So once again it's February, and once again I find myself tasked with the seemingly-endless task of testing all 45 of my 401(k) plans for anti-discrimination. One of the most common tests I run does not allow for an owner of a company to defer much more, percentage-wise, than the rank-and-file. If he does, sometimes he has to get that money liquidated and paid to him as a taxable distribution. Owners are never happy to hear this, so one year I thought it would ease the sting if I told it to him in the form of a haiku:
You were wise to save.
Others bought Christmas presents.
Here's your money back.
