Products May 28, 2009

ftwilliam.com Offers Sample Amendment for Suspending Safe Harbor Contributions

A sample plan amendment to suspend safe harbor non-elective contributions was released by ftwilliam.com, a plan document, government forms, and administration software provider.
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The amendment is available at no additional charge for both per plan and annual subscription holders of the ftwilliam.com plan document software, according to a press release. It will be generated in MS Word and may be customized to suit each plan.

Last week, the Internal Revenue Service (IRS) proposed rules that would permit employers affected by substantial business hardship to decide mid-year to reduce or suspend safe harbor non-elective contributions to 401(k) and 403(b) plans (see “IRS Opens Door for Safe Harbor Cuts“). Previously, plans were only permitted to cease safe harbor non-elective contributions upon termination of the plan for specified situations.

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Products May 28, 2009

Hartford Provides College Savings Tools

The Hartford introduced the SMART529 Education Planner, which features a database of annual costs, updated bi-annually, for approximately 3,800 colleges and universities.
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The company says it is introducing the planner in coordination with Annual College Savings Day, May 29. The solution features a college savings calculator, which, according to a press release, contains a number of variables that are controlled by the user, including:

  • number of years until college
  • rate of college inflation
  • hypothetical rate of return on investments
  • amount of savings to start
  • amount to be saved on a routine basis—such as monthly, quarterly, or annually; or lump sum contribution.

The savings plan can be tailored to specific schools or based on average costs for two- and four-year colleges. Annual costs include estimated tuition, room and board, books and fees, and the planner can build individual college savings plans for up to five children per family, according to The Hartford.

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Users may also choose two types of reports that may be combined. One is a simple price tag with school name and child name, with the total cost-of-college dollar amount. The second report provides a breakout of costs by child plus a consolidated family view of education costs, savings options, and final amounts needed to educate all the children in the family.

The SMART529 Education Planner is available at:

 

 

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