In a nutshell: the 401k allows greater retirement contributions, but it usually involves greater administrative responsibilities and higher fees than a SEP IRA. The SEP is easier to set up and more flexible.

Features of a SEP IRA

The SEP is a great choice for self-employed people or owner/spouse businesses who want to contribute up to 25% of their W-2 earnings or 20% of net income up to the contribution limit. If that is sufficient, then the SEP will be the easier choice.

This type of plan also has the optional flexibility to allow you to convert to a Roth immediately or anytime in the future. So you can time your Roth conversion to a year, which will minimize taxes. With the Roth 401k you must pay the taxes in the year you contribute.

Also, with the SEP:

1. You must include part-time employees;
2. All employer contributions are 100% vested immediately;
3. Assets are not protected from creditors;
4. No loans are allowed.

Features of a 401k Profit Sharing Plan

A 401k PS plan offers four primary advantages over the SEP IRA:

1. Potentially greater retirement contributions at the same income level;
2. The option of a tax-free loan using the balance of the plan as collateral. Loans are permitted up to 50% of the total 401k value with a $50,000 maximum;
3. You can exclude employees who work less than 500 hours;
4. Set up a six year vesting schedule.

Contributions are flexible for either program. You can make them in some years and not in others.

The name profit sharing (PS) is actually a misnomer. It is not based on profit but on salary. In fact,
you can have a net loss on the corporation and still make PS contributions. For example, if your salary is 100K, you can put in a $25K profit sharing contribution even if your corporation shows a net profit of $1000.

For example, let’s say you decide to pay yourself 116, 000K in salary. Here’s what you can contribute to 401k Profit Sharing Plan:

Employer Profit Sharing: 25% of $116,000 = $29,000 (paid by corporation)

Salary Deferral 401k: $16,500 (for 2011 – paid by you – this is withheld from your paycheck).
Total contribution = $45,500.

This is the max you can contribute based on $116,000 of salary.

The sum of the two contributions cannot exceed your salary or $49,000 whichever is lower.

In a SEP you would only be able to contribute the $29,000.

In Conclusion…

If you value the loan feature or want to maximize your annual retirement contributions, you should consider a 401k. If not, the simplicity of a SEP IRA makes it the better choice.

Want help in determining which plan is best for you? We’d be glad to help. For more information please contact Sheree Tallerman at 917-828-5888 or sheree@planperfectretirement.com

Defined Benefit Pension Plans promise participants a specific monthly lifetime benefit amount at retirement. Contribution amounts are calculated and adjusted annually to ensure that the target goal is reached. Contributions for all the plan participants are kept in a single account or “pool” that is used to pay the promised benefits. These types of plans tend to favor older, long-service, highly compensated business owners, partners and key employees who are in their peak earning years. They offer a way to quickly increase retirement plan assets.

A Combination Plan aka “Combo Plan” combines a Defined Contribution (401k Profit Sharing) Plan and Defined Benefit Pension Plan, allowing the plan sponsor to offer a two-fisted approach to saving for retirement. This hybrid design can substantially increase the annual maximum dollar amount allocated to an individual, when compared to a stand-alone profit sharing plan.

Sample Construction Company
DB /DC Combination Plan

Sample Technology Company
DB/DC Combination Plan

Combining these plans allows you to maximize the benefits for owners and highly-compensated employees, and at the same time provide a minimum type of benefit formula to younger employees.

Combo plans are best suited to the following circumstances:

1. Successful businesses with stable profit streams
2. Proven start-ups or business reveling in a windfall year
3. Older, highly compensated principles of an employer
4. On average a younger group of employees

Under the right circumstances, Combo plans can produce dramatic tax savings for the employer and allow the business owner and/or key employees to receive significant retirement benefits.

For more information please contact Sheree Tallerman at 917-828-5888 or sheree@planperfectretirement.com

With an Open Architecture 401k platform, all fees are already transparent. In addition, the Plan Sponsor (the business owner) has the freedom to select from the entire mutual fund marketplace with access to many institutional class funds. Compare this to pre-determined (aka proprietary) “bundled” fund menus traditionally offered by banks, insurance companies and mutual fund houses.

In many cases, the Plan Sponsor can reduce a plan’s fees and expenses by selecting the most appropriate plan and investment options. Surprisingly, most Sponsors fail to make any effort to reduce these costs, which can have a negative impact on retirement income. An Open Architecture platform allows business owners and advisers to select an investment lineup that is solely in the interests of the Plan and its participants, with no front-or back-end fees.

