Greetings loyal PLANADVISER readers! Coming on the third Friday of the month, this weekend’s mailing is dedicated to the timely and evolving topic of financial wellness. While the topic has been an important focal point for several years now in the retirement plan advisory space, the coronavirus pandemic has cast an entirely new light on the concept of financial wellness. Simply put, the virus has exposed financial fractures and weak points impacting individuals across the income spectrum, putting the onus on advisers to help people create a sense of stability and confidence about their short-term finances.
Investing experts say smartly pairing the two types of annuities with other investments in a retirement portfolio can deliver significantly more income compared with a traditional withdrawal strategy.
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One notable feature is that account holders can deduct from their own income the amount of HSA contributions made to their account by other people—but not the employer.
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Each U.S. household in the bottom half of the wealth distribution has only $20,000 of net worth, on average, a figure that represents less than 0.1% of those at the very top. Helping more people to own homes and to invest even modestly in the stock market are seen as critical steps to closing that gap.
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Retirement industry practitioners support the provision of mandatory lifetime income disclosures to plan participants, but they also emphasize the importance of broader income conversations and education.
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Advisers can play an important role in helping plan sponsors understand the options available to them, as well as the impact of making certain plan changes.
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Though retirement plans can allow individuals to self-certify that they qualify for a penalty-free coronavirus-related distribution, should the IRS discover otherwise during a future audit, a participant can be subject to substantial penalties.
One retirement plan industry executive says his conversations with members of the U.S. House and Senate make him optimistic that Congress could act sooner rather than later on the new legislation.
The IRS has issued final regulations on mortality tables to be used for calculating required minimum distributions, which reflect longer life expectancies.
