Argument at the office...

If you have a brand new company with an older owner, let's assume 63 years old and looking at starting a DB plan. I thought you were confined to using a pretty standard definition of Normal Retirement Age. Something along the lines of 65 years old and 5 years of participation.

A gentleman at my office that has been in the "pension business" for longer than I have been alive says that you can define the retirement age as anything, even 73 if you wanted. (Although he did say if there were employees we should have an early retirement provision that would allow the rank and file employees to retire at their "normal" time.)

Well my software doesn't seem to allow me to input any retirement age over 65 and 5 years of participation. Besides I just don't see the point.

The gentleman at my office has a history of being difficult and having selective memory of things you used to be able to do but you can't anymore. I swear some of the stuff he says is probably pre ERISA.

The argument boils down to what his projected benefit at retirement is. I say on the proposal that it is going to look like 5 years of benefit accrual. He says that I should hard code his retirement date out 10 years so that he can accrue his full benefit. Obviously disclosing to him that he has to work 10 years to get this.

In the end if he works till he is 73 we get to the same spot. The benefit is what it is. So if you can give me some ammunition I would appreciate it. So far I can't find anything that specifically says you CAN'T DO IT.

I realize this isn't that big of a deal, but you know what it is like when the guy with WAY more experience is just being difficult for the sake of being difficult. It's driving me up a wall. I guess it boils down to, can you make the owner of the company work 10 years (at least past 65 and 5yop) until he can retire?

In Relius 5500 software, is it possible to somehow print the 5500 and schedules (like a batch print) to a file? So many auditors want to see a draft 5500, but don't use the same software. So I end up printing, then faxing 20 pages, just to have to end up making changes and print and fax again. TIA!

Does anyone know if it's possible to somehow print the 5500 and schedules (like a batch print) to a file? So many auditors want to see a draft 5500, but don't use the same software. So I end up printing, then faxing 20 pages, just to have to end up making changes and print and fax again. TIA!

Can a plan that is using 1 entry date (1st day of PY) require 1000 hours of service to become a participant? It just feels wrong to me.

It is a prototype - are you surprised?

Entry Date = 1st Day of PY following the date on which the EE meets the eligibility requirements

Year of Participation/Service for eligibility is defined as "Completion of 1,000 hours of service" (note "s", not "S")

Service in the Eligibility Section is defined "The Service requirement shall be 1,000 hours Year(s) of Service (if hours counting method is uses) or Period of Service (if elapsed Time method is used)....If the Hours of Service method is used and the period selected is less than 1 year, an Employee will not be required to complete any specified number of Hours of Service to receive credit for such period." (This doesn't seem to allow an hours requirement to be entered.)

Plan using elapsed time for benefit accrual, 1000 hour rule for vesting.

I think it is a MH prototype, but I can't tell for sure. These provisions just don't seem to fit together.

Owner owns 100% of new entity X with four NHCEs (entity X is owned directly by Owner).

Owner also owns 80% of Entity C (no employees) and Entity C owns 90% of entity Z.

Entity Z has a 401(k) plan that Owner wants us (we are Entity Z) to amend to allow employees of new entity X to participate.

This clearly seems to be a controlled group situation - is it too good to be true that it is this easy? Please let me know if you think I am wayyyyy off base here.

Is it legal for a Participant to use their vested plan balance from a 401a Defined Contribution Plan as collateral on a promissory note?

My document provider only provides a Board Resolution to Terminate, there is no place to put a termination date in the VS doc, nor do they provide a plan termination amendment.

I believe they think that the resolution is sufficient. I know that for something like say a benefit freeze, a resolution is not sufficient, the plan document needs to be amended. Although I have seen many plans "frozen" with just a resolution, I believe the IRS made it clear that an amendment is necessary. The idea being that the resolution doesn't change the legal doc, it just says something is going to happen.

Is there any reason that, for plan termination purposes, the logic is different and a board resolution alone would be sufficient?

First issue - Husband and wife - husband owns 48% of a corporation - other owned by another individual. Wife owns 100% of a completely separate company. The wife is on the payroll for the husbands company as well as her company. I believe this is not a control group situation?

Second issue, if I am correct in that this is not a control group, each company has their own separate plan, can the wife theoretically receive $42,000.00 in contributions for 2005 from both companies?

Thanks.

We have a governmental Money Purchase Plan of which all employee's receive the same contribution rate.

There are 2 different unions that have a collective bargaining agreement that are negotiated at different time spans.

After having the same contribution rate for the last 10+ years the plan sponsor has entered into negotiations to drop the rate for the one union which is confirmed and the other will go into negotiations at mid year 2006, with the hopes of getting them to the same rate.

