I am looking for a little guidance.

We have 2 plans: Hourly vs Salary. 2 Different matching Formulas. The salary group (with most of the HCEs) receives a more generous match. Due to coverage issues, the plans were merged together on 4/1/08 at which time, the Salary plan's match was decreased to the level of the hourly plan. So from 4/1-12/31/08, they are all on the same formula. Do I need to worry about BRF for the time period 1/1-3/31? If so, they would fail BRF. How do you correct it? Is it as simple as giving a more generous match to enough Hourly NHCEs in order to obtain a passing ratio? If so how do you select which NHCEs receive the additional match?

Any help would be greatly appreciated!

Prospect is an S-corp that has never taken W-2 in the past. She intends to take W-2 for the first time in 2008. If a new plan is set up for her, and I run it as an end of year valuation to account for the salary she takes in 2008, will I have a funding target that can be used to maximize her deduction?

She has the past service to give her a benefit, but as of the beginning of the year, her average salary was $0?

Any thoughts would be greatly appreciated.

Thanks!

Under PPA, once a new plan has been designed, there doesn't appear to be any first year funding flexibility, other than that caused by the timimg of contributions.

If using a BOY valuation date, the FT is $0 (415 $ limit, with no YOP). So, the cushion amount is $0.

So, the maximum contribution is equal to the minimum contribution (TNC), as adjusted for date of payment.

Comments, please!

For example, would it help to switch to EOY valuations?

Under PPA, once a new plan has been designed, there doesn't appear to be any first year funding flexibility, other than that caused by the timimg of contributions.

If using a BOY valuation date, the FT is $0 (415 $ limit, with no YOP). So, the cushion amount is $0.

So, the maximum contribution is equal to the minimum contribution (TNC), as adjusted for date of payment.

Comments, please!

For example, would it help to switch to EOY valuations?

I need clarification on this. Partners can make elective deferrals on draws during the year (guaranteed payment or not a guaranteed payment)? If the partners decide to terminate the plan on let's say 11/1 would the partner then have no income for plan purposes since his income is determined on 12/31?

According to the DOL's FAB 2007-02, an employer could not, consistent with the 2510.3-2(f) safe harbor (for non-ERISA plans), have responsibility for, or make, discretionary determinations in administering the program. Examples of such discretionary determinations are making determinations regarding eligibility for or enforcement of loans.

Does this mean that, when choosing options for a volume submitter plan, if the employer chooses for the plan to not allow loans, the plan falls outside the safe harbor, and thus becomes subject to ERISA?

Hi

I need help - I recently retired, did a rollover from 401 to traditional IRA Money Market until I decide which investments to move funds. I am an extremely conservative investor.

Since the market is not stable, I would like to put

25% of funds into a 3 yr cd paying 4.4

25% of funds into a 4 yr cd paying 4.6

50% of funds into a 3 month cd (paying almost nothing)

I would like to make a decision in a few months about the 3 month cd.

Any thoughts or advice??

Also , any thoughts if i move the available amount out of my brokerage firm to an investor in 3 months?

thank you for any help

char

NRA is 55 in this db plan

the definition of late retirement is paid as though he had actually retired plus additional accrued benefit

my question is... must he take it as an annuity or can he take a lump sum (or partial)

Thank you,

Andrew

famous last words, but this report should print a 1 page diversification report for all employees who have stock, have attained age 55 and 10 years of participation. it should also list their year of diversification (if they have less than 7).

under 'details' their are 2 highlighted fields which list the account name. these would probably have to be changed to match whatever you may have. (The particular plan I have has the cash account, a tainted share account and an untainted share account, so I had to pull data from 2 accounts and none others)

You would have to edit the share prices and or dates to match whatever it should be, and possibly some of the verbage (depending on whether this is a preliminary notice or a final notice to participants)

hey, it may not be the greatest report, but it appears to work fine on the plan I have.

Who sets the discount rate, expected rate of return on assets, etc. when preparing the FASB report? Is it the actuary, auditor, or both?

S corporation and a disqualifed plan or CAP (Closing Agreement program); how does the flow through nature affect either the loss of deduction on the tax form or the MPA (Maximum Payable Amount)? Please provide reference to official source.

How does this affect the deduction flowing through to the tax return of the recepient of the S corporation's effects?

For a disqualified plan, does the loss of deduction for the 1120, 1120S or schedule C on the 1040 occur absolutely or to a degree (i.e. the degree nonvested)?

For a disqualified plan, does the loss of deduction on the 1120, 1120S, or schedule C on the 1040 occur absolutely or to a degree (i.e. to the degree nonvested)? If so, why does a qualified plan just a deduction of all amounts, vested or non-vested? Please provide a supporting reference in an official source.

Please describe how parsonage/housing allowances are offered in 403(b) programs. Requests for proposal often include a reference to "recordkeeping" the parsonage/housing allowance. What is involved? Does it entail allowing or deferring a parsonage amount? Or is it allowing a designated amount of the distribution to be withdrawn tax free? Are Sponsors expected or required to provide the taxable and nontaxable portion of such withdrawals?

I have a client that contributes to a multiemployer defined benefit pension fund under two collective bargaining agreements, one covering one type of employees and one covering another type. The client wants to pull all of the employees covered by one of the CBAs out of the DB plan and instead cover them under a single employer DC plan that it will create (and we'll assume for now that it will be a jointly trusteed Taft-Hartley single employer DC plan).