And, it allows plan participants who could not meet minimum requirements to take a slice of a single, separately managed account. Thus, an investment vehicle previously restricted to high net-worth individuals, or to very large retirement plans and institutions, is now available to these participants.

PlanPerfect’s Open Architecture solution provides:

• Access to virtually any mutual fund
• Freedom from any packaged or bundled 401k platform
• Complete autonomy to create a customized, investment menu
• A self-directed brokerage option

For more information on Open Architecture and how it can benefit you, please call Sheree Tallerman at PlanPerfect Retirement, Inc. at 917-828-5888 or email sheree@planperfectretirement.com

Scott Woolley, 06.24.09, 06:00 PM EDT Forbes Magazine dated July 13, 2009

Insurance salesmen have stuffed thousands of 401(k) plans into high-cost “group annuities.”

Early this year the woman overseeing the 401(k) plan for a rural Oregon company gathered her 25 colleagues together to hold an election. At stake: whether to continue paying AIG an annual 1.25% of assets to manage their 401(k) plan as part of an insurance contract, or switch to mutual funds costing a third less. No surprise that the proposal to convert passed easily.

Then the nasty surprises started popping up. As she sought to unwind the plan, the administrator discovered that AIG had been tacking on a variety of fees all along. One nicked employees for 2% annually when they borrowed money from their own 401(k)s–work the new plan was willing to do for a flat $50 a year.

To top it off, AIG said that many of the employees would have to wait five years to get back their entire nest eggs, with no choice but to keep paying the fees. AIG says such lockups are disclosed in its plan contracts and are shorter than the ones many other insurers impose.

The company’s frustrated administrator, who agreed to talk only anonymously, says she’s still baffled by the complex annuity contract. “We still don’t have a good handle on what they’re charging us,” she says.

Like the Oregon outfit, lots of mostly small companies are finding out the hard way that the 401(k) plans they bought from insurance companies, usually set up as “group annuities,” came with a variety of hard-to-find charges and lockups. Or, more aptly, the plans they were sold by people motivated by lavish commissions. Many hyped the product as a low- or no-cost proposition for employers while glossing over the fees charged to employees. A successful ruse it is. All told, insurers have lured 18,000 companies into parking $185 billion of 401(k) assets inside group annuities and similar insurance contracts, according to an analysis by Larkspur Data Resources of plans with under $250 million in assets.

“Insurance companies cater to the smaller, less sophisticated part of the market,” says Robert Prall, managing partner of Rx Investment Solutions, which advises companies on how to build low-cost 401(k) plans. “Every time we’ve gone into a company that has a group variable annuity contract, no one has really understood how it worked.”

One John Hancock group annuity contract allows it to skim off up to 5% of assets before the remains go to work for savers. That’s on top of “trailer” commissions of up to 1. 4% of assets annually for as long as the plan exists and “asset charges” of up to 4%. John Hancock says those maximum fees provide a distorted picture and that it offers a variety of competitive rates. Why then, you might ask, does another piece of fine print state that John Hancock makes no claim “that any expenses paid directly or indirectly by the plan are reasonable”?

“When it comes to fee abuse in retirement plans, you can put group annuities at the top of the list,” says Daniel Maul, an investment advisor in Seattle, Wash. who helps small firms set up 401(k) programs.

Among 401(k) plans with assets of less than $250 million, group annuity-style menus account for 55% of the market and are sold by axa Equitable, Lincoln Financial and other insurers. A few are like the deferred annuities sold outside retirement plans that combine some life insurance coverage with savings features. Those products typically offer investors a choice of mutual funds; the insurance takes the form of a pledge to pay their heirs what they put in if they meet with an untimely end at a point when the value of their assets has fallen. At the end of their careers, deferred annuity holders can receive their savings either as a lump sum or as annuity payments for life.

By contrast, the group annuities containing 401(k) plans often provide neither a meaningful insurance benefit nor an annuitization option. In fact, beyond the same features that plain vanilla mutual funds offer for a fraction of the cost, group annuities’ only upside is a tax benefit–for the insurers selling them, not for the 401(k) investors.

It works this way: Inside group annuities, legal title to the mutual funds belongs to the insurers. This ownership bestows on them the right to claim a corporate dividend received credit, an old feature of the tax code aimed at preventing the double-taxation of profits at the corporate level. Investors don’t get a special tax benefit. The fact that annuities may be tax-deferred is irrelevant inside a retirement account, which is tax-deferred no matter how it is invested.

