Prepare your clients for upcoming 401(k) regulations | AccountingWEB.com

Prepare your clients for upcoming 401(k) regulations | AccountingWEB.com: "A new regulation set forth by the Department of Labor (DOL) states that 401(k) plan vendors will have until April 1, 2012, to disclose fees to plan sponsors, while plan sponsors will have until May 31, 2012, to disclose fees to employees on their quarterly statements.
 
Fee disclosure is the jumping off point for the new regulations. In 2011, 2012, and 2013, your clients will need to react to several new initiatives."

Nasty tax surprise awaits many 401 (k) borrowers Money Markets And More - MarketWatch

Nasty tax surprise awaits many 401 (k) borrowers Money Markets And More - MarketWatch: "Unemployed workers who borrowed from their 401 (k) plans could be hit with taxes and penalties if they can't pay when the loan comes due. Eva Rosenberg of TaxMama.com tells MarketWatch Radio's Adrienne Mitchell what to look out for."

Obama's State Dept. Removes Mother, Father From Passports

Obama's State Dept. Removes Mother, Father From Passports: "In what seems to be a diplomatic effort at extreme political correctness and a nod to gay rights groups, the Obama administration is removing the words “mother” and “father” from U.S. passport applications and replacing them with “gender neutral” terminology. Mom and dad will now be referred to rather coldly as “parent one” and “parent two.”"

Op-Ed: The Next Government Takeover after Healthcare: Universal Retirement | St. Louis Globe-Democrat

Op-Ed: The Next Government Takeover after Healthcare: Universal Retirement | St. Louis Globe-Democrat: "A Senior Fellow at the liberal Center for American Progress in January 2005, Sperling wrote in his article Progressive Framework for Social Security Reform that a Universal 401(k) “offers all Americans a private retirement account on top of Social Security, and uses government funds to match contributions made by middle income and lower-income workers.”

He argued “The Universal 401(k) would spread individual savings and wealth creation to tens of millions of American families currently falling through the cracks.”

In order to pay for spreading savings and wealth creation, Sperling proposed:"

Pension Plan Limitations for 2011 Announced

Pension Plan Limitations for 2011 Announced: "The Internal Revenue Service (IRS) has announced cost of living adjustments affecting dollar limitations for pension plans and other retirement-related items for 2011 tax year. By and large, the limits will either be unchanged, or the inflation adjustments for 2011 will be small."

Democratic leaders in the U.S. House discuss confiscating 401(k)s, IRAs , page 3

Democratic leaders in the U.S. House discuss confiscating 401(k)s, IRAs , page 3: "The testimony of Teresa Ghilarducci, professor of economic policy analysis at the New School for Social Research in New York, in hearings Oct. 7 drew the most attention and criticism. Testifying for the House Committee on Education and Labor, Ghilarducci proposed that the government eliminate tax breaks for 401(k) and similar retirement accounts, such as IRAs, and confiscate workers’ retirement plan accounts and convert them to universal Guaranteed Retirement Accounts (GRAs) managed by the Social Security Administration."

News from The Associated Press

News from The Associated Press: "House Republicans plan to unveil a roughly 20-point agenda Thursday, less than six weeks before midterm congressional elections in which they're favored to add substantially to their ranks - and possibly cost Democrats control of the chamber."