Retirement planning has evolved over history to become arguable the most important financial planning consideration facing society today. With social security under the ever increasing strain of a growing and aging population, our government has continually expanded tax incentive for employers and individuals to contribute to a broad array of tax qualified retirement plans. These plans included defined benefit plans, defined contribution plans, employee stock option plans, profit sharing plans, 401-K plans, 403 (b) plans, 457 plans, SIMPLE plans, Simplified Employee Pension Plans (SEP's), traditional IRA's and Roth IRA's. Whether you are an employer contemplating a retirement plan, a participant in such a plan or an individual contemplating an IRA, our staff is prepared to guide you in making the appropriate choices.

One very critical area of retirement planning today is that of retirement distribution planning. With the increase in numbers of employees reaching normal retirement age, and the growing number of terminations from corporate downsizing, mergers and acquisitions, the number and dollar amount of retirement distributions has grown enormously. Distributions from employer sponsored retirement plans afford participants a number of different options and tax ramifications depending on plan specifics. The most commonly prescribed avenue for such distributions is the rollover IRA which defers taxation and can provide additional advantages as well if properly structured. This is not always the appropriate election, however, and a thorough evaluation is necessary in each case to determine the best option.

The staff at James I. Black & Company have always diligently monitored the regulations and reforms governing all aspects of retirement plans and are prepared to evaluate your particular needs.