#LegalBytes: The Official Podcast of Cummings & Cummings Law

In this presentation, I will provide you with an overview of cash balance plan funding risks.  I will also explain why organizations must manage the funding risk of a cash balance plan.  The employer's required funding contributions are not necessarily stable, even though the promised interest credit appears stable from the participant's viewpoint.  I will then describe the goal in investing cash balance plan trust assets is not to beat the market, but to reduce the mismatch between the assets and the liability.  Finally, I will provide you with an annual funding review checklist to ensure your funding aligns with your cash balance plan commitment to your employees as plan participants. Learn more: https://www.cummings.law/cb/

In this presentation, I will provide you with an overview of cash balance plan IRS requirements and explain why cash balance plans require more compliance expenditures than 401(k) plans.  Cash balance plans bring a different set of IRS testing rules, non-discrimination requirements, and annual reporting obligations.  I will then describe the responsibilities of the organization to provide accurate timely employee data to the actuary and plan recordkeeper while also ensuring timely funding deposits.  Finally, I will discuss the IRS requirement of filing Form 5500s annually. Learn more: https://www.cummings.law/cb/

In this presentation, I will provide you with an overview of cash balance plans and a reminder that cash balance plans require expenses for establishment and maintenance, as it is not a "set it and forget it" plan.  I will then describe the three primary plan expense categories of the initial plan design and ongoing legal compliance;  the initial and ongoing actuarial calculation and funding support;  and the annual administration and annual reporting. Finally, I will provide you with some practical next steps in determining whether a cash balance plan and its costs are a good fit for your organization. Learn more: https://www.cummings.law/cb/

In this presentation, Cummings & Cummings Law explains how business owners and high earners can redomesticate out of high tax states and reduce legal and tax exposure by changing a company’s domicile while preserving continuity. You will learn what redomestication is, why it applies to ordinary founders and operating businesses rather than only billionaires, and which practical steps matter most: aligning personal residency and business control, preparing a defensible conversion package, updating the company’s public footprint, relocating decision making and records, and managing any remaining in state operations to avoid being pulled back into the prior jurisdiction’s tax and compliance net. Learn more: https://www.cummings.law/redomestication/

In this presentation, I will provide you with an overview of the investment objective for a cash balance plan: to minimize volatility and simultaneously influence the liability. I will then describe why a cash balance plan investment strategy should differ from a 401(k) plan strategy primarily because a cash balance plan typically has a shorter investment time horizon. Finally, I will discuss why less volatility in a cash balance plan can mean more predictability in employer contributions because the organization is managing a liability. Learn more: https://www.cummings.law/cb/

In this presentation I will provide you with refresher on cash balance plans and discuss the plan design decisions that owners of a company take when the organization implements a cash balance retirement plan.  I will then describe how an actuary works with a cash balance plan to ensure that the pay credit, interest credit and any age-weighted credits are taken into consideration when initially designing the Plan and then annually to determine the required employer funding contribution amount.  Finally, I will discuss the importance of an actuary preparing the annual projected funding guidelines to the organization to ensure the cash balance plan is properly funded. Learn more: https://www.cummings.law/cb/

In this presentation, I will provide you with a short overview of how cash balance plans supercharge retirement contributions for plan participants.  I will also address frequently asked questions from business owners who are considering adopting one and provide you with the legally compliant answers and reasons for the answers.  I will also discuss organizations which are uniquely suited to adopting a cash balance plan to work along their 401(k) plan.  Learn more: https://www.cummings.law/cb/

In this presentation, I will explain how a 401(k) plan and cash balance plan can combine capabilities to supercharge retirement savings opportunities and legal tax deductions for plan participants.  I will describe a stacking strategy that combines a 401(k) plan with a cash balance plan to allow for larger deductible contributions under IRS treasury regulations. This strategy is recommended for profitable professional practices and closely held businesses that are already maximizing their 401(k) contributions but still face a large tax bill, as the 401(k) plan has limits (ceilings) set by the IRS. Learn more: https://www.cummings.law/cb/

In this presentation, I will discuss the businesses which can benefit most from a cash balance plan.  This presentation explains that organizations which adopt a cash balance plan can achieve a higher tax deduction for retirement plan contributions, enhance participants accelerated retirement savings and provide a more strategic allocation of contributions based on age and compensation.  Organizations which are a good fit for cash balance plans are consistently profitable and have a positive cash flow annually and provide owners with predictable compensation annually. Learn more: https://www.cummings.law/cb/

In this presentation, I will provide you with an overview of cash balance plans.  I will also contrast cash balance plans with 401(k) plans.  I will then describe how a cash balance plan works as defined benefit plan with hypothetical accounts for each participant.  I will discuss the retirement funding contribution advantage of cash balance plans, especially when combining them with 401k plans. Learn more: https://www.cummings.law/cb/