Thank Goodness for a Good TPA June 4, 2018 Alert, General , Michael Gorelick, Benefit Equity Inc. 0 Michael I. Gorelick, APR President Accredited Pension Representative Have you ever used these words? If you have, you know the value that a good TPA brings to your practice. I received a call from a CPA friend a few months ago. He was telling me about a medical practice that had 5 Doctors and 20 employees. Each Doctor had set up their own SEP IRA or 401(k) or Profit Sharing Plan, many years ago. They merged their individual practices into one group, but the employees were never included in any of the doctor’s plans and a plan was never established for the employees. No one had asked the question, “What should we do for our employees or Do we have to do anything for our employees”? They wanted to do things right but no one was giving them advice. Finally, their CPA advised them to get a TPA involved. Thank goodness they called me before the government stepped in. I explained the government’s rules that require employers to cover their employees if the owners have plans for themselves. They quickly figured out that they had a liability and what was at stake and proceeded to add a new 401(K)/ Profit Sharing Plan for their employees. Additionally, each Doctor was able to keep their own plan in-tact and some of the doctors were able to increase their savings. It is not unusual for employers to overlook the myriad of governmental rules if their advisors do not bring issues or the rules to their attention. Most 401k/profit sharing record-keepers do not see it as their job to probe into how employers run their businesses’. This means either running afoul of the rules or missing out on law changes that can benefit them. If you haven’t reviewed the operational and design aspects of your retirement plan, you may be violating rules or missing out on increased contributions for yourself or reductions in the overall cost to cover your employees. Benefit Equity is a premier local Third Party Administrator who has proudly participated in the Business Partnership program with the OCMA for the past 6 years. Contact us for a no-cost plan review today! Michael Gorelick, Accredited Pension Representative (APR) President Benefit Equity, Inc. mgorelick@nenefitequity.com (714) 480-1364 x220 Comments are closed.