The team includes William F. Schaeneman Jr. and David R. Neal. Schaeneman joins the
firm as a vice president and portfolio manager, and Neal as a financial adviser.
In addition, Neal holds the chartered retirement planning counselor (CRPC) and
chartered retirement plan specialist (CRPS) credentials from the College of
Financial Planning.
Formerly with Merrill Lynch in Hartford for 12 years, Schaeneman
is a native of Wakefield, Massachusetts. At Merrill Lynch he achieved the Chairman’s Club Recognition multiple
times as well as the Charles E. Merrill Circle. Before that, he was a banking
professional in commercial lending and private banking with several regional
and money center banks.
Neal worked for Merrill Lynch in Hartford for seven years. He
holds a bachelor’s degree in general economics from Eastern Connecticut State
University, where he graduated cum laude.
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 2013.
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 $17,000 to $17,500. The catch-up contribution limit for
employees ages 50 and over who participate in 401(k), 403(b), most 457 plans
and the federal government’s Thrift Savings Plan remains unchanged at
$5,500.
Section
415 of the Internal Revenue Code provides for dollar limitations on benefits
and contributions under qualified retirement plans. Section 415(d) requires
that the commissioner annually adjust these limits for cost of living
increases. The limitations that are adjusted by reference to Section
415(d) generally will change for 2013 because the increase in the
cost-of-living index met the statutory thresholds that trigger their
adjustment.
Effective
January 1, 2013, the limitation on the annual benefit under a defined benefit
plan under Section 415(b)(1)(A) is increased from $200,000 to $205,000. For a
participant who separated from service before January 1, 2013, the limitation
for defined benefit plans under Section 415(b)(1)(B) is computed by multiplying
the participant’s compensation limitation, as adjusted through 2012, by
1.0170.
The
limitation for defined contribution plans under Section 415(c)(1)(A) is
increased in 2013 from $50,000 to $51,000.
The
annual compensation limit under Sections 401(a)(17), 404(l), 408(k)(3)(C) and
408(k)(6)(D)(ii) is increased from $250,000 to $255,000.
The
dollar limitation under Section 416(i)(1)(A)(i) concerning the definition of
key employee in a top-heavy plan remains unchanged at $165,000.
The deduction for taxpayers
making contributions to a traditional individual retirement account (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 $59,000 and $69,000, up from $58,000 and $68,000 in 2012. 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 $95,000 to $115,000, up from $92,000 to $112,000. 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 $178,000 and $188,000, up from $173,000 and
$183,000.
The AGI phase-out range for
taxpayers making contributions to a Roth IRA is $178,000 to $188,000 for
married couples filing jointly, up from $173,000 to $183,000 in 2012. For
singles and heads of household, the income phase-out range is $112,000 to
$127,000, up from $110,000 to $125,000. 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 contribution credit) for low-
and moderate-income workers is $59,000 for married couples filing jointly,
up from $57,500 in 2012; $44,250 for heads of household, up from $43,125;
and $29,500 for married individuals filing separately and for singles, up
from $28,750.
The dollar amount under Section
409(o)(1)(C)(ii) for determining the maximum account balance in an
employee stock ownership plan subject to a five-year distribution period
is increased from $1,015,000 to $1,035,000, while the dollar amount used
to determine the lengthening of the five-year distribution period is
increased from $200,000 to $205,000.
The limitation used in the
definition of highly compensated employee under Section 414(q)(1)(B)
remains unchanged at $115,000.
The dollar limitation under
Section 414(v)(2)(B)(ii) for catch-up contributions to an applicable
employer plan described in Section 401(k)(11) or Section 408(p) for
individuals ages 50 or older remains unchanged at $2,500.
The annual compensation
limitation under Section 401(a)(17) for eligible participants in certain
governmental plans that, under the plan as in effect on July 1, 1993,
allowed COLAs to the compensation limitation under the plan under Section
401(a)(17) to be taken into account, is increased from $375,000 to
$380,000.
The compensation amount under
Section 408(k)(2)(C) regarding simplified employee pensions (SEPs) remains
unchanged at $550.
The limitation under Section 408(p)(2)(E)
regarding SIMPLE retirement accounts is increased from $11,500 to
$12,000.
The limitation on deferrals under
Section 457(e)(15) concerning deferred compensation plans of state and
local governments and tax-exempt organizations is increased from $17,000
to $17,500.
The compensation amount under
Section 1.61 21(f)(5)(i) of the Income Tax Regulations concerning the
definition of “control employee” for fringe benefit valuation purposes
remains unchanged at $100,000. The compensation amount under Section 1.61
21(f)(5)(iii) remains unchanged at $205,000.
The dollar amount under Section
430(c)(7)(D)(i)(II) used to determine excess employee compensation with
respect to a single-employer defined benefit pension plan for which the
special election under Section 430(c)(2)(D) has been made is increased
from $1,039,000 to $1,066,000.