Q1 2025 Newsletter
April 10, 2025
As we wrap up the first quarter of 2025, the team at Primark Benefits has been hard at work for our clients, keeping their retirement plans in compliance.
At the same time, we've also been keeping you informed on the latest retirement plan developments, compliance updates, and strategic best practices. In case you missed any of our recent articles, here’s a quick recap of the topics we covered this quarter—from new SECURE 2.0 provisions to record retention strategies and ROTH account considerations.
Here's What You Need to Know
The ROTH Retirement Account, named for Senator William Roth, was introduced as part of the Taxpayer Relief Act of 1997. The main feature of a ROTH account is that contributions are made with post-tax dollars as opposed to pre-tax; this means that any withdrawals, including earnings on the investments, are tax-free in retirement. This advantage can be particularly attractive for those individuals who anticipate being in a higher tax bracket later in life. However, this needs to be weighed against the uncertainty about whether and for how long this tax status will be truly protected. Can you safely invest in a ROTH account and really expect tax-free withdrawals ten, twenty, or thirty years down the line?
How Long Do I Need to Keep All of This Paperwork? Today, we’re going to share our position on what may seem to be a black-and-white (if not also mundane) retirement plan-related topic - that of record retention. It’s one that we’ve been asked about hundreds of times, and understandably so: For one thing, it involves a lot of files, whether hard copy or electronic. Also, the requirements and guidelines from various government agencies can often seem to conflict. Most importantly, though, it has gotten plenty of well-meaning plan sponsors into some hot water, both financially and legally. There have been numerous instances when it turned out the guidelines weren’t enough to protect employers from costly legal disputes. Read on to find out more.
Primark Benefits is continually monitoring legislative updates. As such, we are sharing this reminder about the “super catch-up" contributions available under The SECURE 2.0 Act, in effect as of the start of 2025.
Sometimes retirement plan problems begin with bad decisions. Other times, they begin with good intentions.
Law firms often have compensation structures that are more complex than those of other business types. This is attributable to having both equity and non-equity partners, large year-end bonuses, variable associate compensation, and high contribution goals for senior attorneys -- all these factors and more affect how a retirement plan operates. While these structures can create opportunities for sophisticated retirement plan design, they can also create testing volatility and compliance risk, especially if changes in compensation (or partnership/ownership) are not addressed throughout the year as they occur.
Technology is quickly transforming retirement plan administration. Today, employers can launch a retirement plan, connect payroll, enroll employees, process contributions, and access reports, all electronically and with far less manual effort needed than in the past.