The IRS has proposed expanded information reporting for IRAs that hold certain hard-to-value assets, such as non-publicly traded securities and real estate. The proposed reporting change signals an increased effort by the IRS to identify [...]
Health savings account (HSA) growth continues at a healthy clip, according to the annual census by America’s Health Insurance Plans (AHIP), the national trade association representing the health insurance industry. AHIP’s recently released [...]
Love and marriage may—according to Frank Sinatra’s hit song—go together like a horse and carriage, but the recent U.S. Supreme Court rulings in the Defense of Marriage Act (DOMA) and California [...]
The Senate Finance Committee has released its Economic Security tax reform option paper containing a laundry list of retirement savings incentives among the possible tax reform options. The non-exhaustive list is just the latest indication [...]
The Obama Administration has proposed a cap of $3 million on IRAs and retirement savings plans in order to raise $9 billion of additional revenue over the next 10 years. By Dennis Zuehlke, Compliance Manager, [...]
By Dennis Zuehlke, Compliance Manager, Ascensus The April 15 tax filing and IRA contribution deadline is only one month away. Much of the marketing focus this year is on the higher IRA contribution limits. For [...]
By Dennis Zuehlke, Compliance Manager, Ascensus With the photo-ops and swearing-in ceremonies over, and the presidential inauguration now a memory, the 113th Congress is hard at work facing a number of contentious, but familiar, issues, [...]
By Dennis Zuehlke, Ascensus As most Americans were ringing in the New Year, the Senate was holding an early morning roll call vote on a bill to avoid hurtling off the “fiscal cliff” that would [...]
By Dennis Zuehlke, Ascensus The IRS just gave Americans an opportunity to boost their retirement savings with the first increase in the IRA contribution limit since 2008. For 2013, the IRA contribution limit is $5,[...]
by: Dennis Zuehlke, Compliance Manager, Ascensus With just weeks to go until the November 6 presidential election, and all the polls showing a tight race, nothing is certain except that—unlike the lottery—there will [...]
by: Dennis Zuehlke, Compliance Manager, Ascensus Congress has returned from its five-week August recess to face a slew of deadlines against the backdrop of a presidential election campaign. They are on track to pass a [...]
by: Dennis Zuehlke, Compliance Manager, Ascensus The proverbial three-legged stool of retirement is getting more wobbly than ever. Job insecurity, high debt levels, and lack of savings are keeping Americans' confidence in their ability to [...]
by: Dennis Zuehlke, Compliance Manager, Ascensus Health savings accounts (HSAs) and the requisite high deductible health plan (HDHP) have continued to grow in popularity since HSAs first became available in 2004. According to the Center [...]
by: Dennis Zuehlke, Compliance Manager, Ascensus Tax incentives for retirement savings are coming under the microscope as Congress considers comprehensive tax reform. The House Ways and Means Committee held a hearing on April 17, 2012, [...]
by: Dennis Zuehlke, Compliance Manager, Ascensus The Treasury Inspector General for Tax Administration (TIGTA) has recommended changes to Form 1099-R, Distributions From Pensions, Annuities, Retirement or Profit-Sharing Plans, IRAs, Insurance Contracts, etc., to reduce taxpayer [...]
