Do I have to be consistent year-to-year in using participation compensation vs plan year compensation in my prior year ADP testing?

Also, do I have to be consistent in the population used? That is, can I pull out excludables one year, then include them them next?

Our office has been using a paperless document storage solution called Edrawer since 2005. The Edrawer people are 'upgrading' their system and the new system just doesn't seem to be a good fit for our office. So the question is, what paperless document storage solutions are other TPA's using that are 'best fit' for a TPA operation. I'm not looking for a system that does workflow. I really want a system that 'acts' just like a regular fileroom with 'drawers' and 'folders' - any suggestions or discussion would be helpful.

Participant is 57, Plan NRA is 55. Can he withdrawal elective deferral money or does he need to wait until 59 1/2?

What is the earliest allowable NRA?

If an employee's initial FSA claim is incurred, denied, and appealed in Year 1, but the employee's appealed claim is subsequently approved in Year 2, what option(s) does the employer have to handle payment of the claim? Is there any IRS or DOL guidance on this issue?

Thank you.

I've discovered several deposits to a 401(k) Plan participant's individual "brokerage window" account during 2011. These were not disclosed to the Trustee nor was permission requested. I suppose the brokerage mailed monthly account statements to the participant, with an deposit slip to add more funds if desired.

To my mind, these are Voluntary Contributions. The document does not (and didn't) allow these at the time they were made.

Can the Plan do a retroactive amendment to allow the voluntary contributions? Can this be done using the voluntary self-correction program? Ever see this? I haven't.

I am a single member LLC. Last year I converted a SEP IRA to a 401k in order to be able to defer more income from taxes. Schwab tells me that I have to make contributions no later than 15 days from each payroll. I don't have a payroll. The LLC is a pass through enttity. My income is receipts minus expenses. There is no W2 involved.

Based on the IRS pub 560

http://www.irs.gov/pub/irs-pdf/p560.pdf

it looks like my 401k is a Qualified Plan: Defined Contribution Plan. Therefore my deferral is due by april 15 2012 for 2011 contribution. I'm very confused though as to whether this is correct, partly because I thought if there's no w2 then there are no "employees" or "employer."

Can anyone explain to me:

whether it's possible I don't have the defined contribution plan type of 401k?

when my deferral deadline is?

what deferrals I can make on my behalf as employee and my behalf as employer?

thank you so much.

I have a participant that has requested a hardship distribution to purchase the home he is in that he's leased for 3 years. The lease is up the end of March and he wants to purchase the home. He is unable to get a mortgage due to his credit and the lender has agreed to sell him the home if he can pay about $30K to bring the amount owed down to an amount he can afford. There are back taxes that are owed and I know this is not an eligible expense. What does he need to provide in order for this request to be eligible for hardship? Of can he?

If a plan document is amended, am I correct that the plan sponsor has to the end of the plan year to amend the plan document. Can someone tell me where it states the timing in the Code/Regulations?

An employer establishes 2 separate plans - one that covers laborers who are doing prevailing wage work and the other plan is established for all other employees not doing prevailing wage work. The plan that covers the laborers is not a safe harbor plan but the plan for the other employees is a safe harbor match plan. If they are passing coverage, can this be done? In other words, if some people are receiving safe harbot match and others are not, is that an ok plan design as long as we are passing coverage?

Is it permissable for earnings on a nonqualified Roth 401k distribution to be rolled over taxfree to a traditional IRA? I know nonqualified Roth distributions can be rolled over to another Roth 401k or Roth IRA are these the only permitted rollovers?

Plan is NOT an SH Plan at all and has a 401k feature with a pro-rata disc PS design (not used) and a discretionary match which is not being made. A Top-Heavy test is performed in Q1 2011 which shows that the Plan IS Top-Heavy for 2011 (based on 12/31/10 assets). By this time, keys have already deferred triggering the need for a 3% TH contribution which will be around $30k. Company says straight out they cannot afford it. What are their options at that time (Q1 2011)? Can key deferrals be returned at that time?

What if they thought they WOULD be able to afford it in Q1 2011 but, by Q1 2012 (when final tests are done), they can't anymore?

