Are distributions from Non-Qualified Deferred Compensation Plans subject to state income "source" tax (i.e. can the state in which the income was earned impose its state income tax on the distributions from the plan, even though the recipient resides in a different state when reeicing the distribution)? The answer is "yes" unless the distribution meets one of two requirements.
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Public companies sponsoring non-qualified deferred compensation plans are subject to a special rule that requires payments to certain employees (called "specified employees" in IRC 409A) to be delayed for six-months following a seperation from service. This summary is intended to assist sponsors in developing administrative procedures for compliance with this special rule.
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This paper is intended to summarize for plan sponsors and their financial advisers the FICA taxation of deferred compensation, including the rules for when deferrals are considered "wages" subject to tax and the principles for determining how the tax is calculated.
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Passive investment options continue to grow in popularity and now represent approximately 40% of total equity fund assets1. They are efficient at providing broad exposure to a number of asset classes at a low cost. Active investing provides the potential for higher returns, but at the risk of underperformance, particularly during extended bull markets. Active management benefits from risk oversight and may provide downside protection relative to market benchmarks. We expect the performance of active and passive managers to be complementary over a full market cycle. Retirement plan sponsors that offer a diversified menu of active and passive managers to participants may provide smoother long term returns, as well as gain exposures to asset classes that are otherwise unavailable passively.
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Top hat retirement plans (unfunded arrangement that benefit a "select group of management or highly compensated employees" and more commonly known as "Non-Qualified deferred compensation plans") are exempt from most of the requirnment of the Employee Retirement Income Security Act of 1974, as amended ("ERISA"), including the obligation to file annual information returns with the IRS on Form 5500.
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Index funds are a prominent and growing part of retirement plan design, for good reasons. The category has grown remarkably from $327 billion in 2002 to $2.2 trillion in 2015.1 In addition to low expenses, index funds offer simplicity and relative predictability in comparison to actively managed strategies. However, while index funds are commonly referred to as “passively managed” investments, they are not as simple or homogenous as many investorsperceive them to be.
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The objective of a participant-directed menu is to achieve the best
possible investment outcomes for plan participants, given their time
horizons and risk tolerance. As a consultant to both qualified and
non-qualified defined contribution plans, Newport Group’s fiduciary
consulting team has developed what we consider a “best-in-class”
menu design framework that can serve as a starting point for plan
sponsors.
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Insurance company owned life insurance (ICOLI) is one of the few vehicles that can help improve tax-adjusted earnings, receive favorable Risk Based Capital (RBC) treatment and enhance the investment choices available to insurers.
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BOLI is an asset class held by the bank which provides an effective vehicle for informally financing both broad-based employer sponsored benefits programs, as well as the cost of employee benefits, matching the long-term nature of the asset with the continual increasing costs.
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A brief overview of current law and evolving industry standards with respect to determining eligibility for non-qualified deferred compensation plans which qualify for the “top-hat exemption” under the Employee Retirement Income Security Act (ERISA).
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