After more than a decade of one-way intense focus in the stock market, investors are now changing strategies. We see more wisdom and opportunities in the broad investment asset reallocation than ever before. A number of clients are diversifying into asset these classes for the first time. These decisions have significant long term consequences on […]
My brother John Novak, a well established 401(k) expert, shared some calculations that he made for his own clients illustrating the impact of the SECURE act tax credit for small businesses that want to start a 401(k) plan. This is the first analysis of this type that I’ve seen using “real life” 401(k) plan fees […]
Ted Benna, called “the father of 401(k)s” was one of my first business mentors when I left Wall Street in 1997 and started my own firm serving small businesses in the Doylestown, Pennsylvania area. His comments today in ThinkAdviser on the impact of the new SECURE Act are ‘spot on’: • “Hopefully the operating efficiencies a […]
Tony Novak, CPA financial planner
Forecast 2019 taxes now based on 2018 year-to-date results. (If you don’t have 2018 YTD then we really need to talk). Use a Health Reimbursement Arrangement (HRA) for tax-free payments of out-of-pocket expenses Use a Qualified Small Employer Health Reimbursement Arrangement (QSEHRA) for insurance assistance Add a Health Savings Account (HSA) for long term health […]
I’ve been practicing in the employee benefits field for 37 years and I can’t remember being as surprised as I was reading IRS Private Letter Ruling 201833012 released on last Friday. Never before has there been any tax advantage to student loan payments (typically made to an outside financial company) through connection with an employer plan. […]
I’m convinced that most people don’t know about vast array of alternative investment options available to them including through tax-advantaged individual retirement accounts. Consider the broad environment of alternative investments that we face today: We’ve been brainwashed1 to think that alternative investments are not safe while investments in the US securities markets are safer. Financial […]
Update on February 8, 2017: District Court in Texas upheld the fiduciary rule in this 81 page ruling in a case brought by the financial services industry groups. The court ruling seems to praise the new rule. Except in the unlikely event of very fast action by the Department of Labor it appears that the fiduciary […]
how to use a 412(i) target benefit annuity pension plan for a self employed individual
I found this interesting exchange in the reader comments on Employee Benefits Adviser. I changed the names and of course can’t vouch for the authenticity of the writers. The article topic was the increased rate of audits of retirement plans since the IRS is aware that a high percentage of retirement plans have major deficiencies. […]