it is an odd question but do Plan Administrators have any discretion to require that distribution request documents are notarized by the participant. in this case they are suspicious that maybe the participant is not at the address and they when they call someone else answers the phone.

Does an arrangement where the employer reimburses employees for their deductible need a plan document. It is essentially an HRA, correct? Or is it ok to just have an arrangement to do this without a more detailed HRA document?

Is it eliminated only when the ERISA full funding limit applies?

Eliminated when either the ERISA FFL or the RPA 90% override FFL applies?

There are several Gray Book questions that address the elimination of the amortization bases when a FFL applies (bases are eliminated when either ERISA or RPA override applies). Only one GB question addresses the elimination of the RA, and suggests that it is eliminated only when the ERISA limit applies.

If the RPA 90% override FFL applies, and the amortization bases are eliminated for the following year but the RA remains because it is not eliminated (because the ERISA FFL did not apply), then the Rev Ruling 81-213 "experience loss" base would need to be established as

Credit Balance + Reconciliation Account + Unfunded Liability (limit 0).

Critiques?

Must employers of employees resident in Texas who may cover their children in fully insured group health plans cover those dependents until age 25 regardless of student status?

In review of the description of contents to be included in the Notice of Plan Benefits, I have written up comments to be included. I am curious if there is a sample out there with wording that I could compare it to and then make adjustments. I am attaching below the draft of what I have written up but I'm more curious to review other samples and then keep working on mine, rather than necessarily having mine reviewed. Thank you.

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Please note that these amounts are estimates, final values will likely differ and may be greater than or less than the estimates.

Other forms of benefit available include lump sum and, to married participants, 50% Joint & Survivor, 66 2/3% Joint & Survivor, or 100% Joint & Survivor. There is also a pre-retirement death benefit for married participants.

As detailed in section 1.02 of the Plan Document, the present value of accrued benefits is calculated using the mortality table published by the IRS in Revenue Ruling 2001-62, 2001-53 C.B. 632 with the interest rate being the 30-year Treasury rate for the second month before the year in which the lump sum is distributed. The applicable interest rate may change before the distribution date. Interest rates are calculated using your mortality from your current age to normal retirement age. They are then multiplied by your annual benefit to produce the present value. The use of higher interest rates results in smaller lump sum amounts. Lump sums up to $1,000 may be paid without the consent of the participant or the participant's spouse.

Note: Every effort has been made to provide you with an accurate statement of benefits.

In the event of an error, the appropriate plan provisions and records of the Company are controlling.

If you do not contact Mr. Johns at xxx-xxx-xxx at the Company (999 Downtown Street, Chicago, IL 12354) by July 31, 2006, we will assume you confirm the information used to determine your benefit.

We have a client that made a large profit sharing contribution to a 401(k) plan on 1/3/06 for the 6/30/05 plan year. Deferral contributions did not start until 10/01/05. Can we skip the 6/30/05 plan year filing and file the initial 5500 for a new plan with the plan year ending 6/30/06 since that is when all cash contributions started? Thanks.

I am able to pruchase most trade association directories from the associations thenselves, but unable to do so with CEBS. I am currently doing a few senior level searches for Health and Welfare, Managed Care, and Insurance professionals. Should anyone out there want to advise me to a directory for sale or sell an older copy to me, I may be reached as follows: kmerrell@premiereassociates.com

I have exhausted my search of normal research channels, and have been frustrated by the lack of information on what constitutes a master trust and how one is formed/operated. Hoping someone here can help me.

I have an employer who wants to set up a separate plan at each of his two sites. He works with a couple of brokers, and likes to do recordkeeping himself. He wants to have a "balance forward" arrangement where all participants in each plan share in trust activity, and the recordkeeping is done once a year. I believe this would constitute a master trust because it is 2 different plans maintained by a single employer, with assets not segregated between the two plans.

What do I need to consider in this arrangement? I assume a separate trust agreement needs to be written for the trust, but does that trust need to file anything? 5500s?

Any insight would be appreciated.

The AGI limit on IRA to Roth IRA conversions will be repealed this week for a 5 year period.

Aside from the fiscal wisdom of Congress (for adopting it) or particiipants (for converting to Roth), does anyone see any issues with amending our profit sharing and matching contribution provisions to allow in service distributions for participants with 5 years of service and for contributions made at least 2 years ago.

The idea would be to allow participants to take an in-service distribution of non-401(k) funds and roll to a traditional IRAs that they could then convert to Roth IRAs.