The annuity trappings do, however, mean that investors get hit up for higher fees. John Hancock’s group annuity offers the jh American Funds Growth Fund of America at a cost of 0.91% annually. Other 401(k) investors can get an identical fund at less than half the cost.

An accountant at a five-person Texas firm was shocked to discover while looking through his 401(k) statements recently that AXA Equitable’s group annuity was charging 1.69% annually to own its version of an S&P 500 index fund. The 0.64% charged for the fund alone is four to five times what low-cost providers Fidelity and Vanguard charge.

The fact that group annuities are sold at all is largely a function of muddled 401(k) regulation. By styling 401(k) plans as group annuities, sellers can shop for the most lax oversight. That’s because regulators let insurers decide for themselves whether these products are securities, in which case they are overseen by the Securities & Exchange Commission and must be sold with a prospectus disclosing costs and other details. Or insurers can declare their group annuities are purely insurance products. Insurance regulators tend to focus on an issuer’s claims-paying ability rather than its disclosure; most states allow insurers to sell group annuities without even issuing a prospectus.

While insurance salesmen are free to present themselves as honest brokers, they are not required to regard themselves as fiduciaries with a legal obligation to put plan participants’ interests first. Often they don’t.

Among 401(k) plans designed for small companies, the total fees on some group annuities can top $1,000 per participant every year, or three times what low-cost 401(k) plans cost, according to data provider 401kSource. Have second thoughts after signing up and you’ll discover that buying a group annuity is like joining the Sopranos.

“Surrender charges allow insurers to offer very generous commissions, “explains Parker Payson of Employee Fiduciary, a Mobile, Ala. firm that sets up low-cost mutual-fund-based 401(k) plans for small companies.” The annuity provider wants to make sure the client is there long enough to recoup the commission.”

Some insurers, including New York Life, refuse to offer group annuities. Deanna Garen, a managing director for the firm, points out that, in theory, retirement savings plans with annuitization features are a great idea. Unfortunately, says Garen, the ones on the market are too confusing and costly.

“They just haven’t evolved to the point where there are sensible fee structures,” she says.

Customers, for the most part, haven’t evolved to the point where they know what’s going on. Two-thirds of workers are unaware that they’re paying anything for 401(k) plans, according to a 2007 survey by aarp. Another 20% aren’t sure. Even among the handful who understood that fees are deducted from their accounts, few could say precisely how much they’re paying.

Advice to employees: You don’t have to take any of this lying down. Find out what you’re paying to have your money managed. If it’s too much, complain to the benefits department.

What is revenue sharing?

Some call it “hidden fees.” Others, “indirect payments.” Revenue sharing refers collectively to fees that service providers (insurance companies, payroll providers, banks, brokerage houses, mutual funds) charge to plan sponsors and participants.

These fees can be so complex and “under the radar” that many sponsors do not understand their consequence or magnitude. The fact is, revenue sharing is how companies like yours might be paying for their retirement plan. Or put another way, leaking money.

Your plan might appear “free,” since you’re not receiving any invoices. But—as the saying goes—there’s no such thing as a free lunch.

Specifically, revenue sharing refers to several kinds of fees that are buried in the administration of your retirement plan:

12b-1 fees

• These fees are deducted from the assets of mutual funds. They are therefore charged directly to the participants invested in that fund. 12b-1 fees are used to compensate broker-dealers

Sub transfer agency fees – Shareholder servicing fees

• Paid by mutual funds to 401k recordkeeping firms to help subsidize recordkeeping costs (i.e., keeping track of share ownership at the plan and participant account level, communicating fund information to participants, etc.

All of these forms of revenue sharing have, as their source, the participants’ investments in mutual funds.

If your 401(k) profit sharing plan has a million dollars or more in plan assets, the plan may be eligible to receive these revenue sharing credits—instead of the fees going to the insurance company or payroll provider (or whoever is providing custodial and recordkeeping services).

Contact us for a complimentary review of your 401k plan. We are here to help you.

by Ary Rosenbaum, Esq.
Meyer, Suozzi, English & Klein, P.C. Counselors at Law
1350 Broadway – Suite 501, New York, NY 10018 T: 212-239-4999    www.msek.com

When it comes to establishing an Employee Retirement Plan, most business owners are content with a set-it and forget-it mindset.