This switch from DC to DB would occur under a new CBA is negotiated between the parties. Is there any way that the employer can avoid withdrawal liability here? It seems to me that pulling out the whole group covered by the CBA would be a partial withdrawal under ERISA 4205(b)(2)(A)(i), and that there isn't a way to transfer the DB liabilities to the DC plan to get a reduction under ERISA 4211(e), as we would if the employer were starting its own DB plan.

Any ideas?

Hello,

Question for you all that perhaps you can help me with...

I have a plan that has a non-calendar plan year end (September 30) and due to their allocation of a fairly high profit sharing contribution several participants are exceeding the 415 limit for 2008 of $51,000 (for participants age 50 and over).

My question is this -

I have a participant who has a 2007 calendar year deferral of $16,200 (of which $700 is considered to be catchup). Their Year to date 2008 calendar year deferral is $12,500.

The total amount of allocated contributions for the plan year is $56,479.54, which is $10,479.54 over the 415 limit of $46,000. Do we claim $5000 (from 2007) as his catchup amount (even though he only contributed $700 towards the catchup amount) or do we use the $5000 for 2008 due to a 415 limit failure (even though he has not yet contributed this amount) ? I am assuming we only use the $5000 for 2008 since this is the last amount in that caused the 415 limit failure.

Any thoughts are appreciated. Thank you!

The final regulations state: "The six-month delay rule, required for payments due to the separation from service of a specified employee, must be written in the plan ... such provision must be set forth in writing on or before the date such service provider first becomes a specified employee."

A specified employee has a severance agreement that provides for short-term base salary continuation payable only on an involuntary seperation from service. His salary is such that the severance would never exceed the 2x limit.

Q: does the severance agreement need to include a six month delay provision, even though it will never apply? I would have thought that the answer would be "no" since the severance is exempt from 409A, but the plan rules in 1.409A-1©(3)(v) seem broad enough to require inclusion.

Any thoughts would be greatly appreciated.

We have a client that has an LLC.

For purposes of this post we will assume that there are two partners and 2 additional employees.

The client has a DBPP and 2007 calendar year is their first plan year.

Say the LLC does the following

1. Makes a guaranteed payment of 100k to each partner

2. Makes a deductible pension payment of behalf of employees of 20k

3. The net loss of the partnership, after guaranteed payments and pension contribution for employees is 300k in total and 150k for each partner.

First of all my understanding is that the pension contribution on behalf of the partners, if deductible, is deducted on the personal tax return of the partners and not on the LLC return. Are we in agreement with that?

A few questions regarding the partners and their personal tax returns:

1. Do we agree that the partners pay SE tax on the 100k of guaranteed payments?

2. Do we agree that the partner will show 100k of income on their 1040 from guaranteed payments, which are offset by a loss of 150k for a net income loss from the partnership of 50k?

3. Do we compute the minimum funding based on the GP of 100k?

4. If the minimum contribution for the partner is say 50k, is it non deductible for 2007 (and carried over until a later year) since the net earned income is a loss of 50k?

Are there any other interpretations or reference sections?

Thanks

Question: Is there any issue in using the transition relief under 2007-86 to change the time of a vested separation payment currently set to be paid out upon a specified employee's separation from service over to an earlier fixed payment date? For example, suppose a specified employee entitled to a separation payment anticipates separating from service and receiving the payment in mid-2009 but, using 2007-86, instead elects to receive the entire amount in January 2009 prior to separating from service. The result of the change is that the employee not only gets the payment sooner because of moving up the payment date but also avoids the 6-month delay that would apply if the amounts were paid upon separation from service by changing the payment trigger from separation from service to a fixed payment date.

Does the answer change at all if the election is made proximate to a downturn in the financial health of the employer?

We are considering setting up an HRA for this upcoming plan year. I would like to reimburse only those eligible employees who have medical expenses. This would be a pay-as-you-go with no rollover feature.

So here's my example, if my company says it will pay the 1st $500 of my $1000 deductible, and I have no medical expenses that require a deductible during the plan year, is the company still liable to me for the $500 or it's just $500 the company saves by not having to reimbuse me?

Thanks.

I've been using this site for over 10 years in my various positions and love the level of expertise so this is my first stop. I am in a new position at a large company (3,000+ ees). The day I accepted the position, the 401(k) recordkeeper "fired" us so my first assignment is an RFP. We have a safe harbor 401(k) with a leveraged ESOP match so that might limit us, but we are considering removing that feature to retain the right recordkeeper. We have a Roth feature as well. Three loan limit. Nothing out of the ordinary for a large plan.

Anyway, let me get to the point. We are a "big fish" and we need comprehensive services that allow company stock, collective trusts, actively managed funds, and target date funds. No brokerage. I am sending the RFP to the "big fish bowls" - Fidelity, Citistreet, Principal, etc. But I wanted to ask if anyone has a favorable (or unfavorable) opinion or experience with providers. We are under the gun to get this in place by mid-February. I know, it seems impossible, but with benefit plans, we all know nothing is impossible, right?

If I did not provide enough info, please post and I'll fill in the blanks.

ANY HELP at all is greatly appreciated! Thank you!