Is the 5 year/2 year rule that easy?

Is there some discrimination issue if only HCEs somehow are the only ones taking the distributions?

http://www.ca9.uscourts.gov/ca9/newopinion...pdf?openelement

Miller v Xerox Corp. (9th Circuit 5/8/06), at the above link, deals with offsetting the accrued benefit in a floor-offset plan for an earlier distribution from a defined contribution plan. Miller requires limiting the offset to the "accrued benefit attributable to the distribution" within the meaning of 1.411(a)-7(d)(6)(i). Miller requires, I think, calculating the accrued benefit the lump sum value of which, on the date of the earlier distribution, equals the earlier distribution. My question is, where the earlier distribution was a lump sum, is this actuarial equivalence to be calculated using the plan's interest rate and mortality table for lump sums or the plan's interest rate and mortality table for annuities? The logic of Miller seems to require using the plan's interest rate and mortality table for lump sums.

We are considering a move away from Datair, after more than 20 years with that firm. There are a few requirements that a replacement system should meet in order to be suitable for us. First of all, it must be small-plan friendly. We have about 100 DB (including 412(i) plans), and the largest plan has about 30 participants. We have about 400 more DC plans, with the largest plan having perhaps 3,000 participants.

We also need a decent proposal system as a part of this. The output need not be beautiful, only readable. However, it absolutely must accomodate the type of creative plan designs that we have come to know to and love. (PLANGEN and like services need not apply. FYI, PLANGEN is not only restrictive as to plan design, it is only an assist to manually computed actuarial valuations. I'd never get through 100 plans yearly if I hade to do more than half of the work manually.)

Also, Datair provides documents, which would be a plus, but not mandatory.

Does anyone have any ideas on a suitable replacement system for our firm? What about document systems (prototype and volume submitter), as well as proposal and valuation systems? Any ideas or recommendations about past experiences would be appreciated.

Thanks in advance! Carol Caruthers, MSPA, EA for E. Dominic Firmani

A client is asking "what is the penalty for not having a Surety Bond in place for 2005". I've researched various technical references, but do not see any language that addresses this. In the meantime, I've already found a Surety company that will write a 2005 bond if/when the 2006 bond is purchased. Nonetheless, the client is pressing me for an answer. Thanx.

If an employee terminates with family coverage, covering a spouse and two children, and there are a multitude of health insurance plans available through a multitude of carriers through the employer, can the employee and his/her QB's enroll in any plan of their choosing? We recognize that the insurance companies may have an issue with accepting a QB's election due policy, but is there in something in the COBRA law that says something other than you must step back into what you had before the qualifying event occurred?

Can someone tell me the definition of a Key Employee for purposes of Top Heavy Testing.

I always confuse this in my head.

Thanks

Is this something used by an auditor for large plan filing? If small plan filings (using Sch I) require this, where can I find out more information? Thanks in advance

Participant elects the following as his beneficiaries:

Spouse 50%

Son 50%

Since the spouse is not 100% beneficiary, does the spouse have to sign off on naming someone else the beneficiary. Does the percentage have any affect on this ruling? Is there somewhere I can look that states this ruling?

Thanks

Jill

I'd like someone to point me in the right direction for information there may be on cashing in my SEP IRA immediately without penalty if I have a diagnosed terminal illness. I have about a year to go, maybe less. I do understand there will be tax to pay as it will be considered income. Tks.

I was wondering if anyone has heard anything from the IRS regarding Code Section 412(i) plans and IRS Announcement 2005-80 Settlement Initiative. I understand that these reviews will be centralized. An IRS representative recently stated to me that plan sponsors would be contaced in the next couple of weeks to discuss participation in the program. Has anyone heard anything yet on this subject?

Thanks in advance. Ed

My understanding is that pick-up contributions are subject to the same limitations on in-service distributions as vanilla employer contributions (i.e., retirement, disability, termination of the plan, etc.), under the general rule that pick-up contributions are treated as employer contributions for plan-qualificaton purposes. Employer, however, is not quite ready to give up hope that there is some mechanism by which they can be distributed in connection with a participant's transfer from one of the employer's plans to another (the way that some mandatory after-tax contributions to DB plans are, see, e.g., Rev. Rul. 60-281). Is there such a mechanism? If so, I haven't been able to find it. Thanks.

In what instances would you have to run 401(a)(4) testing on a Safe Harbor 401(k) Integrated PSP?