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E-News ~ Year End 2004 |
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From the office of Tim Olson, CEBS, CMFC HAPPY HOLIDAYS - Wishing you and yours a joyous holiday season and happy New Year! The Olson Group is wrapping up a very busy and successful year. We have grown to seven employees and service over 140 employers covering more than 30,000 employees. Since October 1, 2004, four of us have been on the road non-stop doing employee meetings on flexible benefits, retirement programs, voluntary benefits, medical, dental, and vision plan changes, and, of course, the new health savings accounts (HSAs). Please keep us in mind if it is time to evaluate your benefit programs, or you’re not getting the top notch service you deserve. We specialize in all aspects of employee benefits on both the health and welfare side, and retirement plans for all industries. The employee benefit marketplace is every changing, and we have hired more staff and increased our resources to keep pace. Reminder: For those of you using OneAmerica (AUL) as your retirement plan record keeper, we are having a seminar in Grand Island, NE, on January 11, 2005, to cover all those year-end details for your pension program. Natasha Dockstader, our OneAmerica service representative, will be holding the seminar to cover census, day-to-day administration, fiduciary responsibilities, and the ExACCT remittance system. We may have a mutual fund vendor or two at the meeting as well. It will start at 9:00 A.M. at the Holiday Inn on I-80, and will go to around 4:00 P.M. Lunch will be served. Call my office to confirm a spot for you. OneAmerica (AUL) ExACCT UPDATE Starting in December, All ExACCT users will be required to update to the most current version of ExACCT. If your version is out-of-date, a version conflict pop-up box will state that your software needs updating. ExACCT will not allow a transmission until the update has been completed. The most current version of ExACCT, as well as a user guide, can be found on the Plan Sponsor page at www.eretirement.aul.com. New Regulations Change Mandatory Cash-Out Provisions Many retirement plans require small vested amounts (generally $5,000 or less) to be distributed following the participant’s termination of employment. Your adoption agreement will indicate whether your plan has made this election. Mandatory cash-outs are not allowed if this option has not been elected in your adoption agreement. Beginning March 28, 2005, balances between $1,001 - $5,000 must be automatically rolled into an IRA, unless the participant elects to receive the distribution in cash or to roll the distribution to an investment vehicle of his or her choice. Only balances of $1,000 and under may be paid out without the participant’s permission. Plan sponsors need to review their most recent quarterly report and begin the mandatory cash-out process for all terminated participants with a balance under $5,000. For plans with mandatory cash-out provisions, regulations encourage distribution by the end of the second plan year after termination. The Simply Well Program With the rising healthcare costs affecting every sector of the economy, one of the major concerns is how to find cost saving solutions. A program we have come across that emphasizes preventive health, disease management, and individual accountability is SimplyWell. SimplyWell is an interactive web-based application that can show you and your employees how to reduce healthcare costs. This health risk management program is easy to implement, and completely private, confidential and HIPAA compliant. The cost savings come directly from the appropriate use of medical care, the early detection of health risks, and the overall improved health of employees. Online access to education and health guidance puts healthcare control in the hands of you and your employees. SimplyWell uses a three-step process to help you reduce healthcare costs, lower health risks, increase workplace productivity and employee morale, and decrease absenteeism.  Assess and EvaluateSimplyWell starts by assessing the overall healthcare costs and health risks of your organization through previous claims analysis, onsite health screenings, and online health risk appraisals. Individualize and EmpowerAn individualized action plan based upon each employee’s specific health risks is created. The web-based program provides employees secure access to their personal action plan for guidance, education, and control. Report and ImplementSimplyWell provides collective data and customized reports so your company can easily identify areas of cost savings and cost reductions. With a program like SimplyWell, people can become better educated, healthier individuals causing healthcare costs go down. Call The Olson Group for more information on SimplyWell.
Securities offered through Sunset Financial Services, Inc. 3520 Broadway Kansas City, MO 64111 (816) 753-7000 (OSJ) Member NASD/SIPC Sunset Financial is not affiliated with The Olson Group. |
Take Your Retirement Savings Contribution Credit Now!! This tax credit, which will be available only through 2006, could help you offset the cost of the first $2,000 contributed to IRAs, 401(k)s and certain other retirement plans. The Retirement Savings Contributions Credit applies to individuals with incomes up to $25,000 ($37,500 for a head of household) and married couples with incomes up to $50,000. You must also be at least age 18, not a full-time student, and not claimed as a dependent on another person’s return. This credit is a percentage of the qualifying contribution amount, with the highest rate for taxpayers with the least income, as shown below:
When figuring this credit, you must subtract the amount of distributions you have received from your retirement plans from the contributions you have made. This rule applies for distributions starting two years before the year the credit is claimed and ending with the filing deadline for that tax return. Form 8880, Credit for Qualified Retirement Savings Contributions, is used to figure the amount of the credit, which is then reported on line 48 of Form 1040 or line 32 of Form 1040A. You cannot use Form 1040EZ to claim this credit. Using Form 8880 for your 2004 tax return, you would first subtract distributions received from January 1, 2002, through April 15, 2005, from your total 2004 retirement contributions. Then you would multiply the result (but not more than $2,000) by the credit rate that applies to your filing status and income level. The maximum credit amount allowed for 2004 is $1,000, or up to $2,000 if married, filing jointly and each spouse made contributions. The subtraction rule does not apply to distributions which are rolled over into another plan or to withdrawals of excess contributions. The Retirement Savings Contributions Credit is in addition to whatever other tax benefits may result from the retirement contributions. For example, most workers at these income levels may deduct all or part of their contributions to a traditional IRA. Contributions to a 401(k) plan are not subject to income tax until withdrawn from the plan.
"Coming together is a beginning . . .
Keeping together is progress . . . Working together is success." Henry Ford
Attitude
"The people who get on in this world are the people who get up and look for the circumstances they want, and, if they can't find them, make them." George Bernard Shaw
"Don't be afraid to take a big step if one is indicated; you can't cross a chasm in two small jumps."
David Lloyd George
"Do what you do so well that those who see you do what you do, are going to come back to see you do it again and tell others that they should see what you do."
Walt Disney Customer Service Contacts AFLAC 1-800-462-3522 www.aflac.com Allstate (AHL) 1-800-521-3535 www.ahlcorp.com American Funds 1-800-421-0180 www.americanfunds.com Ameritas 1-800-487-5553 www.ameritasgroup.com AUL 1-800-249-6269 www.eretirement.aul.com Enrollment Fax: 1-317-285-1728 Blue Cross Blue Shield 1-888-232-0942 www.bcbsne.com Principal 1-800-547-7754 www.principal.com Regional Care, Inc. 1-800-795-7772 www.regionalcare.com UNUM Provident 1-800-255-6148 www.unumprovident.com
Our Quality Partner
Watko Benefit Group 10851 Mastin Street Suite 960 Overland Park, KS 66210 PHONE: (913) 323-3234 FAX: (913) 323-3250 EMAIL: gwatkins@watkobenefit.com |
The Olson Group
PO Box 543
Elkhorn, NE 68022
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PHONE: (402) 289-1046 |
TOLL FREE: 1-866-289-1046 |
FAX: (402) 289-1012 |
EMAIL: tolson@theolsongroup.net |
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