PLANADVISER - January/February 2021 - 28
regulatory & compliance | participants
The Tax Distinction
Education on saving should include a tax talk, but what can advisers safely say?
A
lthough many retirement plan
recordkeepers, and the advisers
who work with them, offer a
fairly broad and deep level of financial
education, this is not normative, says
Don Calcagni, chief investment officer
(CIO) with Mercer Advisors in Denver.
When it comes to the subject of
taxes, " many retirement plan advisers,
when advising participants, will typically
stick to 'what you can and cannot
do and how the various vehicles work'-
for example, when you'd want to fund
a Roth 401(k) versus making pretax
deferrals to a 401(k), " Calcagni says.
" Advisers should not tell [all] participants
to diversify across two different
tax buckets, because that's a bit of a
value judgment without having done an
in-depth financial plan and tax review
for each individual plan participant. In
my view, that would be tantamount to
giving personalized tax advice. "
At Mercer Advisors, Calcagni
says, participants are educated on
their options: " 'Here are two different
components of your plan; here's how
they work; here's where it may be a
good idea to consider funding one
versus the other.' We're at least giving
them some insight into what context
makes sense when the options are
compared. And unless the participant
has engaged us directly for financial
planning or tax advisory services,
that's where
it
stops. Many plan
advisers will direct people to have that
conversation with their CPA [Certified
Public Accountant]. But advisers are
raising awareness of the issue, and if
participants act on [the issue], it's a
completely different matter. "
Colleen Carcone, director of Wealth
Planning Strategies for TIAA in Boston,
agrees. " For specific advice, plan participants
should work with tax or general
counsel. " But there are concepts about
which participants can be educated,
Carcone says. " We do seminars
that plan sponsors can promote to
employees. Topics include when to take
28 | planadviser.com January-February 2021 Art by Lily Padula
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PLANADVISER - January/February 2021
Table of Contents for the Digital Edition of PLANADVISER - January/February 2021
Are You Leaving the Door Open?
A Question of Liability
How 3(38) Advising Profits Clients
The Tax Distinction
How to Choose a PEP
Plan Governance
Continuous Education
The Latest Word on ESG
ESG Investing Under ERISA
PLANADVISER - January/February 2021 - Cover1
PLANADVISER - January/February 2021 - Cover2
PLANADVISER - January/February 2021 - 1
PLANADVISER - January/February 2021 - 2
PLANADVISER - January/February 2021 - 3
PLANADVISER - January/February 2021 - 4
PLANADVISER - January/February 2021 - 5
PLANADVISER - January/February 2021 - 6
PLANADVISER - January/February 2021 - 7
PLANADVISER - January/February 2021 - 8
PLANADVISER - January/February 2021 - 9
PLANADVISER - January/February 2021 - 10
PLANADVISER - January/February 2021 - 11
PLANADVISER - January/February 2021 - 12
PLANADVISER - January/February 2021 - 13
PLANADVISER - January/February 2021 - Are You Leaving the Door Open?
PLANADVISER - January/February 2021 - 15
PLANADVISER - January/February 2021 - 16
PLANADVISER - January/February 2021 - 17
PLANADVISER - January/February 2021 - 18
PLANADVISER - January/February 2021 - 19
PLANADVISER - January/February 2021 - A Question of Liability
PLANADVISER - January/February 2021 - 21
PLANADVISER - January/February 2021 - 22
PLANADVISER - January/February 2021 - 23
PLANADVISER - January/February 2021 - How 3(38) Advising Profits Clients
PLANADVISER - January/February 2021 - 25
PLANADVISER - January/February 2021 - 26
PLANADVISER - January/February 2021 - 27
PLANADVISER - January/February 2021 - The Tax Distinction
PLANADVISER - January/February 2021 - 29
PLANADVISER - January/February 2021 - How to Choose a PEP
PLANADVISER - January/February 2021 - 31
PLANADVISER - January/February 2021 - Plan Governance
PLANADVISER - January/February 2021 - 33
PLANADVISER - January/February 2021 - 34
PLANADVISER - January/February 2021 - 35
PLANADVISER - January/February 2021 - Continuous Education
PLANADVISER - January/February 2021 - 37
PLANADVISER - January/February 2021 - The Latest Word on ESG
PLANADVISER - January/February 2021 - ESG Investing Under ERISA
PLANADVISER - January/February 2021 - 40
PLANADVISER - January/February 2021 - Cover3
PLANADVISER - January/February 2021 - Cover4
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