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Legislation
In the hunt for 50 votes, Senate Republican leaders are floating the idea of increasing the deduction for qualified business income of pass-through businesses from 17.4% to 20% — and that could have consequences for retirement plans sponsored by S Corporation shareholders.The tax reform measure...
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“I’m focused on making sure the guarantee works,” Pension Benefit Guaranty Corporation (PBGC) Director Thomas Reeder told a congressional panel Nov. 29. He made his remarks at a hearing of the House Education and Commerce Committee’s Subcommitee on Health, Education, Labor and Pensions chaired by...
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Legislation has been introduced in the U.S. House of Representatives that would boost the cashout limit for retirement plans, which its sponsors say will help make it easier for small businesses to offer retirement plans.Reps. Tim Walberg (R-MI) and Gregorio Kilili Camacho Sablan (D-Northern...
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There is “work to do in the retirement areas,” House Ways & Means Chairman Kevin Brady (R-TX) said on Nov. 28. Brady’s remark at the Washington, DC headquarters of the American Enterprise Institute (AEI) came after saying that tax reform efforts are “not finished.”
Brady’s comment was part of...
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Sen. Sherrod Brown (D-OH) has introduced legislation that would create a Pension Rehabilitation Trust Fund and a Pension Rehabilitation Administration. He intends the bill to protect pension benefits for retirees in multiemployer DB plans.
Brown intends the bill to protect the retirement benefits...
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Thanksgiving has been called a “uniquely American” holiday, and though that is perhaps something of an overstatement, it is unquestionably a special holiday, and one on which it seems appropriate to reflect on all for which we should be thankful.Here’s my list for 2017:I am thankful that — for the...
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While much of our focus on the current House and Senate tax bills has been on the retirement-related provisions, there are a number of provisions worth noting that would alter the existing tax treatment of executive compensation and various other compensation and benefit provisions.Both the House...
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On Capitol Hill on Nov. 16 both the House and Senate took major steps toward completing the much-anticipated tax reform overhaul.Following a mid-day pep talk by President Trump, the House on Nov. 16 approved the Tax Cuts and Jobs Act (H.R. 1) on a near-party line vote of 227-205. Thirteen...
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Late last night, Senate Finance Committee Chairman Orrin Hatch (R-UT) released a modified chairman’s mark for the Tax Cuts and Jobs Act, with — mostly — good news for retirement plans.The revised tax reform proposal embraced an amendment to the original proposal offered by Senator Rob Portman (R-OH...
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Ohio Sen. Sherrod Brown (D) plans to introduce a bill intended to protect pension benefits for retirees in multiemployer DB plans. He made the announcement at a recent event in Youngstown, OH.Brown intends the bill to protect the retirement benefits of participants and retirees in multiemployer...
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A weekend of lobbying on Capitol Hill has yielded some encouraging news on tax reform – but serious problems remain for retirement plans.
Sen. Rob Portman (R-OH) has filed an amendment to strike the provision prohibiting catch-up contributions for business owners making more than $500,000, as well...
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The Chairman’s Mark of the Senate tax reform proposal throws a few unexpected curves — bringing back problems for deferred compensation plans, introducing some new problems for 403(b) and 457 plans and capping catch-up contributions.Under the proposal unveiled on Nov. 9 by Sen. Orrin Hatch (R-UT),...
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While tax reform is still very much a work in progress, there was a lot of good news for retirement plans and retirement savers yesterday. But there were also a couple of unwelcome surprises, particularly for 403(b) and 457(b) plans.
While there had been concerns that Rothification might surface...
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The U.S. Senate is expected to unveil its tax reform package today — could Rothification resurface?It seems (highly) unlikely, but a group of 15 Senate Democrats (and one independent who caucuses with the Democrats) has written to Senate Finance Committee Chairman Orrin Hatch (R-UT) and Ranking...
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A major – and as yet largely unreported – change in the tax reform bill unveiled last week could have a dramatic impact on nonqualified deferred compensation.
Section 3801 of the Tax Cuts and Jobs Act provides that an employee would be taxed on compensation as soon as there is no substantial risk...
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House Republican leaders on Nov. 2 released their much-anticipated tax reform plan that left 401(k)s and IRAs alone, but contained a number of proposals to modify various pension and retirement savings provisions.
The first wave of documents released by the House Ways and Means Committee included...
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Yesterday, House Republicans released their long-awaited tax reform proposal. We were very pleased that they chose not to include any proposals that would have limited the pre-tax deduction for employee retirement savings. Our advocacy, including the many American Retirement Association members...
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UPDATED NOV. 8
While much of the focus has been on the potential “Rothification” of 401(k) plans, the Tax Cuts and Jobs Act included a number of other retirement plan-related provisions, including changes that impact hardship withdrawals and loans.
Among the provisions of Title I, Subtitle...
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UPDATED 11:30 A.M. NOV. 3
The House GOP tax reform proposal released this morning “makes no changes to the popular retirement savings options that Americans have today – including 401(k)s and Individual Retirement Accounts, or IRAs.” But there are some potential issues.
A document accompanying...
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Stephen King’s It involves a certain malevolent spirit that rises up every generation, wreaks havoc and feeds on the unsuspecting, before going back into hibernation. Sound familiar?
A few weeks back, my wife and I went to see the updated version of It. Now, I’ve been a fan of King’s work ever...
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