Newly eligible employee completed company designed plan election form, selecting health plan and authorizing health insurance deductions pre-tax. However, the employee never completed insurance application and was thus never enrolled in the plan selected on company election form. Deductions (pre-tax) have been taken since the effective date of eligibility (3/1/10). Employee has decided that he now wants to opt out of medical coverage because he never got his ID cards. We think we should leave it up to the insurance company to help us fix our error by making the decision to back-date and enroll the employee, or deny and we refund the premiums (taxable) that we have taken since 3/1/10. Thoughts anyone???

Hello All,

Would anyone be able to provide me with some guidance on the journal entry flows for 457b and 457f plans.

A plan is active and uses a group annuity as 401(k) investment vehicle. Years ago the plan had invidual annuities as the investment vehicle and no contributions have been made to those annuities in probably ten years. Due to surrender charges on them, the participants had option to transfer 10% annually to their group annuity account as such was not subject to the surrender charge. Question: in my opinion, the participant may not roll over his individual annuity to an IRA if he is actively employed as the individual annuity is part of the Plan assets - his broker, however, told him he can. Answer?

A 20 participant DB plan will be terminating effective 8/31/2010. NOIT was provided to participants timely.

All benefit accruals were frozen in 2008 and all participants were provided with 204(h) notices at that time.

Is there any need to again provide a 204(h) notice upon plan termination? The rate of future benefit accruals will not be significantly reduced as all benefit accruals were already frozen in 2008.

Rev-Proc 2007-44 seems to have a caveat noting that not all amendments required for a terminating plan appear on the cumulative list. Does anyone know about any guidance or explanation about these deficiencies?

What do Form 8752 and Section 7519 refer to?

What official directive directs that a retirement plan must accelerate its amendment schedule when the plan terminates?

I have used CCH's Pension Plan Guide online since 1999 (and before that, the CD version and before than the hardcopy version, dating back to 1990).

Annual renewal is around the corner and I'm looking for an alternative, comparable product. The reasons are there have been some pretty steep price increases over the years, and the addition of IntelliConnect in 2009 was, in my experience, an IntelliDISConnect. (Prior to IntelliConnect, I thought the product was much easier and faster to use.)

For those that have had experience using this product but have switched, what did you switch to? Are you happier with the other product? Is your replacement product easier or faster to use to locate authorities or already known cites?

For those of you who may have been using a different product and have switched to PPG, what was the other product? Do you regret having made that choice?

Thanks in advance for all pertinent comments.

Is it permissible for a plan to grant units under a 409A-covered LTIP at a value based on the close of hte prior year? Company is closely held and intends to grant units throughout calendar year.

We will most likely be offering our traditional PPO plan and a new HDHP. Does anyone have any pointers, tips, etc. for Open Enrollment materials and teaching employees how the HDHP (along with a HSA) works?

Thank you for your help!

We are an employer who adminsters the DB retirement plan (28,000 participants) and retiree medical plan in-house. Various other departments within our organization utilize Documentum for electronic storage, and we are contemplating using it also for our employee benefit plan records.

We are familiar with the records retention requirements for benefit plans and are exploring an electronic media storage option.

Do any of you employers have experience converting to electronic storage for your plan participant files (e.g. benefit election forms, tax withholding, beneficiary designations, QDRO's, etc.), and if so, can you please offer any tips and/or considerations which should be addressed when evaluating this option. We also maintain separate retiree medical files (which may contain PHI) that we hope to also convert to electronic media.

Any insight is much appreciated.

Benny

Where can I find a checklist and program for health insurance and HRA Plans?

Does anyone know whether an amended Summary Annual Report must be distributed to participants if an amended Form 5500 is filed? Could not find anything addressing this issue in the DOL regulations or the ERISA Outline Book.

Top 25 HCE died and benefit is equal to LS value of accrued. My understanding is that spouse can only get the monthly LA that would have been paid to the participant. Or spouse can defer payment until participant is no longer in the Top 25 or until the plan terminates with enough assets to pay all benefits. But spouse cannot defer beyond 12/31 of the CY when the participant would have attained 70-1/2 (per plan document).