Can a MPP be amended to lower the rate MID-YEAR, with proper notice to employees?

How are voting rights handled relating to employer securities held by a minority shareholder in his IRA? Shouldn't the custodian vote the shares?

Any guidance from IRS as to when an amendment needs to be made to implement the changes in the final regulations? Last I heard was that the doc's would need to be amended prior to 1/1/2006...... Thanks in advance.

A very small DB plan is well overfunded. There are a handful of owners in the plan and no other employees. The plan is so overfunded that there will be a surplus in the plan even if maximum benefits permitted by 415 are provided. How can we get surplus to the participants? Termination and the payment of excise tax would be a last resort. Can this plan be converted to a profit sharing plan and, if so, would that get us around the DB 415 benefit limits and payout the surplus?

If an employer has a 401(k) plan and a money purchase plan, can the money purchase pension contributions qualify as QNECs to help the 401(k) plan pass ADP testing (assume Section 401(a)(4) would not be an issue in testing the aggregated and remaining money purchase contributions)?

My question really is whether this would be precluded by the requirement under Treas. Reg. Section 1.401(k)-1(b)(5)(vi) that the plans could be aggregated for coverage testing. Is this a problem for a money purchase plan and a 401(k) plan?

Thanks.

My brother informs me that when he dies the government will take away the small house in which he lives with his common law wife in Idaho. She will be left without a home to live on the streets. He is very distressed about this matter. I can't believe that our government is so cold-blooded. Does he have any resources to turn to? Does he have any recorses? Is there anything he can do to protect this home and this woman? Thank you.

Client deposited $10,000 PS contribution in Jan. 2005 for the 12/31/04 ye. Some of that contribution was necessary to provide the NHCE's with the 3% SH contrib the plan calls for.

The CPA forgot to deduct the 10,000 on the 2004 tax return. Client says that amending the 2004 tax filing is very complicated because of shareholder K-1's etc. so that is not an option.

Can the 10,000 be credited to the 2004 plan year to meet SH requirements but deducted in the 2005 plan year??? I am thinking that the 10,000 would count towards the 2005 404 limit unless there is a way to carryover a prior year contribution that was deductible but not deducted? (As opposed to carrying over an non-deductible amount.)

I would really appreciate some input on the way to handle this situation. Thanks.

Hello,

My parents opened a IRA for me when I was 18. Afer college, about 7 years ago, I converted the IRA to a Roth IRA. For the last 4 years I have not been able to contribute to the Roth IRA because I'm over the AGI limit.

My question is as follows. Can I convert my Roth IRA back to a traditional IRA so I can start contributing again?

Currently, the money is sitting in a SP500 Index Fund, and the only retirement account that I can contribute to is my 401K (maxed out each year). I figure if I can convert the Roth back to a traditional IRA then I can start contributing again to take advantage of the tax free returns and the compouding effect of having more money in the index fund. I also want to diversify the one index fund into a few more, but this only makes sense if I have more moeny to work with.

Any thoughts or suggestions are greatly appreciated. Thank you.

Is anyone familiar with the following:

Does the annual compensation limit under IRC 401(a)(17), which is currently at $210,000, trump the annual limit on elective deferrals under IRC 402(g), which for 2005 is $14,000? In other words, let's say you have an employee who on September 1 exceeded $210,000 of compensation, but as of that point had only contributed about $7,000 (because he elected to defer compensation at a low percentage (such as 2% per pay period)). Can this person keep deferring compensation since he has not yet reached the $14,000 limit imposed by 402(g) or does 401(a)(17) prevent him from making additional deferrals because he is over the annual compensation limit?

Thank you for you comments.

We operate our 401(k) plan with a 6/30 year end. We failed the ADP Test and returned excess contributions to participants for the plan year ended 6/30. Can we allow participants who have reached the 402(g) limit of $14,000 in the first half of the year and received a distribution of excess contributions to defer in the new plan year that began on 7/1 so that they are able to contribute the maximum of $14,000 for calendar year 2005? Or are the participants limited to $14,000 less the amount of excess contributions that were returned to them?

County plan has offered early retirement incentives and buyouts to eligible employees. A substantial severance payment is being offered to each participant.

Can the participant elect to defer any/all of the severance payment to the 457 plan?

The severance payment will be treated as W-2 wages and distributed on 1/6/2006, which is after those employees who elected the offer are no longer employed.

Under what circumstances can they defer it or not?

Thank you.

May a local government entity adopt two 401(a) plans, one benefitting all employees, and a second benefitting just one group of employees. Both plans provide for mandatory employee contributions.