Below is the OCR text representation for this newspapers page.

Wednesday, June 29,1994 "Houston Time*Journal Page 8B Pension plans now feasible for small firms There is good news for small businesses and the self-employed who are looking for a tax deduction or a way to reward employees for performance as well as help fund their retirement The IRS will allow any small business to establish a Simplified Employee Pension plan up until their tax filing due date (including extensions) for the current tax year. Contributions to this plan will grow tax-deferred and are an effective way to accumulate assets for retirement. How a SEP applies to your business situation should be reviewed by an accountant or tax advisor. Take a look at some of the major features a SEP plan offers: •A current tax deduction on all eligible contributions made by the employer. •No fixed contribution requirement for the employer. •Self-directed employee retirement accounts limit the employer’s fiduciary responsibility. •Flexibility to establish and/or fund the plan by your company’s tax filing date (including extensions). Phase in teens’ driving privileges, group says In an effort to reduce a traffic fatality toll that is three times that of their elders, an insurance trade group urged today that teenagers’ driving privileges be phased in as they gain experience. The National Association of Independent Insurers (NAII), based in Des Plaines, 111., oudined a new proposal to that effect at a Southeast regional meeting of the American Association of Motor Vehicle Administrators (AAMVA) here. Sixteen and 17-year-old drivers are three times more likely to die in a traffic crash than those aged 25- 64, NAII’s Dan Kummer said. Teenagers comprise seven percent of U.S. drivers but account for 13 percent of motor vehicle deaths, he added. Further, Kummer said, the teenage population will grow at close to twice the rate of the overall population over the next decade, increasing from 24 milion in 1992 to a projected 30.8 million by the year 2010. A graduated driver’s license program which NAII is urging states to adopt would reduce the death toll by expanding teenagers’ driving privileges as their experience and training increase. Teenagers would be issued a driver’s permit initially and then a provisional driver’s license, after Hwy. 96 turn lanes ok’d State Transportation Commissioner Wayne Shackelford announced today authorization of a contract for Houston County to cover the following work: Grading drainage to widen for left turn lanes on 0.420 mile of roadway of SR 96 at Houston Lake Rd. This project has been authorized for funding under the Georgia DOT County Contract Program, and will begin as soon as the contract has been duly executed and a work order issued. “The viability of local roads and streets is as important to the social and economic welfare of Georgia as are the interstates and other major U FOR FUN IN THE SUN! FIRST, THINK OF ALL THE THINGS YOU'D ENJOY DOINC OR NEED TO DO THIS SUMMER; THEN COME SEE THE FRIENDLY FRANKLIN FOLKS. WE LL DO EVERYTHINC WE CAN TO ASSIST YOU IN CETTINC THE CASH YOU'D LIKE TO HAVE. (SUBJECT TO OUR LIBERAL CREDIT POLICY AND CREDIT LIMITA TIONS, IF ANY.) JUST COME BY OR CALL US TODAY! 811 Carroll St. PriTtlklifl (Across from Courthouse) Lgy L,, • | Perry, GA 31069 FUIBIICIm 987-0880 A Sen icc ttf Ist hrunkim (.<*l>orutt<> SBMMSCTUNW? •No costly reporting requirements. •Employees can make salary reduction contributions if the employer adopts optional salary SEP plan provisions. •Employees may be able to make a contribution to their IRA in addition to their salary reduction contribution within the SEP plan. Under a SEP plan, the employer determines what amount, if any, to contribute to an IRA set up for each employee. The SEP plan contributions, in an amount up to 15 percent of compensation or $22,500 (whichever is less), may be deducted as a business expense. Each year the employer decides to contribute to the plan, the same percentage contributions must be made for all eligible employees. However, the actual amount mav be adjusted by integrating the SEP plan contribution with Social Security payments. SEP plan payments are not taxable as current compensation to the employer or the the employee until they are withdrawn from the SEP plan. Until then, all earnings grow tax deferred. Because each employee has his completing driver education and six hours of behind-lhe-wheel training. A provisional license would prohibit unsupervised driving between midnight and 6 a.m., when nearly 50 percent of teenage traffic deaths occur. A full driver’s license would be issued only after the driver has had a provisional license for 12 months without conviction of a major traffic offense. The program also would subject drivers under 21 to a “zero tolerance” for blood alcohol content while driving. Kummer said the NAII intends to work with state motor vehicle departments to promote graduated driver’s license legislation wherever it is appropriate. The eventual goal is to get such legislation in every state. The concept is patterned after other successful programs such as in New Zealand and Ontario, Canada, Kummer said. California and Maryland also have some facets of the provisional driver’s license system in their states, he added. NAII is a non-profit trade association representing more than 570 property-casualty insurance companies throughout the U.S. Its member companies account for nearly 40 percent of the motor vehicle insurance in the U.S. routes,” Commissioner Shackelford said upon authorizing the contract. “I appreciate the cooperative efforts of the local authorities, Senator Sonny Perdue as well as Representatives Robert Ray, Johnny Floyd, Roy H. Watson, Jr. and Larry Walker in their work with, the DOT to make these contracts possible.” The County Contract and Local Assistance Road Program are two of several programs utilized by the Georgia Department of Transportation to assist local governments in providing adequate transportation facilities for all of Georgia. or her own separate account, the employer has minimal fiduciary responsibility to the plan. Therefore, each employee can select investments best-suited to his or her own situation. The choice of investments allowed within a SEP plan cover a wide range and include stocks, bonds, mutual funds and money market funds. Unlike most other businesses retirement plans, a SEP plan requires no annual administration cost and no IRS filing on Form 5500. These are positive features for small businesses, which already may be burdened by government paperwork. Minimal reporting requirements also save costs and make this plan popular among small businesses. Under an optional provision of the SEP plan, if the employer adopts a siary reduction plan, any employee may be able to make salary reduction contributions (which are indexed to inflation) may not exceed 15 percent of the employee’s salary or $22,500 (whichever is less). To elect the salary reduction option, the employer must have 25 or fewer employees eligible to participate, and the election is available only if at least 50 percent of the employees elect to make salary reduction contributions. Also under this option, no highly paid employee may contribute more than 1.25 times the average of the lower-paid employees. As an additional benefit to the employee, the IRS will allow the employee to make an additional IRA contribution of up to $2,000 to SEP plan. This can be made to the same account which holds the salary reduction contribution and the employer’s contribution. Co-Op Money Can Expand Your Advertising Dollar!! Call Eddie Byrd Jimmy Simpson To Find Out More About It 987-1823 Financial consultant I However, this IRA contribution from the employee may or may not be deductible, depending on the level of the employee’s income. With this in mind, if the employee maintains one or more IRA’s outside the plan, it may be possible to consolidate all of his or her IRA account with the SEP plan. The benefits to employee may include a reduction of IRA maintenance costs and fees, less paperwork, improvement of performance tracking and the ability to pool funds for greater investment purchasing power. (Editor’s note: Jake Campbell is a Financial Consultant with The Robinson-Humphrey Co.) FOR SALE Fresh Peas & Butterbeans TJnshelled or Shelled & Cleaned Call & Place Your Order Days 627-3343 • Nights & Weekends 627-3389 POSEY FARMS 2 miles East of Unadilla just of Hwy. 230 Advertisers ... Don’t Let Money Slip Through Your Fingers! > mBC V Pit-Cooked Barbecue y RIBS - CHICKEN - PORK Drive-Thru Only Picnic Tables Available Because so many of our customers requested it... We are now open Tuesdays thru Sundays from 11:00 am until 9:00 pm Thank you for your support! Check our sign for daily specials 704 Carroll Street 987-3626 • Perry, GA