My question relates to: a participant in a DB plan who has been in pay status for 5 years and we have not been presented with a QDRO. We have calculated the amount overpaid to him, but am struggling if we recover this amount with interest or no interest.

Thanks for your consideration.

Kind of a different situation....

Client has a 2008 DB funding range with approx. 50k-250k funding range due to past service and 50% cushion on max end.

Client actually funded 150k during 2008 but CPA only wants to deduct about 100k for 2008. Since the extra 50k was entirely contributed within 2008, but 50k is not going to be deducted, is it subject to 10% penalty tax. CPA said they'll pay the 10% penalty tax if it applies.

Seems odd to pay a penalty tax on a contribution within the deduction limits but "optionally" not deducted. Does the 10% penalty apply ? I'm thinking it would apply.

Can an plan administrators' QMCSO procedures provide that a QMCSO will not be honored if the QMCSO is not submitted to the plan administrator within 31 days of the date of the order?

Plan's AFTAP is 100%. Participant age 55 can elect early retirement and either start pension or defer to later start date. The lump sum option is available.

Question: Should election package disclose the risk of deferring the start date election that a full or any lump sum may not be distributable in a later year?

Does anyone see a non-discrimination issue or any other issue with a governmental plan (for a state university) limiting loan and hardship withdrawals to only participants who have accounts with the 2 approved vendors (so as to limit the need for Info Sharing Agreements- with vendors of those participants who haven't moved to the approved vendors and other compliance issues). If other particpants want loans they can exchange contracts for a contract with an approved vendor. Any thoughts?

It was released today.

If you are a Windows' user and you load and get error, you may need to update Windows (my computer is XP). Here is the link I followed:

"http://www.microsoft.com/downloads/details.aspx?familyid=5B2C0358-915B-4EB5-9B1D-10E506DA9D0F&displaylang=en"

I scrolled towards the bottom of the page and used this version: NetFx20SP2_x86.exe

The above message is provided as information and proceed at your own risk. My recommendation would be to call Relius for assistance.

The Relius program loaded fine and is a standalone system which is not integrated with the 5500 or SAR systems.

I have not yet compared results.

In the case where a DB and DC plan cover at least one key in both plans and the DB Plan is frozen, what is the DC TH minimum?

I'm a bit confused by this but think the answer should be easy. Assume the DC plan is not a 401(k). Also assume all DB participants are also covered bythe DC plan.

Is the TH min in the DC plan now -

0% if no contrbution is made.

The highest alloaction rate to any key if key receives 0% - 3%

3% if any key receives 3% or more.

5% because there is a DB?

Does the answer change if the DB is underfunded and the employer is making contributions to the DB Plan?

I'm pretty sure the 5% no longer applies becuase the DB accruals are frozen which puts us back in the lessor of 3% or highest key rate world; does anybody disagree?

An FSO performs services for a third party, but those services do not fully compelte the job without another set of services provided by a B organization. See, for example, Example 4 in Prop. Treas. Reg. Section 1.414(m)-2©(8).

Must the "significant portion of the business" of the B organization--necessary for a B org. ASG to exist--result from receipts received directly from the FSO, or can those receipts, resulting from the coordination of efforts, come from a third party?

Say, for example, an architectural firm performs 40% of its services for 3rd parties who are referred by a building contractor, but those payments come from the 3rd party. Neither party would have been hired without the architectural firm's rendering of the design and drawings, for which the third party paid. All else being equal--i.e., the other tests of B org. status having been met (which may not be the case in this example)--would the fact that the receipts received by the B org were not paid by the FSO mean there would not be, and could not be, a B org. ASG relationship?

An S-corp employer (calendar tax year) has a 401(k) plan (calendar year) that allows for a discretionary match.

For 2008, they intend to make a matching contribution, funding it sometime this spring/summer. Their speedy tax return prep firm got everything done before March 15, 2009 and filed the corporation's tax return on time without filing an extension (the client has never had their returns completed by the March 15 deadline for any of the prior 10 years. The tax return included a deduction for the 2008 match ($80,000) to 50 employees, which has not yet been contributed.

Under 404(a)(6), a taxpayer shall be deemed to have made a payment on the last day of the preceding taxable year if the payment is on account of such taxable year and is made not later than the time prescribed by law for filing the return for such taxable year (including extensions thereof).

I think it is too late to contribute a discretionary match now for 2008 since the extension was not filed?

