Has anyone heard anything about when the IRS is expected to issue proposed Roth 403(b) regulations? When the proposed Roth 401(k) regs were issued, it was announced that the 403 regs would follow "shortly".....That was nearly six months ago, and the provision goes "live" on 1/1/06. Also, if anyone knows the status of the "Proposed 403(b) Regulations" (regarding such things as requiring a plan sponsor to adopt a formal plan doc), that info would be helpful as well.

Any insight would be appreciated.

Thanks!

We are looking at software to prepare benefits adminstration forms and to assist with the applicable filing requirements. What are your thoughts on Accudraft?

How does it compare with other administration/filing software?

If I have a retiree who has not paid their premiums in almost a year, do we have to offer them COBRA coverage back to the date of loss of coverage due to non-payment?

We have a small defined benefit plan (about 30 employees) that has been frozen since 1993. Because of the poor market since 2000 the assets have decreased substantially and the plan is severly underfunded. The liability on a termination basis is about $1,700,000 and the assets about $700,000. The owner, who is 4 years beyond his normal retirement age, accounts for slightly under half of the accrued liability.

Another actuary is proposing two changes to the plan which I believe are in violation of 411(d)(6). First, he wants to amend the plan to eliminate the post-retirement actuarial increase for highly compensated employees (i.e. the owner) retroactive to his normal retirement date.

Second, he wants the employer to begin contributing to his profit sharing plan and change the DB plan into a floor offset arrangement. He would be using profit sharing contributions made in 2005 and later to offset the benefits accrued in the DB plan prior to 1993.

Does anyone else think these changes are not allowed or are the okay and I am being to narrow minded?

If a 403(b) that has emp. deferral & makes employer contibutions did not forward funds to investment firm, can they just follow the VFC rules and get current?

An adopting employer of a multiple employer plan went bankrupt without funding the 3% top heavy contribution they owed. Can the Administrator of the plan use the account balance of the owner/key to redistribute to the other participants? Does it make a difference if the key agrees to the redistribution?

The Employer participates in a state retirement plan, which is a governmental plan under Code Section 414(d) (the "Plan"). The Plan has Participant mandatory contributions equal to 5% of Compensation. "Compensation" is defined under the Plan to include salary continuance amounts funded by an employer whose emplyees participate in the Plan.

The employer has elected to designate employee contributions as employer contributions under the pick-up provisions of Code Section 414(h)(2).

A Participant in the Plan is absent from work and receives salary continuance amounts from an employer-sponsored insured plan, the premiums of which are paid solely by the Employer. All salary continuance amounts, net of F.I.C.A. withholding, are sent directly from the insurance company to the Participant. Historically, the Participant has sent 5% of the gross salary continuance amounts to the Employer for the Employer's remittance to the Plan.

Questions:

1. Assuming that the Participant and insurance company are both willing to do so, may the contributions of 5% of the salary continuance amounts be withheld by the insurance company and remitted to the Employer? May they be withheld and remitted directly to the Plan or trustee of the Plan?

2. Is there any type of arrangement which may be set up so that the 5% contributions on salary continuance amounts may be designated as employer contributions under Section 414(h)(2) or must they be designated as participant after-tax contributions?

Thanks in advance for your input.

Has anyone ever had any luck with writing a report that would inception to date contributions, gains/losses, etc? Is it even possible to write such a report?

A participant in a salary deferral-only plan has inception-to-date deferrals of $25,000, an investment loss of $5,000, and therefore a balance of $20,000 at the time of a $10,000 loan (i.e., the loan was funded entirely from actual salary deferrals). All deferrals are post-1987. Six months later, the participant has repaid $300 in interest, $850 in principal, and the non-loan assets in the account have earned $1,000, so the participant’s balance (including the loan, now valued at $9,150) is $21,300. The participant has received no other loans or distributions. What is the current maximum hardship withdrawal available?

A) Lesser of i) $25,000 (inception-to date deferrals), or ii) $21,300 - $9,150, or $12,150 (i.e., current non-loan assets);

B) Lesser of i) $25,000, ii) $21,300 - $9,150, or iii) $10,000 + $850, or $10,850 (non-loaned deferrals plus repaid deferrals);

C) Other (explain).

I'm trying to make our DV notice more understandable to the "average" participant. Is there someplace I can find out what the actual requirements are, including an example?

Thanks in advance - I've spent hours so far looking on the web.

If you could help or let me know where to get the following information, I would be much obliged.

1. Our cafeteria plan has two checking accounts, one for the medical reimbursement and one for the health insurance. What happens to this money IF we terminate the plan? Does it become taxable?

2. Do we need to file a 5500? We have 85 participants. I think we do, in as much as it is a "funded" plan.

3. We have a "reserve account" on the company books, for deferrals not yet transmitted to the plan accounts. Is there a limit on what we can have in this account?

Thank you!

Plan uses 3% non elective to satisfy safe harbor adp test requirements. No matching contributions are made, but there are employee after-tax contribs. I looked through the final 401k regulations and did not see anything which superceded Notice 98-52. in that the employee contributions must be tested using the current year testing methodology. Does anyone agree/disagree with this conclusion?

Thanks

client has a new EIN, and needs an extension for the 5500. should we file the extension under the old number and note the change when the 5500 is filed, or should we file under the new number?

Must loan repayments be paid back monthly? Can the amoritization schedule require that they be paid back quarterly?

Hey folks. We forgot to congratulate, and thank, our intrepid webmaster. In April 2005, BenefitsLink became 10 years old!

Attaboy Dave!

I have a start up company that is planning on offering an HDHP and HSA plan along a hi and low PPO and an HMO. Employer is adamant about contributing 100% of HDHP deductible into Employee's HSA accounts via 12 equal installments. I have two questions.

First question: If an employee has a catastrophic situation the first month of the plan year, can employer help the needy employee with a lump sum payment to HSA to cover employee's deductible while only doing month by month deposits for all other less needy employees?

Second question: With the employer hell bent on incentivising all of the employees to participate in the HDHP, I'm concerned that the HDHP/HSA products are too new to give a 100% endorsement and that employer should cool off since many of the products / concepts are untested? Feedback?

I'm looking for comments on charging terminated vested participants an account maintenance fee. Does anyone have any practical experience with this? Are the fees typically paid directly from the plan to the administrator? Would these amounts be placed in an escrow account or something? Could the fees be applied however the sponsor sees fit (for example, dividing the fees amongst a number of vendors)? Any advice/tips on this would be appreciated. Thanks.

We would greatly appreciate comments on the following:

If an employee is discovered to have stolen pension assets, what reporting, disclosure and notification obligations does the plan sponsor have? Form 5500, Schedules G and H (covering prohibited transactions; requiring disclosure of a loss due to fraud or dishonesty) are relevant.

Would this constitute a "reportable event" and require the filing of PBGC Form 10?

Is anyone aware of any other obligations to the DOL, IRS, PBGC or any other government agency?

Does it matter if the plan if a single employer or multiemployer plan?

Could there be state law obligations?

Thank you very much for your comments.

Donald

Father owns 100% of company A. His over-age 21 son owns 100% of company B.

The father tells me that the "two companies are independent", but the father says that sometimes when Company B (son's company) can't meet payroll, company A (father's company) will give Company B money to meet payroll.

What further questions do I need to get answers to so that I can definitively determine if it is common control or not.

Has anybody ever seen a DB plan that requires the benefit of a participant, alternate payee, surviving spouse or any other beneficiary who can't be located to be forfeited unless and until the individual shows up and establishes a valid claim for the forfeited amount?