I know that all regs say "tough luck" but it just seems so wrong. I am puzzled that there is really no other alternative. What if the company is faced with a HUGE TH requirement and the only alternative is to shut down the company? I simply can't believe the DOL/IRS (which is usually there to protect employees/participants) would rather this contribution be made and everyone lose their job than find a way to "correct" the situation.

Anyone have additional thoughts?

Participant's 401(k) plan account includes employee after-tax contributions (post '87 and not Roth). After this individual terminates employment and requests a distribution from their after-tax account, some of that distribution would have to be considered a return of earnings, correct? Could that individual request a rollover to an IRA of just the taxable portion of their account and receive a distribution of just the after-tax contributions made to the 401(k) Plan - no taxable event?

If an employer makes contributions to a health FSA, outside of employee payroll deductions, are the employer contributions subject to the uniform coverage rule? I have an employer who wants to make monthly contributions to an FSA.

We have a small 3 person 401k plan. Husband and wife are owners with one other eligible NHCE. The plan year and fiscal year are calendar. Can the 2 owners delay depositing their personal 2011 401k contributions into the plan well into 2012? I know that sole props and partnerships have until 4/15 ((I think) to make that deposit, or at least until their income for the year is determined. Does something similar hold for S-Corp owners?

Thanks

We had a participant recently pass away in a 401k plan. The individual was recently separately but did not remarry (not sure if he was divorced).

We only have one beneficiary form completed by the deceased participant and he named his then-wife as the sole beneficiary. The new girlfriend is now calling up asking for the account balance because she is certain that the deceased named her beneficiary. When we explained that there is no paperwork to support her claim, she is getting upset and wants to know who is the beneficiary.

Does she, or anyone else, have the right to know this information? I wouldn't think so, as we only really need to speak to her about this if she has some "proof" that she truly is the beneficiary. Is that correct?

A similar question: what if the deceased individual was divorced and remarried, but never changed the beneficiary form. Would the new spouse still get nothing?

Thanks

If the divorced parent who provides health insurance changes to a plan where the out-of-pockets costs are much higher for the other parent than the original coverage, is there anything the parent who now has much higher out-of-pocket costs can do? The plan is not what is indicated on the QMCSO.

Assume that Joe X is designated as a participant in a voluntary deferral plan as of March 1, 2012. The 30 day "initial eligibility" rule permits him to elect to defer at any time up to March 30, and the deferral applies to wages earned after the election.

Can Joe X submit a deferral election on February 29 so that his March 1 wages are deferred? Or, does he have to wait for the window to start (on March 1) and then only defer wages from March 2 forward?

Common sense would say that an election before the start of the window is permitted, but the language does say "within 30 days after [initial eligibility]." Also, the preamble to the final regulations says that the rule is meant to follow the proposed regulations, and the preamble to the proposed regulations read as if only an election within the window is timely:

" ... a service provider newly eligible for participation in a plan may make a deferral election within the first 30 days of participation

in the plan, provided that the election may only apply to compensation with respect to services performed after the election."

My feeling is that there is no abuse by allowing elections before the start of the 30 day window, and that the 30 day rule was not intended to be a straight jacket denying deferral for the first day of eligibility. Any insight on this?

G

In my Roth statement for December 2011, I notice that there is an entry under Income Summary that says Year-to-date Taxable Dividend($142.82). I am a bit puzzled because I had assumed earnings in a Roth account are tax free. Is there any situation under which dividend earned on stocks/ETFs/Mutual Funds in a Roth account be taxable? Or could it be that a particular fund that I have in my portfolio the dividend on which is subject to tax?

Thanks for any possible insight.

Plan uses TPG as of 12/31/2011. Plan uses PY Testing. There is an employee who made more than $110K in 2010, who is not an HCE in 2011 due to TPG. However, the Plan uses PY Testing./

If I repeal the TPG for 2012, will that allow me to reclassify the employee as an HCE in 2011? The person made no 401k so it would help my testing (i.e., as an NHCE with zero, it's dragging down my testing).

Small church (fewer than 10 employees) is looking to offer it's employees a 403(b) option.

Looking for an option that offers Vanguard Funds and allows for very small contributions. IE: The direct Vanguard option wouldn't work as they require a minimum contribution of $50/pay period per fund.

I don't even know where to begin looking.

Any ideas?