Self-employed sponsors a retirement plan. Plan has been in existance for years. I found out today that the self-employed has another separate sole proprietership. The plan document is non-standard; the self-employed doesn't benefit and there aren't any other hce's so coverage testing not an issue.

The issue is whether we the seperate business can be exlcuded just not having adopted the plan? Generally that is the case, but can a self-employed really have 2 separate sole-proprieterships?

Thanks in advance for any guidance.

If a plan has its assets in a pooled account, and participants take loans, does the interest get paid back to the trust as a whole, or do we need to separately account for the interest per person who took a loan?

Is it possible to revise payment formula for amounts that have not yet been earned? For example, consider a nonexempt SAR having a present intrisic value of $100. Is it permissible to amend formula (with participant's consent) to impose a maximum payout that's some amount greater than $100? On one hand, participant has a LBR to future appreciation, but on the other hand the change would only affect a right to value that hasn't yet been created. Thoughts?

DC Plan has a 1-year service requirement for elective deferrals, and a 2-year service requirement for fully vested employer contributions. Plan is top heavy, so N-Ks receive the TH minimum if they have satisfied the 1-year service requirement, even if they haven't satisfied the normal 2-year service requirement for employer contributions. Does the minimum gateway have to be made for N-Ks who receive a TH minimum but haven't satisfied the 2-year service requirement for regular employer contributions? Yes, they "benefit" under the Plan by virtue of the TH requirements, but it doesn't seem logical to require that they receive more than the TH minimum.

Participant termiates, is later rehired. Under the plan document this participant is immediately eligible. Plan has an automatic enrollment feature. If the participant doesn't make a new salary deferral election should that participant be automatically enrolled? My inclination is yes, but I don't see it specifically addressed in the plan document.

Thanks in advance for any guidance.

Let's say a participant's high 5 of last 10 for his Average Monthly Comp is currently $50,000. The participant continues to work for another 10 years at a much lower comp rate so upon termination high 5 of last 10 is $25,000. His/her final accrued benefit is calculated using the $25,000, correct? The plan defines AMC as high 5 of 10 Years of Service where Year of Service is defined as 1,000 hours worked.

Help no longer needed. If you need help and the facts are the same, please feel free to send me a personal message and I'll do my best to walk you through this mess.

Facts:

-- File 2009 5500-SF for Defined Benefit Plan. I will be submitting in behalf of client.

-- Have applied for signing ID

-- Am using Relius IFILE xml export

-- Have passed Relius validation

-- xml successfully inported into efast without error but shows "in progress"

Ouch:

-- I have looked at xml file and even though client signed copy of first two pages of 5500-SF was added in Relius, file does not appear in xml.

-- When I get to efast website, I don't see in drop-down menu where to add attachments.

-- I spoke with the DOL who referred me to 130 page manual which I was unable to search for answers.

Plea for Help:

Would sincerely appreciate it if someone who has successfully filed a DB 5500-SF via IFILE would send me a personal message with a telephone number. Would appreciate being walked through process.

Help no longer needed. If you need help and the facts are the same, please feel free to send me a personal message and I'll do my best to walk you through this mess.

Facts:

-- File 2009 5500-SF for Defined Benefit Plan. I will be submitting in behalf of client.

-- Have applied for signing ID

-- Am using Relius IFILE xml export

-- Have passed Relius validation

-- xml successfully inported into efast without error but shows "in progress"

Ouch:

-- I have looked at xml file and even though client signed copy of first two pages of 5500-SF was added in Relius, file does not appear in xml.

-- When I get to efast website, I don't see in drop-down menu where to add attachments.

-- I spoke with the DOL who referred me to 130 page manual which I was unable to search for answers.

Plea for Help:

Would sincerely appreciate it if someone who has successfully filed a DB 5500-SF via IFILE would send me a personal message with a telephone number. Would appreciate being walked through process.

A plan sponsor had a 401k safe harbor basic match and profit sharing plan for 2009.

They issued the 401k safe harbor basic match notice for 2010.

In August 2010 they implemented a new 401k safe harbor profit sharing successor plan and a db plan.

They intend to terminate the old 401k plan.

It seems that the new 401k plan can not be a safe harbor for 2010 but can be for 2011.

The 2010 safe harbor can only be in connection with the old 401k plan.

Are we in agreement with that?

