The American Taxpayer Relief Act of 2012, otherwise known as
the “fiscal cliff” tax legislation, had no direct impact on the tax treatment
of nonqualified deferred compensation (NQDC) plans. But the tax implications
for an employer’s highly compensated key employees create big potential for
financial professionals to add value to their clients and prospects.
There’s a growing recognition that retirement plan managers are under the gun because of new legislation as well as increases in employee mobility and auto-enrollment.
As U.S. workers continue to change jobs at an unprecedented rate (experts say it’s now up to 20 percent annually), the retirement accounts they leave behind with previous employers become a major problem for plan management professionals.