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I would rather not since I am still hopeful they will come around to my understanding of the counts for 5500 purposes. Before I continued to push back I wanted to make sure I wasn't completely misunderstanding something. With the responses here I've pushed back again and am awaiting a response. I am hopeful, and otherwise have had a good experience with this software.

Please do not do surgery on any rockets. 😉

This is correct. Starting 2023, it changes from eligible participants to participants with an account balance to determine the count for the audit trigger. Other than that, no changes.

This is correct. If you're looking for it in the 1099-R instructions, it's under the heading "Qualified rollover contributions as defined in section 408A(e)."

My reaction to this are as follows: 1) Why are you involved? It sounds like you did your job and helped terminate the plan per their instructions. 2) I don't see how the plan sponsor has legal authority over the IRAs to direct anything. The IRA isn't part of any plan of theirs. That is the point of doing the force out to an IRA. They trustee no longer is responsible for the funds becasue they no long have any authority. I really question of the plan sponsor has a legal right to direct someone's IRA. You might want to ask a lawyer if you could be legally liable if you help them do this. I am shocked the IRA custodian is agreeing to do this. 3) I would not put any assets back into the old plan's trust if the old one has been fully paid out and the final 5500 was filed. The plan is gone. This sounds like a mess I would not want any part of if it were me.

Only if the plan allow and the participant elects it that way. Employer contributions, including safe harbor match, are contributed on a pre-tax basis. They only go in as Roth, in this case Roth Safe Harbor, unless the plan allows for employer contributions as Roth (new with SECURE 2.0) and the participant has chosen for them to be done that way.

Although ERISA § 403(c)(1) commands that a plan’s assets must never inure to the benefit of any employer, § 403(c)(2)(A)(1) excepts a return, “within one year after the payment of the contribution”, of a contribution an employer made “by a mistake of fact[.]” ERISA § 403, unofficially compiled as 29 U.S.C. § 1103 http://uscode.house.gov/view.xhtml?req=(title:29%20section:1103%20edition:prelim)%20OR%20(granuleid:USC-prelim-title29-section1103)&f=treesort&edition=prelim&num=0&jumpTo=true. Interpretations about what is or isn’t a mistake of fact vary widely.

None that I'm aware of. The only recent change I recall to the audit rules is now you need more than 100 participants WITH ACCOUNT BALANCES and not just 100 eligible. Assuming none of the 80-120 rules comes into play.

Addendum, under 412d2, phew

There is a difference in the instructions for the Form 5500 between Line 5 Total number of participants at the beginning of the plan year Line 6g(1) Number of participants with account balances as of the beginning of the plan year (only defined contribution plans complete this item) The 2023 instructions for the 5500 line 5 [lightly edited] say: " For pension benefit plans, “alternate payees” entitled to benefits under a qualified domestic relations order are not to be counted as participants for this line. For pension benefit plans, “participant” for this line means any individual who is included in one of the categories below: 1. Active participants (i.e., any individuals who are currently in employment covered by the plan and who are earning or retaining credited service under the plan). This includes any individuals who are eligible to elect to have the employer make payments under a Code section 401(k) qualified cash or deferred arrangement. 2. Retired or separated participants receiving benefits 3. Other retired or separated participants entitled to future benefits 4. Deceased individuals who had one or more beneficiaries who are receiving or are entitled to receive benefits under the plan. " The 2023 instructions for the 5500 line 6g(1) say: "Line 6g. Enter in line 6g(1) the total number of participants included on line 5 (total participants at the beginning of the plan year) who have account balances at the beginning of the plan year. Enter in line 6g(2) the total number of participants included on line 6f (total participants at the end of the plan year) who have account balances at the end of the plan year. " Clearly Line 6g(1) is counts either a subset or all of the participants reported on Line 5. Participants who are eligible to defer but who do not have a balance at the beginning of the plan year are NOT included on Line 6g(1), but they ARE included on Line 5. The Form 5500-SF instructions are the same where Line 5a is the same as the Form 5500 Line 5 and Line 5c(1) is the same as the Form 5500 Line 6g(1). Note there is an EFAST2 edit check which may be contributing to the confusion: "Z-007 - WARNING - Fail when the total participant BOY count on Line 5 of the Form 5500, Line 5a of the Form 5500-SF, or Line 5a(1) of the Form 5500-EZ of the current submission does not match the total participant EOY count on Line 6f of the Form 5500, Line 5b of the Form 5500-SF, or Line 5b(1) of the Form 5500-EZ from the previous year's submission."