Could they contribute and allocate for 2008 and then file under EPCRS to get the match allocated for 2008? Even if filing under EPCRS, no deduction for 2008 would be allowed anyway, or could EPCRS also allow that? No 415 limit issues and no 404 limitation issue would occur even if 2008 and 2009 both get deducted in the same year. To the client, this is mainly an employee relations issue, since the employees were verbally told that they can expect a match for 2008 based on their deferrals (the plan is clearly written as a discretionary employer amount).

We are located in Florida and we are at a site that is subject to FMLA.

We work in a call center and we have 3 scheduled arrival times. 8 am, 9:30 am and 11 am. We have an employee who works the 8 am shift and has a sick child (that she applied and was approved for intermittent fmla for). Because of the child, she is late most everyday (as in hours late). Because the department needs someone there first thing in the morning they would like to switch her to a later schedule (which she won't like).

I don't feel comfortable with them changing the schedule because she is late for a reason that is covered under the FMLA. If they change her schedule then she has to work later which she doesn't have to do now.

Any thoughts?

Thanks

I'm not sure they can do this. She was approved for intermittent leave to care for

Do Summary Annual Reports need to be completed for each plan year included in a delinquent Form 5500 filing under the DFVCP? If so, how would the group find the participants for each year? These are health & welfare filings.

Does anyone know if workers in a Puerto Rican division of a US based company can participate in a Section 125 Plan?

Sources seem to say no, but need some quotable language.

I'm looking for a software solution and would like some input. We're a smaller brokerage looking to administer COBRA for our clients. I'm leaning towards Travisoft so far and was wondering if anyone had any experience with the company that they'd like to share, or an opinion on another vendor to explore. Travisoft seems to have kept abreast of the recent ARRA changes and has updated their software accordingly, as well as posted a blog on the changes to keep their clients up-to-date. I also like that they are set up to handle state continuation of coverage as well as federal COBRA, a feature lacking in other solutions I've explored.

Any and all feedback would be tremendously helpful.

Thanks in advance!

We are almost ready to send our annual funding notice for the defined benefit plan. However, we cannot locate addresses for a handful of participants. We are searching. If we cannot locate them, what should we do? What is our responsibility regarding these participants?

A money purchase plan was merged into a PS/401(k) plan several years ago. The MP plan did not allow for in-service distributions. The PS/401(k) plan was recently amended to permit in-service distributions after age 59 1/2. Will the participant be permitted to take an in-service distribution from the entire vested balance?

What is the best way to correct this issue? Payroll failed to start loan payments for participant in June 2004. First payment was received 2/13/05 instead. Now 5 year period is about to be up and participant still owes a few hundred dollars more on the loan. Other than asking for participant to pay in full, what are the other options? I saw in ASPPA presentation slides from a recent webinar that if payroll does not start deductions on time there is an EPCRS solution - sited Leonard vs. IRS. I can't find this case by just a google search right now. Anyone know how this can be corrected?

Company X buys the assets of the Z division of Company Y. Company Y maintains a profit sharing plan for its employees. Assume that Company X is willing to accept a spinoff of the portion of the assets of the Company Y profit sharing plan attributable to the Z division employees. Company Y proposes to transfer only the vested portion of the affected participants' acccount balances. Does this result in a violation of a qualification requirement?

Many states are mandating coverage for dependents at older ages, or plans are making the changes on their own. How are you supposed to handle the premiums when you might have some dependents that qualify under IRS rules and some that don't?

For example:

EE elects coverage for Self & a qualifying child. Let's say the premium is $300 a month. This is paid pretax. At open enrollment, they add another child to the plan. This child does not qualify under IRS rules, but does under other rules. Premium is still $300, because it's one price regardless of the number of dependents. Can you still pretax the whole $300, or does part of it now need to become after tax?

(Note, no ER contribution to the dependent coverage, so we don't need to get into imputed income.)

Thanks for any thoughts.

Employer is instituting a severance program. Terminating employees will receive six months of coverage at the active employee rate. After that time, the employees may elect COBRA for the full statutory period. (For various reasons, the employer does NOT want to have the COBRA period run concurrent with the six-month subsidized continuation period.

Can the employees pay for the six months of coverage on a pre-tax basis from their severance pay? Section 1.125-1(a)(3)© state that "Premiums for COBRA Continuation" are qualified benefits under Code Section 125. Does that logic apply to "Premiums for NON-COBRA Continuation"?

(The COBRA subsidy is not a concern or at issue.)

Could somebody please point me to the most recent regulation on electronic distribution of SPDs? It's a typical Monday and I'm just not finding it. Thanks much!