I have a one participant.

He has a DB plan from his consulting work (Sch C and K-1 income). He joined a sole-proprietor and participate in its DB plan (W-2).

Is there any problem here with 2 DB plans? 415? 404 deductible?

Thanks.

All references to paper Form 5500 filings under EFAST 1 have been removed from the 866-GOEFAST (866-463-3278). Also gone is the ability to verify if/when a paper Form 5500 was received.

When I called, the EFAST 2 rep took my info and the plan's info to leave a voicemail at the Office of the Chief Accountant. Supposedly, they will call and verify the filing was received.

Listen carefully to the options. While option 3 works in the same manner, it will say "the filing has not been received by the EFAST 2 system". The EFAST 2 system does not include history of paper filings, only EFAST 2 electronically signed & transmitted filings.

The phone number for the Office of the Chief Accountant is 202-693-8360.

I'm researching options to replace the tax calculation module in my existing pension distribution system. The best fit, so far, uses payroll tax tables and rules. Do pension income tax withholding rules differ greatly from payroll tax withholding rules? Where would I find the differences documented? Would anyone recommend a pension withholding specific tax calculation system? Is using payroll tax rules an acceptable practice? Thanks!

I have an individual who has never filed Form 5500, and always was subject to the EZ rules: owner-only plan, no other participants. Plan probably has been above the filing floor for 10 years or so. So, DOL's delinquent filing program is unavailable.

What are people's experiences in recent years with getting filing penalties waived/abated in these circumstances? (This has only happened to me once, about 5 years ago, with 2 Forms 5500-EZ--we did get an abatement after-the-fact.) The client will have a heart attack--and maybe me, too--if the filings are followed by penalty letters of $25,000 for each of 10 years!

The Corbel VS document says that interest credits are posted only once per year - at the end of the year. I have a calendar plan terminating and distributing August 1.

Do we:

1. Not have the current doc language?

2. Ignore the doc and credit interest to the distribution date?

3. Apply the document and apply interest only to the preceding 12/31.

4. Credit interest to the pay data because this is a plan termination and different rules apply (and that is kind of what is right anyways)?

I know there are Jeffersonian-like debates on whether or not you are allowed to credit interest only once per year but as a practical matter that is what this document says.

Opinion please. Ours internally are split. Thanks.

Does anyone know where I can find a checklist showing required and optional provisions of a cafeteria plan document to review them for compliance with IRC 125?

Using Relius Gov't Forms and Web Client for the filings. We are third party administrator firm with an actuary and our firm has signed up as transmitter and filing signer for the filings. On the bottom of the Relius Gov't Forms Plan Info Worksheet you enter information for when the plan gets published to Web Client. I have been using our e-mail address and our bosses name (with actuary in the drop down menu). I guess I should be leaving this blank since we don't need an email to tell us that it was published. Correct?

Also, while in Web client and signing as service provider (Web Client is showing "as preparer"), it has something about the Administrator popping up as I'm entering the user ID and PIN. Any one else having this problem? I continued to enter our credentials submitted the filing.

Salary.com and similar sites typically do not specifically address career positions that are devoted to the pension arena. Mostly I see "benefits generalist", administrator, analyst or other HR positions (recruiting, etc.)

Is anyone aware of a site or resource that provides comparative compensation information for pension professionals, in either consulting or corporate roles?

Wondering if anyone out there has experienced the problem that we have ~ as you know, if you mark the 5500 SF as being a one-person-plan, then you eliminate the need to answer some of Question #8 ("Other/Rollovers", etc.). We had a OPP, so we left those fields blank, as per the 5500 instructions. However, when we filed the 5500SF, it came back as a Stop b/c the form didn't balance!

So we had to use our collective brain power to figure out 1st of all "WHY" and second of all, how to get it "through" the filing!

Has this happened to any of you?? Was our collective brain power dim? Maybe there is a solution that we did not think of.

Thanks.

Sometimes when I hit save in a plan it give the error that the plan has already been electonically signed when we have not even published the plan yet? Does anyone else have that issue? This is in the Relius Govt Forms software - not in web client.

We have our clients sign and save their signatures, then we will efile the return. After signing the 5500 with the credentials, the systems states Signatures Saved. We then click EFile and send the return.

When and why would we use the "finish" button in the action grid? If a client signs the return and saves, then clicks finished, we cannot efile, we have to republish then efile. Any ideas?