But business owners beware. It’s not enough to merely establish an employee retirement plan; you have to continually monitor it as well. Avoiding plan maintenance is a common, costly, and dangerous mistake that can lead to skyrocketing payouts and fees, not to mention the risk of litigation.

It’s estimated that 9 out of 10 employers who adopt a “cruise control” approach to pension planning are leaving dollars on the table, while jacking up their risk for unwanted liability.

It’s not that most business owners mean to be irresponsible; it’s just that most sole-proprietors and small-to-medium-size companies are not well-versed in the intricacies inherent in retirement plans and therefore don’t understand the importance of regular plan upkeep. Unless someone walks them through their own plan, they may be ignorant of the financial damage they’re causing themselves.

Case in point: Recently, a colleague at our firm referred me to one of his clients, an attorney who practices alone. It seems that within the past year, this gentleman realized a half- million dollar fee, but his retirement plan allowed him to deposit only 46K of that fee into his retirement fund.

He was not an expert in retirement plans and had no idea how to proceed so he could make his fund work for him. I was able to customize a defined benefit plan that allowed our client to retain a full 260K. That’s a whopping 214K more in his retirement pocket than he would have realized if he had not consulted our firm.

A retirement plan can be likened to an automobile; for optimum performance, both demand constant maintenance. If you don’t change the oil on your car, the engine can seize up; if you don’t examine your retirement plan, it can leave you running on empty. With both the types of vehicles, you have to lift the hood from time to time and see what’s what. Sometimes all that’s needed is a minor adjustment. Other times, you have to retire your plan from the road and start fresh. Almost always you need an expert opinion.

Sometimes the lack of maintenance stems from a lack of communication. Confusion arises when plan adminis- trators use double talk to explain plan features. No matter how intelligent an employer might be, he or she may not necessarily have the background to thoroughly understand the information being presented. It’s important for employers to understand their own plans’ nuances and they should not be uncomfortable asking the expert to supply additional explanations or clarifications.

Once employers have a plan in place, they need to pay attention to their company’s evolving needs and the plan’s corresponding administrative concerns. For a retirement plan to be effective, it must remain in step with the evolving needs of the company it serves. A plan once considered appro- priate can become outmoded as the company changes, grows, and matures. Then, too, a designated third party administration company once deemed a perfect fit might eventually prove to be a mismatch.

For example, another colleague at our firm introduced me to a client whose original plan had the client’s company investing heavily in equities — an investment we deemed inappropriate in these economic times.

Then, too, the plan was administered by a third party management company headquartered in the Midwest. We are in the process of moving the company’s assets to more appropriate investment vehicles and engaged an administration company located in Long Island. The management switch alone saved the client over $1, 000 annually. Needless to say, the client was quite pleased with this lucrative plan make-over.

The Employee Retirement Income Security Act (ERISA) is a difficult law to understand. It’s especially challenging for business owners operating without a human resources expert or employee benefit specialist on staff. But ignorance of ERISA’s requirements can result in serious negative consequences.

Barring in-house expertise, any responsible business would do well to establish a relationship with a knowledgeable employee retirement plan expert who can analyze the company’s existing plan and goals, identify what’s not working, and then design a more cost-effective employee pension plan that’s better suited to the company’s goals. An initial consultation with a retirement plan expert is time and money well spent because the ongoing support and direction of that expert will pay dividends now and in the years to come.

10 Great Questions for Business Owners to Consider Before Consulting with an Employee Retirement Plan Expert

1. Do we have an Employee Retirement Plan? What are the pros and cons of putting one in place?
2. If we have such a plan, who first established it? When?
3. Who administers our plan? And do we have full disclosure of all the fees involved?
4. How were the funds chosen for our plan?
5. Do we review our funds regularly to see if they are performing well, or can employees hold us respon- sible for not being vigilant?
6. When was the last time we reviewed our employee retirement plan to see if it still fits our current needs?
7. Do we distribute accurate, informative educational retirement fund materials to our employees?
8. Are we leaving money on the table?
9. Is it time to retire our current plan in favor of one that works better for us in this economic climate?
10. Who should we call to find out what we need to know?

• Regular 401(k)
• Safe Harbor 401(k)
• Profit Sharing Plan
• Profit Sharing Plan – New Comparability
• Defined Benefit Pension Plan
• Cash Balance Pension Plan
• Simplified Employee Pension (SEP)

We have provided the list below to help you choose the right retirement plan. It includes the benefits and limitations for each type of plan for 2012.

