Financial strategies for better benefit plans and business succession
Financial Services Consulting for Small Businesses
Access to the right financial advice can make all the difference in meeting your business and personal objectives. Providing for yourself, your family and your employees is a significant challenge. Between hiring the right people and finding new customers, your business consumes much of your time.
Meanwhile, you face many financial decisions both for your business and yourself.
Preferred Financial Partners takes the time and complexity out of small business financial services consulting, so you can focus on running your business. Whether you are the only employee or the employer of many, we help you create a strategy that helps all stakeholders working towards their goals. We can show you how to use corporate assets to address your objectives, protect your sweat equity and develop a tax-wise retirement plan. Let's plan together for the expected and prepare for the unexpected.
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Retirement Plan Strategies & Administration
Offering a retirement plan can be one of the most challenging, yet rewarding, decisions an employer can make. Administering a plan and managing its assets, though, require certain actions and involve specific responsibilities.
As a retirement plan sponsor, you are required to comply with ERISA – the federal law that sets minimum standards for retirement plans in private industry to protect the worker and employer. Such compliance requires you to know a great deal of information and to keep up with regulatory updates. You need to understand fees and whether they are “reasonable” as defined by the Department of Labor. And since no two companies are the same, your plan's design and service are integral to its success. While you can hire professionals to offer expertise, you ultimately have the responsibility, as the employer, of maintaining your retirement plan for the exclusive benefit of its participants and beneficiaries.
Preferred Financial Partners offers retirement plan sponsors the following services through its relationships:
- Assist with plan design and/or Investment Policy Statement preparation
- Monitor investment menu/benchmarking on an ongoing basis
- Help plan trustees meet 404(c) responsibilities
- Assist with selection/review of Qualified Default Investment Alternatives
- Help with selection/review of target date investment models
- Help plan trustees coordinate/oversee Investment Committee
- Conduct participant enrollment meetings
- Provide financial education workshops for participants
Executive Benefits
Industry experts use a rule of thumb that says you should have at least 80% of pre-retirement income to maintain your current standard of living post-retirement. For many, especially individuals in higher income brackets, this is a challenge because retirement plans and group insurance plans place limits on contributions, layouts and tax advantages.
If you are a highly paid executive or business owner, you may face an income gap – especially if you rely on Social Security and qualified plans exclusively. This income gap could mean that you are receiving as little as 30% of your current income in retirement. To help you avoid that gap by advising your business on Executive Benefits, we work with you to determine the strategies that work best with your financial objectives and tailor an easy-to-implement plan that allows you to pursue them.
Our executive benefits review meetings can help you connect the dots between your employer benefits and your financial goals with each paycheck. This would include a review of your 401(K) plan, employer stock programs and insurance benefits while providing a holistic approach to your retirement, tax and estate planning goals.
Group Employee Benefits1
With government regulations and compliance on one side of the equation and cost management on the other, effective plan management can be overwhelming yet remains vital to retaining good employees while being compliant. Aligning with our strategic partners, we help you provide:
- Pension, 401(k), 403(b) & 457 Plans
- Short-Term Disability
- Long Term Disability
- Life & Accidental Death and Dismemberment
- Health Insurance
- Medical Savings Accounts
- Vision & Dental Plans
Our custom-designed, qualified and non-qualified employee benefit programs include:
- Equity Split Dollar using corporate dollars for personal insurance
- Executive Bonus Plans fully tax-deductible to the employer and totally selective in participation
- Deferred Compensation Plans that provide maximum corporate flexibility and control
- Salary Continuation Plans that provide maximum security for key executives
Preferred Financial Partners closely works with your organization and leadership to develop targeted talent education solutions that align with your benefits package, company culture, vision and objectives. These solutions have advantages for both employees and employer, and include Employee Education Solutions, Employee Advice Solutions, and Employee Transition Solutions. Contact us to learn more about these solutions' benefits and features.
Business Succession and Continuity
Business succession and exit planning are a vital step for business owners. Working with your other professional advisers, we design, implement and provide funding alternatives for business continuity and/or business succession plans to protect against premature death or disability and to help reduce income taxes. By helping you understand the value of your business and how to use tax-deductible business dollars to achieve both business and personal objectives, we can help you succeed today and tomorrow while protecting your family, employees, and partners.
1 Disability insurance, Life & Accidental Death and Dismemberment, Health Insurance, Medical Savings Accounts, Vision & Dental Plans are offered through representatives who are independently contracted with insurers providing such coverages and are neither underwritten nor issued by National Life Insurance Company or any firm affiliates.