Steve Freidman owner of JWC Insurance Services, 1-877-231-8326

There are five big keys to setting up a solid retirement plan, both corporately and personally.

	Start earlier rather than later.
	Do something monthly. Get the train in motion! “It takes 10 times the energy to get a train in motion as it does to keep it in motion”
	Monitor the progress, at a minimum annually, but preferable quarterly.
	Have a trusted advisor working alongside you, giving sound advice; Someone who understands teamwork, the market, and who is willing to work with other advisors.
	Stay motivated in your pursuit to achieve your long-term financial goals. There are times when our level of effort drops due to inactivity or lack of interest. Does your agent motivate you to stay the coarse?

Corporately:

In today’s business market, it can be challenging for a business owner to provide some form of a retirement plan without breaking the bank. Several issues often deter most small business owners from offering any form of a retirement plan.

First, are the fee’s to have a formal QUALIFIED retirement plan. There are 20+ options business owners have, to supply employees an opportunity to save for their retirement. Some do not require a TPA to be involved which drives the cost. Having a true QUALIFIED plan in a company can cost as little as $15. Matching and Profit Sharing programs can often motivate employees far beyond the small amounts the company contributes if the plan is set up properly.

Secondly, business owners do not want to pay wages to an employee to administer a retirement plan and deal with plan participants.

The good news is, there are quite a few good options, if your advisor is on his or her game.

Here is a partial list of the QUALIFIED (Deductable) plan options most business owners have. Each has a different goal, reason, benefit max, benefit group (owners or employees), employee commitment, employer commitment, or motivation:

	401k Plans
	Simplified Employee Pension Plan (SEP)
	Safe-harbor 401 (k)
	Defined Benefit
	Profit Sharing
	My Purchase Plan
	Target Benefit Plan
	Savings Incentive Plan for Employees (SIMPLE)
	IRA
	Roth IRA
	Spousal IRA
	Simple IRA
	Keogh (HR-10) Plan
	Educational IRA
	Cash Balance Plan
	Age Weight Plan
	457 Plans (NQ)
	419 (e)
	403(b)
	ESOP
	Stock Bonus Plan

There are more plans that are available, but the above list will give you an idea of the multitude of options. ERISA governs all qualified plans to be sure no group or individual is being ignored when a company is setting up a QUALIFIED plan.

Almost all of our employees come from a team sports background.
Retirement planning isn't nearly as difficult as most people think it is. It is really a team building exercise between the owners, his HR people, and the employees of a company.

In our experience a good Financial Planner/Financial Architect is really the most important step in the process. After listening to your goals, desires, and personal issues, they can review and sort through all the options to find the plan or plans that fit you and your organization's needs.

Frequently Asked Questions about Pension Plans and ERISA who governs all Qualified Deductible Plans

What is ERISA?
The Employee Retirement Income Security Act of 1974, or ERISA, protects the assets of millions of Americans so that funds placed in retirement plans during their working lives will be there when they retire.

ERISA is a federal law that sets minimum standards for pension plans in private industry. For example, if an employer maintains a pension plan, ERISA specifies when an employee must be allowed to become a participant, how long they have to work before they have a non-forfeitable interest in their pension, how long a participant can be away from their job before it might affect their benefit, and whether their spouse has a right to part of their pension in the event of their death. Most of the provisions of ERISA are effective for plan years beginning on or after January 1, 1975.

ERISA does not require any employer to establish a pension plan. It only requires that those who establish plans must meet certain minimum standards. The law generally does not specify how much money a participant must be paid as a benefit.

ERISA does the following:

	Requires plans to provide participants with information about the plan including important information about plan features and funding. The plan must furnish some information regularly and automatically. Some is available free of charge, some is not.
	Sets minimum standards for participation, vesting, benefit accrual and funding. The law defines how long a person may be required to work before becoming eligible to participate in a plan, to accumulate benefits, and to have a non-forfeitable right to those benefits. The law also establishes detailed funding rules that require plan sponsors to provide adequate funding for your plan.
	Requires accountability of plan fiduciaries. ERISA generally defines a fiduciary as anyone who exercises discretionary authority or control over a plan's management or assets, including anyone who provides investment advice to the plan. Fiduciaries who do not follow the principles of conduct may be held responsible for restoring losses to the plan.
	Gives participants the right to sue for benefits and breaches of fiduciary duty.
	Guarantees payment of certain benefits if a defined plan is terminated, through a federally chartered corporation, known as the Pension Benefit Guaranty Corporation.

Personally:

In our expierence these are several key rules one must understand before venturing down the personal financial planning road.

1. Advice from your friends and co-workers and family is usually worth about what you pay for it. Asking a friend or co-worker for advice on a financial planning issue would be the equivalent of calling Car Max and asking how much does a car cost?

2. Never listen to the book selling, tape pawning personalities on TV that proclaim a one size fits all retirement plan. No two people have the same personal, health, financial concerns needs and issues on this planet.

3. Ask good, trusted and successful friends who they use for advise on financial planning. There are many fly-by-night, multi-level marketing companies and other organizations out there giving bad advice.

Finding an agent on a personal level can be a challenging endeavor. Unless you have at least a $100,000 personal portfolio, many good agents won’t take the time and attention you need to set up and monitor your money. They simply don’t make much commission on smaller portfolios. All of one’s personal facts need to be brought to the table, such as, debt, life insurance, healthcare, goals, tax bracket, income, special needs, risk tolerances, and education. Only after all the facts are laid out, can a true plan begin to be forged.

Below you will see an offer from our owner to meet him personally free of charge.

Again, remember these few basic tips to keep in mind.

	Start earlier rather than later.
	Do something monthly. Get the train in motion! “It takes 10 times the energy to get a train in motion as it does to keep it in motion”
	Monitor the progress, at a minimum annually, but preferable quarterly.
	Have a trusted advisor working alongside you, giving sound advice; someone who understands teamwork, the market, and who is willing to work with other advisors.
	Keep motivated in your pursuit to achieve your long-term financial goals. There are times when our level of effort drops due to inactivity or lack of interest. Does your agent motivate you to stay the coarse?

Our Owner, Steve Friedman, has been in the industry for 18 years, working with almost 400 business owners and companies. He will meet with any JWC related employee on a personal level, free of charge in his Laguna Hills office, by appointment only. He believes in the good old philosophy “What goes around comes around”!

Please e-mail Steve@jwcinsurance.com and mention “Website Free Consultation Offer” in the subject section, This will distinguish your email from all his junk email!