For more information call Sheree Tallerman at (917) 828-5888 or email sheree@planperf.com

Regular 401(k)

Benefits

• Flexibility in Plan Design
• Contributions deductible to the Employer
• Employee 401k contributions reduce employee’s taxable income
• Employee pre-tax deferrals up to 100% of compensation or $17,000
• Participants age 50 or older can defer an additional $5,500
• Discretionary employer profit sharing contributions
• Employee contributions by payroll deductions
• Possible employer match for employee contributions
• Available options – loans, vesting, hardship withdrawals, rollovers
• Protection from creditors
• Participants may “self-direct”  investments

Limitations

• May prevent maximum deferrals for highly compensated and key employees
• Anti-discrimination tests applies
• Annual IRS Form 5500 Tax Return
• Moderate administrative detail

Employee Participation – Maximum Requirements

• Age 21 with one year of service – 1,000 hours

Safe Harbor 401(k)

Benefits

• Deemed to pass discrimination testing and automatically meet top-heavy contribution requirements
• Maximum deferrals for highly compensated and key employees
• Employee deferrals up to 100% of compensation or $17,000
• Participants age 50 or older can defer an additional $5,500
• Discretionary employer contributions
• Options available – loans, vesting, hardship withdrawals
• Protection from creditors
• Participants may “self-direct” investments

Limitations

• Annual IRS Form 5500 Tax Return
• Moderate administrative detail
• Requires annual election and notice

Employee Participation – Maximum Requirements

• Age 21 with one year of service – 1,000 hours

Profit Sharing Plan

Benefits

• Contributions are discretionary and deductible to Employer
• Flexibility in plan design
• Plan expenses deductible to the employer
• Individual contribution limit, lesser of 100% / $50,000
• May combine with a 401(k) plan
• Other options – vesting, loans and rollovers
• Protection from creditors
• SEP-IRA may be rolled in
• Participants may “self-direct” investments

Limitations

• Annual IRS Form 5500 Tax Return
• Moderate administrative detail
• Salary deferral not allowable

Employee Participation – Maximum Requirements

• Age 21 with one year of service, then vesting schedule can apply
• Age 21 with two years of service, then 100% vested at entry

Profit Sharing Plan with New Comparability

Benefits

• Same as Profit Sharing above and:
• Target individuals or groups to maximize contributions
• Maximum employer deduction 25% of compensation
• Individual contribution limit, lesser of 100% / $50,000
• May combine into a 401(k) plan
• Other options – vesting, rollovers, loans
• Protection from creditors
• SEP-IRA may be rolled in
• Participants may “self-direct” investments

Limitations

• Annual IRS Form 5500 Tax Return
• Significant administrative detail

Employee Participation – Maximum Requirements

• Age 21 with one year of service, then vesting schedule can apply
• Age 21 with two years of service, then 100% vested at entry

Defined Benefit Pension Plan

Benefits

• Deductible contribution levels may be substantially higher than the plans listed above
• Favors older, highly compensated employees
• Annual maximum individual benefit payable $200,000
• May credit service prior to plan inception
• Vesting
• Protection from creditors
• Trustee’s responsible for investment selection

Limitations

• Recurring annual contribution
• Annual IRS Form 5500 Tax Return
• Extensive administrative detail
• Actuary advice required

Employee Participation – Maximum Requirements

• Age 21 with one year of service, then vesting schedule can apply
• Age 21 with two years of service, then 100% vested at entry.

Cash Balance Pension Plan

Benefits

• Maximize contributions and tax deductions
• Annual maximum individual benefit payable $200,000
• May credit service prior to plan inception
• Favorable to older and long tenured employees
• Protection from creditors

Limitations

• Recurring annual contribution
• Annual IRS Form 5500 Tax Return
• Extensive administrative detail
• Actuary advice required
• Lump sum distribution upon retirement

Employee Participation – Maximum Requirements

• Age 21 with one year of service, then vesting schedule can apply
• Age 21 with two years of service, then 100% vested at entry.

Simplified Employee Pension (SEP)

Benefits

• Simple to establish and maintain
• Contributions deductible to the employer
• Maximum deductible contribution 25% of wages (or up to 20% of Schedule C income)/ up to a maximum of $50,000.  Contributions can be made for 2012 up until your tax filing deadline, plus extensions.
• Flexible contribution amounts
• No annual IRS Form 5500 Tax Return
• Less administrative detail

Limitations

• Vesting – full and immediate
• No federal protection from creditors
• Must include part-time employees
• No Loans

Employee Participation – Maximum Requirements

• Age 21
• Employed three of past five years
• Compensation at least $550

401 (k) plans require three services: plan administration, recordkeeping, and investment advisory services. Some companies provide all three under the same roof. We all know that one-stop shopping saves time and money when you need a bunch of household items, for example. We’re more likely to go to Costco or Home Depot than drive all over town to different stores. But is one-stop shopping the best way to go with your retirement plan?

