Deals & People October 20, 2011

To Increase Advocacy Efforts, FSI to Raise Membership Fees

The Financial Services Institute’s (FSI) Board of Directors voted unanimously to increase membership fees, in order to improve engagement with its members and expand its advocacy efforts.  
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FSI spokesperson Chris Paulitz told PLANADVISER that the increased fees will allow the institute to achieve its central objectives: to boost engagement between FSI and its 30,000 members – 19,000 of which joined this year, partially due to FSI’s partnership with LPL (see “LPL and Financial Services Institute Form Partnership”), and to expand the scope of its advocacy efforts.

Paulitz says that at the beginning of 2011, FSI has 11,000 members – that figure is now up to 30,000. The increased fees will allow FSI to add to its membership staff and allow for more direct communication between FSI and its members.

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FSI will also be doubling its advocacy staff, which will give the institute a larger presence in Washington and enable it to branch out into new areas of advocacy, said Paulitz. Some of these new areas of advocacy will include securities and investment advisory regulatory issues, and retirement and taxation issues. FSI also plans to tackle issues on a state-level, advocating for uniformity and modernization.

With a larger and more active advocacy staff, FSI is hoping to strengthen its voice in the news media. “Lawmakers are much more likely to speak to an association when they pick up a newspaper and see that organization quoted in the news,” says Paulitz.

The new fee structure can be seen here, and the letter sent from the Board of Directors to all of FSI’s members is available here.   

Compliance October 20, 2011

IRS Announces Pension Plan Limitations for 2012

The Internal Revenue Service (IRS) announced cost of living adjustments (COLAs) affecting dollar limitations for pension plans and other retirement-related items for Tax Year 2012.
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In general, many of the pension plan limitations will change for 2012 because the increase in the cost-of-living index met the statutory thresholds that trigger their adjustment. However, other limitations will remain unchanged. 

Highlights of the COLAs included:

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  • The elective deferral (contribution) limit for employees who participate in 401(k), 403(b), most 457 plans, and the federal government’s Thrift Savings Plan is increased from $16,500 to $17,000.
  • The catch-up contribution limit for those aged 50 and over remains unchanged at $5,500.
  • The deduction for taxpayers making contributions to a traditional IRA is phased out for singles and heads of household who are covered by a workplace retirement plan and have modified adjusted gross incomes (AGI) between $58,000 and $68,000, up from $56,000 and $66,000 in 2011. For married couples filing jointly, in which the spouse who makes the IRA contribution is covered by a workplace retirement plan, the income phase-out range is $92,000 to $112,000, up from $90,000 to $110,000. For an IRA contributor who is not covered by a workplace retirement plan and is married to someone who is covered, the deduction is phased out if the couple’s income is between $173,000 and $183,000, up from $169,000 and $179,000.

(Cont...)

  • The AGI phase-out range for taxpayers making contributions to a Roth IRA is $173,000 to $183,000 for married couples filing jointly, up from $169,000 to $179,000 in 2011. For singles and heads of household, the income phase-out range is $110,000 to $125,000, up from $107,000 to $122,000. For a married individual filing a separate return who is covered by a retirement plan at work, the phase-out range remains $0 to $10,000.
  • The AGI limit for the saver’s credit (also known as the retirement savings contributions credit) for low-and moderate-income workers is $57,500 for married couples filing jointly, up from $56,500 in 2011; $43,125 for heads of household, up from $42,375; and $28,750 for married individuals filing separately and for singles, up from $28,250.

For full details on the pension plan limitations for 2012, visit http://www.irs.gov/newsroom/article/0,,id=248482,00.html.

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