Please be advised that, as of 11:30AM on October 9 2017, the Anaheim Hills office is under mandatory evacuation due to a fast-moving brush fire in the area. The staff has been sent to work in remote offices and does have access to email. Please call the Irvine office with any needs and/or questions - (949) 955-2552.
BFSG Blog
Financial Resources & News
Jobs in America
Interesting article on Yahoo Finance speaking to a disconnect between employee expectations and job openings. "It's never been harder to fill a job in America"
Markets in Review
Investor optimism pushed domestic equity markets higher during the 4th quarter, while increasing domestic bond yields and a strengthening U.S. dollar led to losses in the bond and international equity markets. The Federal Reserve raised the federal funds rate by 0.25% to a range of 0.50% - 0.75%. The S&P 500 index ended the quarter up 3.8%, with traditional value-oriented sectors...
401(k) Contributions Increasing
American workers on average invested 6.8% of salaries in 401(k) or profit-sharing plans in 2015, up from 6.2% in 2014, according to the Plan Sponsor Council of America (PSCA). “An increase in retirement savings of 0.6 percentage points might not sound like much, but it represents a 10% rise in the amount flowing into those plans over just five years, or billions of dollars. About $7 trillion is...
Review Plan-related Insurance Protection
It’s not unusual to see litigation against retirement plans in the news. Sponsors of 401(k) and other defined contribution retirement plans should evaluate their fidelity bonds and fiduciary liability policies to make sure they have adequate protection. Pension law (ERISA) generally requires that every fiduciary of an employee benefit plan and any other person who “handles funds or other...
2017 Cost-of-Living Changes
The IRS has released 2017 cost-of-living adjustments (COLAs) for various retirement plan limitations, with some limitations increasing and others remaining at their 2016 levels. Changes include the following: Annual additions limit for defined contribution plans increased from $53,000 to $54,000 Maximum annual benefit limit under a defined benefit plan increased from $210,000 to $215,000 Annual...
Managing the Use of Plan Loans
A plan loan feature can be a useful tool for helping to increase plan participation and contribution rates. Nevertheless, plan loans may impede employees’ efforts toward achieving their long-term retirement goals and complicate plan administration. Following is a general discussion of some of the issues surrounding plan loans and suggestions for addressing them. Understanding the Rules Two sets...
RECENT Developments
Relief for Late Rollovers The IRS has issued new guidance that will help some taxpayers avoid taxes and penalties on rollovers of distributions from employer-sponsored retirement plans that aren’t completed within 60 days. The new guidance allows taxpayers who miss the deadline for any one of 11 specified reasons to correct the error by sending the IRS’s model certification letter (or one...
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Help to increase the amount you “take home”.
Estate Planning
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Simplify the many options and decision points of executive compensation plans.
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*Please Note: Limitations. The scope of services to be provided depends upon the terms of the engagement, and the specific requests and needs of the client. BFSG does not serve as an attorney, accountant, or insurance agent. BFSG does not prepare legal documents or tax returns, nor does it sell insurance products. Please Also Note: Different types of investments involve varying degrees of risk. Therefore, it should not be assumed that future performance of any specific investment or investment strategy (including the investments and/or investment strategies recommended and/or undertaken by BFSG) or any financial planning or consulting services, will be profitable, equal any historical performance level(s), or prove successful.