Spouse is older than the participant so installments would probably extend beyond spouses life expectancy.

Is my understanding correct? Are there other rules I may be missing?

Have been asked by self-funded church plan (so exempt from ERISA AND state law) whether it must comply with TAA of 2002.

I'm crunching through the TA Act and the Public Health Service Act to figure it out.

Often, federal requirements (i.e. HIPAA) attached, if at all, to church plans through the PHSA.

I'll figure this out eventually but thought I'd throw this out in case someone happens to know.

Thanks.

I am helping a small employer with DVCP and EPCRS correction programs after realizing that no 5500s were submitted, and prototype plan was never updated since 2002 (they *did* manage to get a good-faith EGTRRA amendment done in 2002).

Now it comes to light that, although ADP testing is required, it hasn't been performed.

All of the correction guidance refers to late corrections/contributions in connection with testing, but not to just missing testing all together.

I have advised client that testing is a core qualification requirement, and that testing back to 2002 needs to be performed now. If plan would have failed for any year, proper correction needs to be made now.

Then at least we have records to show tests were run, if ever requested, and we get the plan into true compliance.

My thought it, if plan would have passed for all years, we note in the EPCRS submission that it passed for all years (no details).

I expect client to think that this is a lot of work, but I've advised that terminating the plan (i.e. to avoid the work) is also not a solution, as terminating plans must be compliant.

Now that they have their TPA issue sorted out (years ago, a co. employee failed to pay the TPA's bill. TPA then 'resigned', but that employee didn't mention it, and left the co. TPA still answered questions, and even sent forms and assisted recordkeeper when regularly contacted by client, so client was surprised to learn, recently, that TPA wasn't 'really' their TPA, but rather sort of performing pro-bono type help here and there.

Anyway, does my advice to client on need to run prior testing seem right? I can't see any other option, but it's helpful to have a reality check, and/or to know if anyone else out there has ever seen a plan miss testing all together for several years...?

If you have submitted a VCP application in recent weeks and have not received your acknowledgment of receipt letter back (2008-50 Appendix E) this does not mean that it has been lost. The IRS has changed computer platforms (at least w/respect to VCP processing) and due to the change is not yet able to generate the VCP case numbers they stamp on the receipt letter before sending out. A VCP coordinator told me it may be a few more weeks before I get a receipt for an application I submitted on 6/29/10.

Just FYI.

The 2010 Schedule SB instructions for Line 11(d) read as follows:

"Enter the amount of the excess contributions for the prior year (with interest) that the plan sponsor elected to use to increase the prefunding balance. This amount cannot be greater than the amount reported on line 11c."

What is your read of the "(with interest)" piece of these instructions?

Does that mean that I have a signed election from the client with one number, but I will enter a different number (that elected number adjusted presumably with the prior year's effective rate) on line 11(d) column (b), or something else?

Joseph Carolan

One of my plans was not timely amended for 415 regs or PPA. I prepared an amendment that covered both of these. It was signed 2/16/10. (EGTRRA Restatement was signed timely).

I submitted to IRS using streamlined VCP with Appendix F Schedule 1 and check the box for "Final regs under 415" and check the "other" box and write in PPA.

The IRS tells me with regards to the 415 amendment - I need to submit Appendix F, Schedule 2 because "the amendment was signed outside of the remedial amendment period of 1/31/10."

For all I know she is correct but I can't for the life of me figure this out. DOes nayone know if this is a rule and if so where it comes from?

One person plan. Banc of America registered them with an incorrect ein and as a partnership when they opened the account over 10 years ago.

IRS doesn't recognize the incorrect ein so they require withholding. Withholding is reported by NFS under an omnibus account.

We have corrected the ein issue, and are close to being correctly classified as a retirement trust. Now we need the withholding back.

We tell NFS to do a 941-C to get the withholding back, since the money was sent under their filing/ein. NFS won't do this. They think we need to send a letter to IRS with the 1099's. But IRS doesn't recognize the ein when I call, hence the required withholding.

Any idea of how to get a return of withholding?