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With some holidays regularly on a Monday and others observed on a Friday or Monday, 2022’s calendar results in ten or eleven three-day weekends for many workers. For most, our due date for 2021 personal income tax returns is April 18. For residents of Maine or Massachusetts, it’s April 19. For retirement, health, and other employee-benefit plans, the due date for a plan’s Form 5500 report on 2021 is August 1. The typical extended due date is October 17. For details, read my 2022 chart [attached] about how Federal and State governments and the New York Stock Exchange observe holidays. 2022 holidays recognized in public law in the United States of America.pdf

Oops. On these BenefitsLink discussion boards, many commenters assume a plan is ERISA-governed unless the originating post says or suggests the plan is a church plan, a governmental plan, or something else. Thank you for helping us with some learning about some non-ERISA plans for U.S. government employees. And although Maryland has never been my client, other States are (or have been), and I might be able to help if you face an issue about a plan for a State’s employees.

Q1: Yes, but the plan would do well to clarify this in its (1) QDRO procedures, but it will not, or (2) in its conditional determination of qualification, which should include interpretation of that unusual provision. Underlying my response is my conclusion that the interest awarded is shared payments in a series of payments to the extent provided in the order (e.g. adequately identifying the first shared payment and the last). The payments are shared only until they are not. When the last identified shared payment is made, the series continues unless the series is in the form of annuity payments or installment payments and the last payment is the last payment in the series (e.g. the participant dies under an annuity form of benefit). The continued payment must go to the participant because the terms of the order no longer provide for the payments to be divided or redirected -- they are restored to full payment to the participant in accordance with the form of payment in effect. Yes, this is inference (which is why it should be clarified by the plan), but what else are you going to infer? Certainly not forfeiture of parts of the remaining payments in the series. The plan administrator should be very demanding (in writing -- the QDRO Procedures or the interpretation) about the identification of the last payment and how and when it is communicated. For example, the plan should have no liability for payment to the AP after the last identified payment unless the the last payment is timely and properly identified in advance, and by persons and means that do not plunge the plan into a controversy about proof of the occurrence or time of the event. I dare suggest that the plan might refuse to qualify an order that is so indefinite (silent about material information) about identification and communication about the last shared payment. Q2: I don't see how it matters. Whatever the basis is under sate domestic relations law for awarding the retirement benefits with this configuration is no business of the plan. Unsolicited comment #1: This is another example about how lame, and sometimes wrong, the DOL QDRO publication is. The DOL jus' don't know QDROs and fails to provide truly useful guidance -- witness the terrible job by the DOL on post-death QDROs when it was directed to issue regulations.

The due date for a plan’s Form 5500 report on 2021 is August 1. The typical extended due date is October 17. 26 C.F.R. § 301.7503-1 https://www.ecfr.gov/current/title-26/chapter-I/subchapter-F/part-301/subpart-ECFRdf766a4800b6a98/subject-group-ECFRb33b9dd84d207a0/section-301.7503-1

Well the SEP failed to meet the coverage requirements, so it's not deductible. Not being an ERISA plan I don't know that the employees have any claim for benefits. There is no provision for any offset between qualified plans and SEPs, maybe something could be negotiated with the IRS. In my experience clients and their advisors tend to let sleeping SEPs lie. Seems like a good time to repost this, I wrote it years ago (back when the 415 limit was $40K): Ode to SEPs At the ripe old age of 42, My CPA said this won't do, He told me I'm out of step, To cut my taxes, go start a SEP. Sent me to a TPA, he said Yep A SEP might work, but first let's see. Lo and behold, we have an ASG! He told me we could work around the ASG; But there would be attorneys fees, Determination letters and trustees, Not only that, I'd have to contribute for employees! But, wait, I have no employees, they work for XYZ, But the lawyer said the ASG Means those employees work for me! We'll design a plan, that will conform, Of course you'll have to file the 5500 form. I said OK, let's kill some trees, But before we do, please explain the fees. When he was done, I had to pee, Surely I could find simplicity. So I went online to explore Found SEPs, 401(k)s, and more, They needed my name and address and EIN But had no pesky questions about 414(b), (c) or (m). What about the IRS, would they find my SEP? They audited my return, said I did misstep, About my SEP they did not complain, But disallowed my green fees, oh the pain! My SEP grew and grew and I paid no fees Wrote a check every year for my 40 Gs. As for my employees, they did not know, For their retirement, they have nothing to show.