at the end of the current Congress.“I’ve always been a fighter … but every good fighter knows when to hang up the gloves, and for me,... READ MORE

10 New Definitions for DC Plan Vocabulary

By Ted Godbout 1/7/2018

As DC plans continue to grow in size and complexity, the retirement industry needs to keep up and redefine terms to better reflect the new environment, Willis Towers Watson says in a new report. Picking up where they left off with their 10 new definitions for DB plans, the firmís new report... READ MORE

Investors Confident About Financial Goals, But Will That Continue?

By Ted Godbout 1/3/2018

New survey results find that Americans are confident that they are on track to achieve their long-term financial goals, but will that confidence continue in 2018? According to the latest Investor Pulse Poll by Morgan Stanley, 91% of investors believe they are on track to achieve their long-term... READ MORE

New Tax Law Affects Exec Comp Deduction, Other Provisions

By Ted Godbout 1/3/2018

While the new tax law avoided making major changes to the existing retirement tax provisions, the same cannot be said for the tax treatment of executive compensation and related provisions. In the event you’ve been avoiding the news for the past two weeks, President Trump signed the Tax Cuts and... READ MORE

Trump Signs Landmark Tax Reform Legislation into Law

By Ted Godbout 12/27/2017

Before heading out for the holidays, President Trump on Dec. 22 signed into law (H.R. 1/P.L. 115-97) the most significant overhaul of the federal tax code since the Tax Reform Act of 1986.The $1.456 trillion net tax cut formerly known as the Tax Cuts and Jobs Act delivers major tax relief to... READ MORE

House Approves Retirement Plan Tax Relief for California Wildfire Victims

By Ted Godbout 12/27/2017

As part of its year-end legislative push, the U.S. House of Representatives approved legislation on Dec. 21 extending to victims of the California wildfires access to their 401(k)s and similar plans without incurring IRS penalties or immediate tax liability.This new, proposed tax relief for the... READ MORE

PBGC’s Missing Participant Program Expanding to Terminated 401(k)s

By Ted Godbout 12/21/2017

The Pension Benefit Guaranty Corporation has expanded its missing participants program to terminated 401(k) and other plans in an effort to make it easier for people to locate their retirement benefits after their plan terminates. The final rule, which was published in the Dec. 22 Federal Register... READ MORE

Tax Reform Legislation Cleared for President Trump’s Signature

By Ted Godbout 12/21/2017

After facing a number of trials and tribulations as it made its way through the legislative process, Congress did, in fact, approve landmark tax reform legislation on Dec. 20, clearing the measure for President Trump’s signature. A minor holdup occurred Dec. 19, when the Senate parliamentarian... READ MORE

Tax Reform on the Verge of Enactment

By Ted Godbout 12/20/2017

Congressional Republicans and President Trump are on the verge of enacting broad-based tax reform legislation once the House of Representatives approves the legislation for the second time in two days.The House must again approve the Tax Cuts and Jobs Act (H.R. 1) after the Senate was forced to... READ MORE

Legislation Permitting E-Delivery of Plan Information Introduced

By Ted Godbout 12/14/2017

Bipartisan legislation that would allow for electronic delivery of pension and retirement plan information was introduced in the U.S. House of Representatives Dec 11.Introduced by Rep. Jared Polis (D-CO) and Rep. Phil Roe (R-TN), along with 26 cosponsors, the “Receiving Electronic Statements to... READ MORE

Health and Retirement Savings Incentives Top Tax Benefits for Americans

By Ted Godbout 12/13/2017

Americans rate the tax incentives for employer-sponsored retirement savings and health insurance coverage as the most important tax benefits compared to other popular deductions and incentives, according to new polling data.The polling data was released by the American Benefits Council as part of... READ MORE

House and Senate Conferees to Begin Work on Tax Reform Dec. 13

By Ted Godbout 12/12/2017

House Ways & Means Committee Chairman Kevin Brady (R-TX) announced Dec. 8 that conferees from the House and Senate will hold an open meeting on Wednesday, Dec. 13 to begin the process of reconciling the two chambers’ versions of tax reform legislation.Last week, the House and Senate both... READ MORE

Comprehensive Retirement Simplification, Auto 401(k) Legislation Introduced

By Ted Godbout 12/5/2017

A key House Democrat introduced two bills on Dec. 1 that seek to implement automatic 401(k)s and simplify administration and improve retirement savings opportunities across the spectrum of plans, including both DB and DC plans. Rep. Richie Neal (MA), who has been a strong proponent for improving... READ MORE

Senate Approves Broad-Based Tax Reform Legislation

By Ted Godbout 12/4/2017

UPDATED 10:30 AM ET 12/6/2017 After a long and sometimes heated debate, the Senate took a major step toward enactment of landmark tax reform legislation, approving its version of the Tax Cuts and Jobs Act (H.R. 1) at nearly 2:00 a.m. Saturday, Dec. 2. The bill, as amended by the Senate, was... READ MORE

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