Plan Design, Record Keeping, and Compliance

A qualified retirement plan is an important component of running a successful business. Whether your business is large or small, a retirement plan is necessary to attract and retain good employees, as well as to provide business owners and key employees a tool to save for retirement. Wipfli's benefit plan experts can help you analyze the plan options available to you as well as design plan provisions that will meet the business and wealth accumulation goals you have for the plan.

Code Section 125 cafeteria plans are an important component of a benefit package for employees. Health and welfare benefit plans are a significant expense of operating your business. Cafeteria plans are important to help employers reduce the ever increasing cost of benefits. Our goal is to provide knowledgeable guidance on plan design that will provide reduce costs for the employer and the employee.

Wipfli can provide plan documents to meet your plan design needs.  We sponsor prototype and volume submitter documents, as well as offering individually designed plans.  Documentation includes the legal document, as well as a Summary Plan Description and all the necessary administrative forms.  We are also available to complete IRS Determination Letter filings as needed.

Wipfli has made a substantial commitment to technology to offer efficient, state of the art record keeping services to retirement and cafeteria plans.  The DOL focuses on looking out for plan participants.  This means greater fiduciary liability for employers and the ultimate responsibility for minimizing plan cost landing on the employer.  Wipfli can help you structure your plan to meet these responsibilities and provide ongoing record keeping services that provide employees with accurate timely account information, either on-line or via a telephone voice response system.  Our trading partners provide access to most mutual fund families for use in your plan, as well as mutual fund revenue sharing rebates to be used to reduce your overall plan costs.

Regardless of whether we provide record keeping services to your plans or not, we are available to prepare required IRS and DOL filings and compliance testing for your plans.  You can be assured we will track filing requirements for you to be sure required returns get filed for all your retirement, cafeteria, and welfare benefit plans.

Large employers have been terminating their defined plans due to the increasing risk and financial liabilities associated with such plans. Small employers, including single person businesses, can find a traditional defined benefit plan or a cash balance plan can be great financial and tax planning tools to help save more for retirement. If you operate a business and want to further evaluate savings opportunities, Wipfli's benefit plan consultants can help.

Are you looking for options with regard to succession planning for your corporate business?  Are you in need of cash to finance an acquisition or provide working capital or to finance capital improvements?  Consider doing a feasibility study to determine if an ESOP is an option for you.  The favorable tax benefits surrounding Employee Stock Ownership plans can be used to help defer some tax for both you and your employees.  At the same time you can offer a valuable additional retirement benefit for your employees.

Executive compensation is an on-going issue for companies seeking to attract and retain qualified management talent. Our consultants are available to help you evaluate and design a non-qualified plan that meets your compensation objectives, and to prepare the proper plan documentation for you.