Financial FoundationsAugust 21, 2025

Can Tailored Benefit Plans Keep Your Top Talent From Walking?

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About This Episode

Season 3, Episode 7. How do small and midsize businesses keep top performers from taking the next offer? Dustin Taylor and co-host Kyle Howell sit down with insurance specialist Howard Jonas to unpack nonqualified executive benefit strategies that help attract and retain key people without overhauling your 401(k). We cover which companies are a fit, how tax status shapes design, what to fund with, and how to keep plans simple enough to run.

In this episode, you will learn:

• When nonqualified plans outperform traditional benefits for high earners • Why entity taxation matters, S corp vs C corp vs partnership • Funding options, including permanent life insurance, taxable accounts, or unfunded designs • How REBA, restricted executive bonus agreements, and double-bonus structures work • Where loan-regime split-dollar and key-person coverage can fit • Creditor exposure, control vs current deduction, and practical restrictions • 409A pitfalls with deferred compensation, and when not to use it • Eligibility for contractors, 1099 use cases, and realistic vesting horizons

Guest: Howard Jonas, advanced insurance planning and business succession specialist.

Resources and contact: basewealthmanagement.com for articles, videos, and to connect with our team.

Disclaimer: This conversation is educational, not tax, legal, or investment advice. Talk with your professional advisor about your situation.

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The Retirement Reality Check is an educational tool intended to help individuals identify areas that may warrant further planning discussion. It is not a financial plan, investment recommendation, or guarantee of retirement readiness.

Statistics cited on this page are drawn from third-party research and are provided for general educational context only. Individual circumstances will vary. 1,2,5 Employee Benefit Research Institute (EBRI), 2023 Retirement Confidence Survey. ebri.org. 3 Federal Reserve, Report on the Economic Well-Being of U.S. Households (2023). federalreserve.gov. 4 Federal Reserve, Survey of Consumer Finances (2022). 5 Vanguard, How America Saves (2023); National Institute on Retirement Security, Retirement Insecurity 2024.

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