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Getting stiffed for providing professional services in good faith almost always ends with a feeling of regret including what you shoulda, woulda, coulda have done differently to have avoided the situation. Your question in particular asks what would be ethical ways to proceed. As an EA, you are subject to the Joint Board for the Enrollment of Actuaries and its Standards of performance of actuarial services which includes guidance on what is considered "records of the client". You also should be aware of the ethical standards of any professional organization to which you belong such as ASEA, SOA, ASPPA, AAA... Generally, while there are differences between each organization's code of ethics, if you delivered work product prior to receiving payment for those services, you cannot withdraw or invalidate a client's reliance on that work product. Generally you do have a right, absent any formal contractual obligation, not to perform future services. You appear to have a direct relationship with the plan sponsors since you have filing authorizations and also because you personally sign the Schedule SB. If ultimately you decide not to perform future services for the client, you should notify them in time for them to find another actuary, but you may find in some of the applicable codes of ethics that you should not disclose the reason is the TPA did not pay your fees. If this is the case, consider offering to continue working directly with the client as a change in your business model. Keep in mind that it is the TPA that is not paying for your services, but it is the plan sponsors who are using and relying on your services. The ways to proceed you listed have an element of vengeance or punishment which commonly is driven more by emotion, and it is the plan sponsors (not the TPA) who would suffer by attempts to remove the SB. Temper the emotion, seek legal counsel about how to proceed about getting paid for services delivered, and get some guidance on the cost of exploring legal paths forward in terms your time and expense against the known cost of writing off uncollected fees. Do take some time to implement, maintain and follow the terms service agreements and engagement letters with the TPAs and clients.

The 1-rollover-per-year rule only applies to distributions from IRAs, which are rolled over to another IRA. They can roll over as many distributions from plans as they like. They could also roll over multiple IRA distributions to plans without violating the rule.

Though the listed authorities usually come out with estimates prior to the IRS formal release and their estimates are usually on point, they all still state they are estimates. Not sure when the IRS guidance will come out due to the government shutdown

@Peter Gulia, you may have seen this recent article titles Suit Says IBM’s Custom TDF Benchmarks ‘Insufficient’ https://www.napa-net.org/news/2025/11/suit-says-ibms-custom-tdf-benchmarks-insufficient/?ite=49712&ito=1681 It will be interesting to follow its progress to see if this type of litigation spreads to other plans, or even to mutual funds companies that use DIY benchmarks. This could be a motivation for a plan's legal counsel to provide input into a plan's investment benchmarks.

Yikes drakecohen. First, I agree with previous responses: 1. Lawyer up 2. Get a clear understanding of your professional obligations based on your credentials and memberships. While getting stiffed sucks (I still refuse to patronize businesses who stiffed me decades ago), you've got a business operation problem. You allowed this client to be 2 years in arrears. $30k is some serious money - that would keep me in beer and diesel for 20 years! I would immediately be sure you have written service agreements in place for ALL engagements. If long-time clients resist, explain that your E&O carrier requires them. At the same time, rethink your billing practices - start billing quarterly in advance or at least get 1/2 when the year end census request goes out and spell it out in the service agreement. As far as your deadbeat client, focus on recovering as much as possible and also prepare to walk away from that block of business. They left your circle of trust when they stopped paying you. If you want to try pulling their clients that you serviced , avail yourself of legal advice and don't run afoul of professional ethics/standards. None of the above will be as emotionally satisfying as the 5 actions you listed. If you need to drain some venom, visit the shooting range or rent an excavator for the weekend.

$12,000 is what seems logical, but... The plain language of 414(v)(2)(E)(i)(II) says 150% of the amount in effect for 2024, which would be $11,250.

Beyond law, listen, carefully, to Paul I’s observations about civility and practical sense. And about an ethics code that results from membership in a voluntary association, here’s one bit: “. . . . The Actuary shall not refuse to consult or cooperate with the prospective new or additional actuary based upon unresolved compensation issues with the Principal unless such refusal is in accordance with a pre-existing agreement with the Principal. . . . .” American Academy of Actuaries, Code of Professional Conduct, Precept 10, Annotation 10-5 https://actuary.org/wp-content/uploads/2014/01/code_of_conduct.8_1.pdf.

A form of this question was posed in the ASPPA 2002 Annual Conference - IRS Questions and Answers question 5: 5. If a 401(k) Profit Sharing Plan uses an individual funding vehicle with a $2,000 threshold and the business owners are able to immediately move into this funding vehicle that had multiple investment options, but non-owners with smaller 401(k) contributions are in a pooled money market until they reach the $2000 threshold, is this discriminatory? What if the threshold is $10,000? $25,000? $100,000? This is a benefits, rights and features issue and, depending on the facts, could either pass or fail. Also note that SDBAs got a lot of attention in EBSA's Field Assistance Bulletin No. 2012-02R, not about a dollar threshold, but about all of the disclosures that must be provided to all plan participants about SBDAs as an investment option.

Your description of the facts suggests you might lack a written engagement with a pension plan’s sponsor or administrator, and further might lack a written engagement with the plans’ service provider. Recognizing those and other complexities, lawyer-up. About those of the pension plans that are ERISA-governed, consider Standards of performance of actuarial services, 20 C.F.R. § 901.20 https://www.ecfr.gov/current/title-20/section-901.20. Get your lawyer’s advice about whether the State law that applies to each engagement provides your retaining lien on (i) your certificates and reports not yet paid for, and (ii) those of a client’s records in your possession. If State law provides you some retaining lien, consider the extent to which Federal law supersedes State law, restraining your rights by a duty to return a client’s records. For example, 20 C.F.R. § 901.20(j)(1). Consider distinctions between a client’s records and the actuary’s work product. This is not advice to anyone. BenefitsLink neighbors, what do you think about withdrawing a Schedule SB because it was not paid for?