Not necessarily.

Think of our government’s system of checks and balances. The executive, judiciary, and legislative branches all work independently to make sure laws are passed in the fairest possible way (in theory, anyway)—and to ensure that that no single entity is dictating the law for the rest.

Using different service providers for your retirement plan works like a system of checks and balances. In a one-stop shopping arrangement, a single firm is providing all the services and advice—advice that might be less than objective, since it must necessarily benefit the firm’s bottom line. With no objective party watching over, how can you be sure that the TPA (third party administration) firm is truly putting your interests above its own?

As Ary Rosenbaum, Esq. (Meyer, Suozzi, English, & Klein) puts it:

“An investment advisor who is not independent and works for the TPA will always have a dual loyalty. A loyalty to the client, but also a loyalty to provide a mutual fund lineup that will produce the most in revenue sharing fees. [what is revenue sharing?] Revenue sharing can lead to a potential conflict of interest. Why? Because a TPA investment advisor must provide a fund lineup that, while highly rated, must also produce enough revenue sharing to maintain the cost that his employer (the TPA) is charging to the plan. A TPA investment advisor may sacrifice a higher quality mutual fund because it doesn’t produce as much as a lesser quality mutual fund.”

On the other hand, an independent investment advisor is interested solely in the fund’s performance, since that performance bears directly on the advisor’s reputation and ability to attract more business.

PlanPerfect is a fee-based corporate retirement specialist. Neither we nor our service partners accept commissions. This allows us to be totally objective and unbiased in the way we approach your 401(k) plan. With an extensive network of TPAs, custodians (investment platforms), and recordkeeping firms, PlanPerfect is uniquely positioned to choose providers that are custom fit to your plan’s objectives, and work solely in your company’s best financial interests while providing checks and balances against hidden fees.

With household items, a one-stop shop might save you time and money. But when it comes to your 401(k) plan, this approach might end up costing you—whether you’re aware of it or not.

For real-life examples of how our approach has saved companies thousands of dollars in hidden fees, click here.

©2009 PlanPerfect, Inc. All Rights Reserved. PlanPerfect, Inc. 16 W. 23rd St., 4th Fl., NYC, NY 10010 917-828-5888

Greetings!

As my colleague in Southern California likes to say, trying to change a retirement plan’s administrator/recordkeeper is like trying to sell Bentleys in Tijuana! These services have become more of a commodity and even fewer are likely to switch vendors.

Where there is traction is with the retirement plan adviser. As Fred Barstein notes in his article, Dramatic Changes Coming to the 401k and DC Market…

“The real winners in this market are the advisers. More than 80% of plans with less than $100M in plan assets use financial advisers… experienced advisers have never had a better chance to speak to plan sponsors about how they can help the company and their employees.”

To read more, click here.

A recent research project by Hewitt Associates & Financial Engines further confirms that, “401k plan participants using professional investment help experience better returns on their retirement investments than those who do not…” To read more, click here.

So…get out and visit your clients today. You have a valuable story to tell! In the meantime, we are here to help you close new plan business and convert existing qualified retirement plans!

My best,
Sheree Tallerman
PlanPerfect Retirement

AND NOW FOR SOMETHING COMPLETELY DIFFERENT!

Every now and then I find great Google shortcuts and tips that make my day a little easier and get me results faster. Here are three. Give them a try! (they are adapted from Randolph Hock, author of The Extreme Searcher’s Internet Handbook):

1. Track your flight:
Find out if your flight is on time by entering your airline and flight number directly into the Google search field. You can also go to www.faa.gov to find out if your flight is still in the air!

2. Trim the fat on your Google Search:
Let’s say you want to find information about jaguars–the animal, not the car or the sports team. Place a hyphen before the terms you want to exclude. For example: jaguar -car -football. This will omit pages with those words.

3. Who knew quotation marks could be so powerful?
Using quotation marks around a phrase or a person’s name (“Sheree Tallerman”) can eliminate many of the irrelevant links you would otherwise turn up.