I have a situation with a client that has me stumped. Existing 401a profit sharing plan effective in 2000. Employer discretionary contributions only, 100% immediate vesting. The TPA who set up plan was misinformed and thought the employer was a governmental employer (not subject to discrimination rules). So they set plan up to cover only a select group of HCEs. In addition, the employer has a 403b that covers staff employees (all those excluded under 401a plan). Now, 10 years later, a new TPA discovers mistake (employer is NOT a governmental employer) and thinks the original TPA tried to set up essentially a 457f plan using a 401a prototype plan document for governmental employer. Of course, because they thought the employer was a governmental entity, no Form 5500s were filed and the 401a plan has not been restated for EGTRRA (they in are Cycle A, 1/31/07 deadline). My mission now is to figure out how to correct this mess. Here's my proposal - establish 457f plan, transfer assets/liabilities from 401a plan to the new 457f plan and then terminate the 401a plan. What I don't know is what to do about the qualification issues with the 401a plan (discriminatory, no 5500s, no EGTRRA restatement). Do these even matter since the assets are being transferred to a nonqualified plan? Any suggestions or guidance would be greatly appreciated!

Must a retired 401k Plan participant (Single-K Plan) who turns age 70 1/2 in 2010 first satisfy their Required Minimum Distribution (RMD) before rolling over the entire Plan balance to their IRA?

They could of course delay taking distribution in this, the first year they must calculate their RMD, until April 2011; however, that would mean they would have to take two taxable distrbutions in 2011. For these purposes, they plan to satisfy their RMD from all sources in 2010.

There are different schools of thought on this. I believe they must first satisfy the RMD, but I am the minority in that opinion around here. Help!

I am the TPA of a 401(k) Plan. Participant has requested an in-service distribution of rollover account. The plan allows for this.

The distribution forms for the plan have a place for spousal consent and the Plan Administrator routinely reqires spousal consent for any distributions/loans from the plan. Normal form of benefit is Lump Sum. The Plan Document says that if normal form of benefit is not a QJSA, "all distributions can be made from the Plan to a Participant without the consent of the Participant's Spouse".

The participant requesting the distribution does not want to get spousal consent. Can we require Spousal Consent on this distribution as that is what we have been doing all along for distributions? Would the plan be in trouble treating this distribution differently?

Thanks much for your help with this!

My pension only gives credit for earnings up to $35,000, workers that earn more than $35000 earn no future pension benefits even though the employer contributes on those earnings above $35000. Is this legit?

Our ESOP plan documents state that all non-vested accounts be forfeited and allocated to remaining participants in the year after an employee terminates. It also states that if the terminated employee is re-employed prior to five one-year breaks, their account will be restored. We are in the process of hiring. A former employee, that would require restoration of their ESOP account at a significant cost to the company, has applied for the position. Would it be discriminatory to not hire him based on the financial impact to the company?

Has anyone else noticed that TIAA-CREF's document does not include the "20 hours per week" exclusion? Is there any scoop as to why it's not there, and whether or not there are thousands of sponsors who THINK that this group is excludable when in their plan document they are really not?

ok - I'm doing pretty well with these filings, once I'm on the website - but has anyone else noticed that there are problems with the site "hanging" or simply taking FOREVER to get from screen to screen? I was happy that I finally had some workable systems down with this and now the EBSA site is SOOOO slow.

I am working with a union that is establishing a plan to pay COBRA premiums for continuation coverage under the employer's health plan on behalf members that are laid off. We are running into issues regarding whether the union plan is subject to the COBRA continuation coverage requirements. The definition of "group health plan" is broad enough to cover the union plan and the definition of "covered employee" under the Code is broad enough to cover union members. This would indicate that the union plan is a group health plan subject to COBRA. The two primary "qualifying events" that could occur are death and divorce. We are considering two different design options to deal with the COBRA issue:

(1) Provide that there will be no loss of coverage under the union plan as a result of a qualifying event and thus no COBRA "trigger." As long as the dependent or spouse continues COBRA coverage under the employer health plan, the union plan will pay the premium. We are leaning toward this option.

(2) Comply with the general COBRA requirements, require the dependent or spouse to pay for the coverage and hope they will not elect to pay the premium. There will be issues if a qualified beneficiary did elect coverage, however, because they would be eligible for 36 months of coverage, but the union plan is only designed to offer coverage for the COBRA period under the employer health plan, which will be less than 36 months. We are not sure what to do about the period when the dependent or spouse would not meet the plan's eligibility requirements (because he or she had exhausted COBRA coverage under the employer plan), but had not exhausted the COBRA continuation period under the union plan. I did not find anything in the regulations allowing the COBRA continuation coverage to terminate based on a participant's failure to meet other eligibility requirements in the plan unrelated to the qualifying event.

I am no expert in dealing with COBRA, so I would like to know what we might be missing.

a MPP plan is freezing, future benefit accruals are ceasing? Would hours of service after the freeze date continue to be counted towards vesting?