If I want to view the latest available Form 5500 for our DB plan is there a way to do it on-line? A DOL website? Other?

If the assets of a multiple employer plan are held in a single trust and one of the employers terminates may the remaining employers use the forfeitures resulting from the termination to offset future employer contributions?

For purposes of this analysis, assume that forfeiture assets have been used to fully vest affected participants and that additional forfeiture assets remain. Assume also that the plan document is silent on this point.

Dear Members of Benefits Link:

I am writing to ask for your help in a dissertation study about performance appraisals and compensation decisions. I am a graduate student in the Department of Psychology at Southern Illinois University Carbondale.

The survey will take 10 to 20 minutes to complete. All your responses will be kept confidential within reasonable limits. Only people directly involved with this project will have access to the surveys.

Completion of this survey indicate voluntary consent to participate in this study.

Survey link: http://www.arc.siu.edu/cgi-bin/rws3.pl?FOR...eryDissertation

Questions about this study can be directed to myself or to my supervising professor, Dr.

Margaret Stockdale, Department of Psychology, SIUC, Carbondale, IL 62901-6502.

Phone (618) 453-8331.

There will be no future e-mails or messages regarding this study.

Thank you very much for taking the time to assist me in this research.

Meghan R. Lowery, Ph.D. Candidate

618-453-4180

mrlowery@siu.edu

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This project has been reviewed and approved by the SIUC Human Subjects Committee. Questions concerning your rights as a participant in this research may be addressed to the Committee Chairperson, Office of Research Development and Administration, SIUC, Carbondale, IL 62901-4709. Phone (618) 453-4533. E-mail: siuhsc@siu.edu

What are the tax consequences to the ER for disqualification to a DB plan?

I understand that the regs provide that if funded and has more than one participant, ER may take a contribution deduction only if a separate account is maintained for each employee. This doesn’t really make much sense to me. If the money is distributed to the participants, then the ER should get a deduction for the compensation paid to the participants. Thoughts?

The 50% lump sum restriction had been in effect for a calendar year plan effective 4/1/2009. There were six participants who elected to take the 50% lump sum and start an immediate pension. The plan sponsor contributed additional amounts in 2010 for 2009 so that at least for the time being distribution restrictions no longer apply. The sponsor would like to offer those six the opportunity to take the remainder of their pension in a lump sum.

I know we have the "annuity start date" issue. I have also been party to plan terminations where annuitants were offered lump sums.

Any thoughts on whether or not offer to allow participants to revoke their election and elect lump sum payment is doable?

Here is the situation:

Plan makes a Safe Harbor 3% contribution. In addition, they make an additional 4% ps contribution that has a last day/1000 hours requirement. Normally the last day/1000 hours would be tested through coverage but since both ps contributions are tested together that feature is not being tested.

So in practice, you have some participants only receiving a 3% contibution and some receiving the 3% and an additional contribution. So not everyone is getting the same "level" of benefit. Does this require "general" testing.?

I have a retiree who is at age 67, but his spouse is age 60. Is the spouse an "early retiree" for the purposes of the Program? Because the participant is over age 65, he is not an "early retiree" for the purposes of the Program.

Thank you!

Where could I find a current State Income tax witholding table for 401k distributions?

Does anyone have a link with information about this new program and how employers can collect and submit premiums to the goverment for employees that will be enrolling in this program? I didn't have much luck on Google.

Are we able to require dependents over age 19 to be full-time students for dental coverage after September? I have seen some language from HIPAA stating that we need to treat dependents over 19 as any other individual (similar situation individual) under the benefit plans. However, I think benefit plans is just referring to health coverage, correct?

Can the fee incurred to a third party advisor (i.e. not the custodian) for IRA distribution planning be paid to the advisor directly from the IRA without being treated as a taxable distribution?

Trying to find guidance about the definition of "calendar-year" according to the IRS. Have a client that bases end of plan year on last payroll date. Is this considered a "calendar-year" plan?

Good Morning

I am trying to figure out if a prototype document would be able to be amended to add a provision for the contribution of unused PTO (under Rev. Rul. 2009-31) and keep its prototype status. Normally under Rev. Proc. 2007-44 the good faith amendments have to be for issues related to qualification. I am just not sure if this falls under that, or if a prototype would have to wait for the next restatement cycle before adding this provision without risk of becoming an IDD. Any thoughts would be greatly appreciated.

Thanks

Can a safe harbor plan amend the plan mid year to add a 59-1/2 withdrawal feature. I believe changes can only be made as of the first day of the next plan year. The exception, as noted in IRS announcement 2007-59, woudl be to add a Roth feature or hardship withdrawal.

A participant in a 401(k)PSP will be part-time this year (<1,000, >500 HOS). While the participant is still eligible to defer, the DC plan is NOT Top Heavy. The client also has a DB plan, so would this participant still get the Top Heavy since the DB is Top Heavy, which would then initiate the Gateway in the DC?

When preparing a cash balance val should the projection rate be the same as the actual crediting rate for the year? For example, a 12/31/09 val credits at the 30 year treasury from the prior November (4%), but when the val is completed you know the November, 2009 30 year treasury is 4.31%. Can you use 4.31% in the val for your projection?

Employee was just rehired after a 6-year break in service. He had a couple of years of service, and was eligible to participate in the 401(k) Plan prior to the break, but did not elect to do so. Therefore, he was 100% vested in deferrals, and also 100% vested in the company matching contribution, but when he terminated, both of these were $0. So do we include the prior serivce or not under 411(a)(6)(D), which provides for excluding serivce for "nonvested participants." He was a participant, and "technically" 100% vested, but had no balance. Can we exclude the prior service or not? Can he be considered a nonvested participant if he was indeed a participant, and was at the 100% vesting level, but just didn't have any account balance because he elected not to particpate? Seems like 411 generally doesn't exclude serivce for vesting for years in which the participant elected not to contribute "salary deferral" type of contributions.

Plan allowed excess contributions and failed the ADP test for 2002. It needs to distribute excess contributions but 2 HCEs due distributions are no longer employed and already rolled their funds over to an IRA. Is there anything the employer can do to correct the defect as to these 2 former employees?

This involves a jointly-trusteed multiemployer health and welfare fund. I was wondering about the fiduciary implications for a participating employer when the employer refuses to pay a COLA adjustment when the bargaining agreement has expired and the employer kicks the employer out of the fund. I've researched the issue and found that there is at least an argument that a COLA increase is not a term and condition of employment and does not have to be maintained (not part of status quo). My question, however, is what happens if the Fund kicks the employer out of the plan rather than filing a NLRB claim? Obviously the employer would provide insurance under its own plan, but would there be any type of breach of fiduciary duty on the part of the employer for not paying the increase. More generally, are participating employers fiduciaries?

At the Los Angeles Benefits conference, the topic of tax practitioner registration as it relates to third party administrators of qualified retirement plans and preparation of Form 5500 was discussed. At the time, the impact of the registration requirements for this group was unknown.

Does anyone have further or more current information on this issue?