Owner briefing
Earlier briefings.
One note every two weeks since September 2024. The insights hub is the guides, limits, and deadlines.
- September 13, 2026 You already maxed a 401(k). What 2026 still leaves
- August 30, 2026 If you want a 2026 deduction, the design conversation starts now
- August 16, 2026 You should expect to fund this for several years
- August 2, 2026 When a SEP IRA is the plan you should outgrow
- July 19, 2026 The $360,000 compensation cap is not a staff-cost cap
- July 5, 2026 Halfway through 2026, re-forecast profit before the contribution hardens
- June 21, 2026 Two owners, two ages, one plan
- June 7, 2026 How a cash balance trust is usually invested
- May 24, 2026 Schedule SB in plain English
- May 10, 2026 What an owner should read before signing the 2025 Form 5500
- April 26, 2026 A backdoor Roth IRA does not replace a pension
- April 12, 2026 Hiring in 2026 after the plan was designed on last year's census
- March 29, 2026 A practice sale while the cash balance plan is still open
- March 15, 2026 September 15 and the tax return are two clocks
- March 1, 2026 The 2025 deduction may still be open. Funding is a different clock.
- February 15, 2026 A soft first quarter, and what the pension can still flex
- February 1, 2026 An owner at 50 and an owner at 60 are not the same illustration
- January 18, 2026 You maxed the 2026 401(k). The pension is a different limit.
- January 4, 2026 The 2026 limits are in force, including Roth catch-up
- December 21, 2025 December 21: what can still be decided, and what cannot
- December 7, 2025 Roth catch-up is close. It does not touch the cash balance credit.
- November 23, 2025 The 2026 limits are posted. They are not in force yet.
- November 9, 2025 How to read the retirement COLA when the IRS posts it
- October 26, 2025 What your CPA needs before a pension deduction is real
- October 12, 2025 October is late for some safe harbor notices, and not for others
- September 28, 2025 A cash balance plan is not a weekend form
- September 14, 2025 Refresh the census before anyone models a number.
- August 31, 2025 If 2025 is the first year, September is when the design starts.
- August 17, 2025 Testing is a comparison of benefits, not a personality test.
- August 3, 2025 PBGC coverage is a coverage question, not a vibe.
- July 20, 2025 A bad quarter is a reason to amend, reduce, or freeze. It is not a reason to skip.
- July 6, 2025 July is when the illustration meets the payroll.
- June 22, 2025 The interest credit is not the investment return.
- June 8, 2025 Four invoices, not one plan fee.
- May 25, 2025 What the Enrolled Actuary signs, and what the administrator does instead.
- May 11, 2025 Form 5500 season for the 2024 plan year is already open.
- April 27, 2025 A spouse on payroll makes a two-person plan, not a loophole.
- April 13, 2025 A fixed credit is a promise. A volatile year is not an excuse.
- March 30, 2025 Partners of different ages are not one pension formula.
- March 16, 2025 The pension can see your W-2. It cannot see the distribution.
- March 2, 2025 Spring 2025 and last year's pension contribution
- February 16, 2025 Dental offices, hygienists, and a cash balance plan
- February 2, 2025 Medical practices: the staff math that makes or breaks a design
- January 19, 2025 Why age changes an illustrative cash balance credit more than a 401(k) does
- January 5, 2025 The 2025 limits are now the ones that count
- December 22, 2024 The week of Christmas is a bad time to invent a contribution
- December 8, 2024 December 2024: document timing, payroll deferrals, and the funding that can wait
- November 24, 2024 The new ages 60–63 catch-up, and why it is not the cash balance limit
- November 10, 2024 IR-2024-285 is out. What moved, and what did not, for 2025.
- October 27, 2024 Why most owner plans are a 401(k) plus a cash balance, not a pension alone
- October 13, 2024 The employee census decides the plan, not a slogan
- September 29, 2024 Traditional defined benefit versus cash balance for a solo owner in 2024
- September 15, 2024 Who should not open a cash balance plan this fall
- September 1, 2024 The 2024 design window is open. Start now, not in December.