And finally can the match (which is contributed after the plan year in 2011) now be contributed to the new 401k plan even though it is based on the original 401k safe harbor?

thanks

Under the plan asset rules there are certain plan investments in entities cause the entity's underlying assets to become plan assets. If it were the case that the plan asset regulations caused the underlying assets of the entity in which the plan had invested to become plan assets and the entity had many subsidiaries, would the assets of the subsidiaries (1st tier, 2nd tier, 3rd tier, etc...) also become plan assets? I cannot find any interpretation of the phrase "underlying assets of the entity." It seems that assets would include all property-including interests in other entities (like subsidiaries). But it seems ridiculous that the plan asset rules could pull the property of many subsidiaries in a huge chain of companies into an investing plan's assets.

Any help?

Company A has a Simple IRA.

Company A owners bought assets only of Company B who had a 401(k) Plan that was not part of the assets purchased/

Can a Simple plan be set up 10/1/10 for Company B with immediate eligiblity (Company A is not immediate)?

How do the limits work between what they contributed in the 401(k) and if they can have a Simple IRA?

Any same desk rule?????

Thanks

Pat

Looking for a case that holds that a retirement application is a plan document for purposes of ERISA. If you know of scuh a case, please pass along name and/or citation.

Thanks

Got a non-key HCE who is having all of his match refunded to him due to the 2009 ACP test (no NHCE's deferred).

1) Does he still need to get the top-heavy minimum?

2) Does the answer change if the non-key HCE is 0% vested, and therefore forfeits all of the match?

For a plan with a beginning of year valuation that had late quarterly contributions in the prior year, when determining the valuation assets for the current year, can someone confirm that the contributions made for the prior year after the current valuation date are still discounted using only the effective interest rate and no additional discount is applied for the late quarterly interest?

We have a client with a participant who did not receive an RMD, then 2 years later received a lump sum distribution of his entire account and rolled it over to an IRA. Client filed an EPCRS submission and requested a waiver of the 50% excise tax, and told the IRS it would notify the former participant of the missed RMD so that it can be distributed from his IRA.

If the participant does not take a distribution from his IRA, what happens? The RMD amount's are gone from the client's plan so correction by that plan can't be made by a distribution. If the former participant does not take a distribution within the 150 day correction period, does the excise tax waiver go away?

A prospective not for profit client has a DB plan and a 403(b) plan that includes employer contributions. Can the two plans be aggregated for 410(b) testing? Thanks.

Is it possible to amend a plan to change the way a benefit is calculated upon the occurrence of a contingency that has not yet occurred (and is not presently expected to occur)? For example, if one of the payment events is a change in control, and we want to amend the plan to provide that benefit will be calculated by applying a multiplier to the benefit that would be otherwise payable under the existing benefit formula.

For example, assume benefit formula would produce a benefit of $100k if participant separates from service. Amended plan would provide that if pmt event is a CIC, then it's 1.1 times the amount otherwise paid: $110,000. Alternatively, what if the multiplier is .9 times so that payment would be $90,000?

Assume benefits are not presently subject to a SROF.

I have a large plan that would like to add a restaurant note into the plan. Is this possible? Are there limitations?

Does the purchase of the note need to be made available to everyone?

I have googled, and searched every which way but am unable to locate anything that references this matter....

My client has identified several Participants that were never enrolled in the plan, and require a QNEC to correct the missed contributions dating back from 2009. However, they have set them up in our Recordkeeping system in the meantime, and intend to have them go through the automatic enrollment process (QACA).

My client is stating that the Participants should be enrolled at 4% rather than the normal 3% automatic enrollment. They feel that this is necessary since the Participant would have experienced a 1% automatic increase in January 2010. However, they are also asking if they should be given the 30 day opt out period, or if they should be manually enrolled immediately at 4%.

Question: Is the automatic enrollment at 4%, is that the correct method for the QNEC plus earnings ?

Under the provisions of PPACA, a grandfathered plan can elect to exclude certain adult children from coverage under the plan if they are eligible for health care coverage through their employer.

Looking for some thoughts on whether the plan sponsor of a grandfather plan can limit the scope of the eligible employer coverage exception so that the exclusion would not apply to full-time college students. In other wrods, would it be a violation of PPACA or the reguations issue thereunder, if a plan sponsor adopted a rule stating that adult children who have employer based coverage would not be covered under the plan; provided, however, that if such is a full-time student the exculsion would not apply and the adult child would be allowed to remain in the plan.

Any thoughts or opinions would be appreciated.