Articles & Updates


INDEX
  • Retirement Plan Lawsuits Swamp Small Business Owners. Is Your Company Safe?
  • Your Retirement Plan Is In Jeopardy Take Urgent Action Now
  • Let’s Do The Hokie Pokie!
  • The Safest and Most Cost Effective Ways to Add Physical Gold to Your Offshore IRA
  • Belize: Fire Sale Prices Offer Investors the Ultimate Opportunity
  • Domestic Retirement Funds Are Under Attack- Take Action Now to Safeguard Your Portfolio and Boost Your Returns Offshore
  • Jim Rogers: How the Federal Reserve Will Fail and the One Sector Every Investor Should Be In
  • John Mauldin's Outside the Box: This Crisis Is Not Over
  • Far from Over: A Short-Term Correction in the Commodities Bull Market Provides Opportunities to Late-Comers and Savvy Investors
  • Earnings and Mr. Bear
  • Offshore - Account Holders Bite Their Nails
  • The Use of the Panamanian Foundation in Asset Protection Planning and Related Tax Issues
  • How Do I Know Which Foreign Annuity Is Right For Me?
  • The Muddle Through Economy
  • Why You Should Want A Piece of Ancon Right Now
  • Optimizing Simplicity
  • ''Outside The Box'' Pyramids Crumbling
  • Panic of 2007
  • Accumulating More Frequent Flier Miles
  • Smarter Spam Abounds, But Don't Fall For It
  • A Corporate Trustee Has Drawbacks But Can Give You Piece Of Mind
  • Avoiding Mistakes On IRA Rollovers
  • 401(k) Diversification Is Now Easier
  • Retirement Is No Longer What It Used To Be
  • Don't Put Your Nest Egg in One Basket Sovereign Society A Letter
  • News Of Interest
  • Tap Into Your Retirement Plan Early
  • Don't Be Scared and Unprepared for Retirement
  • Big Money Knows
  • Beat the US Retirement Plan System - Go Offshore
  • New and Improved 401(k)
  • 5 Things You Wish You Knew About Your IRA
  • The Baby Boomer Emergency Retirement Repair Plan
  • The Estate Retirement Plan
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    Retirement Plan Lawsuits Swamp Small Business Owners. Is Your Company Safe?

    Plummeting stock markets have exposed fraud and error at every level of the financial system leaving a trail of angry investors in their wake. The latest boondoggle is a wave of lawsuits launched against small business owners. An increasing number of businessmen are being sued by their employees who are seeking payback for shrinking 401(k) balances. Lawsuits against plan trustees are cropping up for several reasons:

    Poor investment selection — i.e. your plan

    • doesn't offer enough choices or diversification

    Not allowing participants access to self-

    • directed accounts

    Failure to disclose plan-related documents to

    • participants and their beneficiaries

    Failure to comply with employees' investment

    • instructions

    Supreme Court Rules in Favor of Disgruntled Employees. How serious is it? The U.S. Supreme Court recently ruled on a case that is widely thought to be a watershed development. In LaRue v. DeWolff, Boberg & Associates, Inc. an employee claimed that his 401(k) trustee neglected to follow his investment instructions, resulting in a lower account balance in his 401(k) account. The Court held that Mr. LaRue, if indeed harmed

    by the inaction of the plan's fiduciaries, could sue for relief under the Employee Retirement Income Security Act of 1974 (ERISA). If that doesn't send shivers down your spine then you might want to check your pulse, better yet, check in with a qualified tax attorney to make sure your business's retirement plan is totally compliant. Even if you rely on an outside administrator to file and archive plan-related documents, you can be held accountable for their mistakes.

    Is Your Inherited Retirement Plan Safe? Another major problem is rearing its head as Baby Boomers begin to retire. It has to do with Inherited IRAs, which can be a tremendous source of family wealth or family heartache. Think yours is safe? Think again. The Supreme Court has ruled that IRAs are only protected in the context of bankruptcy proceedings and even then, only under certain provisions of the law. This little-known fact makes them a tempting target for financial predators and those who seek a claim on your wealth. Let's say you inherit an IRA from your father and you take just a small amount of that inheritance and buy a sports car. One night, you're on your way home and get into an accident. The car you hit was being driven by a heart surgeon. He claims you injured his hand and he will never operate again. If he sues you and wins and your insurance company doesn't cover the claim that leaves your IRA completely exposed. This could happen to anyone. But luckily there's a way to make sure it doesn't happen to you. Structure your retirement plan the right way. Don't take any shortcuts. For maximum protection, take it offshore. In addition to peace of mind, you'll gain greater investment flexibility, diversify out of the dollar and keep it away from those who want to grab it.

    Larry C. Grossman, CFP®, CIMA®                                                                                                    Managing Director                                                                                                 Sovereign International Pension Services                             www.sovereignpensionservices.com                                             lgrossman@offshoreira.com                                                                                            727-784-4841                                                                                                               727-784-6181 fax                                                                                                        888-609-7425
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