Retirement Plan/401k/Pension

What is a living trust and should I have one in Texas?

Known as either a ā€œliving trustā€ or a ā€œrevocable living trustā€, a trust is a legal creation to simply passing assets from one generation to the next without having to rely on a will and probate courts, which can be more expensive, more complex and financially disadvantageous. While there are many kinds of trusts that […]

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What is an Summary Plan Description?

Are you aware of the Summary Plan Description (SPD)? If you are an employee or a plan participant in a retirement or health plan, you should be familiar with this document. An SPD provides important information about the benefits, rules, and procedures of a retirement or health plan. In this article, we will discuss what

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401k Participants Want Employer Help Saving for Retirement. No Kidding?

An article published early this year discussed a survey by State Street Global Advisors (SSgA) proudly boasted that 74% of participants in 401k plans want to better understand how their savings will pay off in retirement. This should come as no surprise. Most workers have little or no formal or informal education in investing. Thanks

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How does an ESOP work? How does it work with a 401k plan?

An ESOP is an Employee Stock Ownership Plan. It is an ERISA-governed employee benefit plan that allows the employee to purchase shares of the employerā€™s stock on a tax deferred-basis. (You donā€™t pay taxes today but you will pay taxes when you take your money out of the plan.) ESOPs were common before the rise

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How secure are my pension payments?

A common concern posed by pensionĀ participants is how secure those payments will be in the future. Given the economic turmoil in the past few years, it is certainly a worthwhile question. The good news is that the vast majority of retirement benefits are more secure than you might think. As a Dallas employment attorney experienced

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401k Plan Fees ā€“ What Are They and Do They Matter?

Employers operate 401k plans at a cost. Like other labor expenses (hiring process, salary, vacation pay, etc.) employers have to pay for compliance with labor and employment laws. Benefit plans are somewhat unique. Under ERISA employers can shift the cost of plan administration from the plan sponsor to plan beneficiaries. 401k plan fees often are

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What is ERISA and why should employees care?

ERISA, the Employee Retirement Income Security Act of 1974, is aĀ federal regulatory regime that governs private employer retirement, health care benefits and certain other employee benefit plans. It is a massive web of legislation, Department of Labor regulations and IRS regulations. ERISAĀ also borrows from and incorporates securities regulations on investmentsĀ (such as in 401k plans). ERISA

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Should You Take the Lump Sum or the Annuity Payments from Your Pension?

This highly important question tends to receive significantly less attention in todayā€™s economy than it should. Many people see a lump sum as a way to either pay down debts or seed stock gains. This attitude is further fueled by financial advisors who need to bring in assets, like your pension lump sum and 401k,

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Can I use my 401k to buy a business, franchise, house, investment property, etc.?

There are many retirement asset-funded investment and business schemes that run from taking loans to ā€œrollover as business startupā€ (ROBS) plans. They have been around for many years and typically they are generally a bad idea. I discourage most would-be investors due to the legal and financial liability involved. I have had people come to

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401k Fee Disclosure: What Does It All Mean?

401k fee disclosure was a project in the works for many years, going back to the mid-2000s. Eventually the Department of Labor promised Congress it would create regulations requiring plans to disclosure fees charged by service providers. The purposes are two-fold. First, disclosures help plan administrators figure costs so they can assess whether fees are

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