Friday, August 23, 2013

Important Facts About The Qualified Retirement Plan

By Helga Stokes


Having good retirement plans is an important step in the life of any employee and employer. For the employee, this is a good way of securing your future especially after you cannot work anymore. To the employer, the federal law demands that you enroll all your employees in such funds. There are many laws on qualified retirement plan that you need to understand to give your workers a good chance for their future.

Considering that the federal government recognizes the importance of a decent life even in old age, it emphasizes on the need for a good pension scheme for all employees. The federal government expects the employer to remit certain amounts from the monthly earnings of their employees to a pension scheme that will act as their source of income in their retirement days.

It is important to note that such pension schemes are very many and this makes it a huge task for anyone to choose the right scheme. Because it is a liberal market, the government has its pension schemes for its workers but other workers in the private sector are also free to join any scheme of their choice.

The federal law only offers rules and laws to make sure the organizations that handle retirement money for employees act within certain regulations. To make this a reality, the federal law has a host of laws and requirements that each company offering such services must meet. This is important in making sure the fund managers do not misuse contributions from members.

If you enroll into a retirement plan, it is important to make sure you have proof to this through a determination letter or any other document that can act as one. These documents should be administered by the IRS because they are the only body that can do this. If you end up with a pension scheme that does not have any proof from the IRS, you are taking a big risk because you might end up with nothing in the long run.

Considering that government policy on these kinds of plans change too often, it is upon the investor in such plans to make sure their documents are always up to date. This means that you should keep looking at the latest changes in the regulations to make sure your letter of determination is still relevant.

As you continue to send remissions to a fund, it is important to track the changes. Sometimes a change in the laws may affect the benefits. If this happens, you need to also find out whether there will be a cut back on the amounts you have remitted in the past. If this happens, you need to complain as soon as possible.

For the employer, it is important to make sure you meet all the requirements in the qualified retirement plan. Code section 410 has many subsections that explain in detail who among your employees qualify for the fund. It also explains the minimum qualification age as 21. As an employer, you should make sure all your workers comply.




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