I'm very pleased at the wealth of IRA information on this site. Hence the following questions.

At what point is the removal of funds from an IRA account considered a taxable event?

Under what conditions can an individual transfer the IRA funds to another IRA account?

Does the IRA custodian immediately report every such transfer to the IRS?

Many thanks in advance for your answers.

Is there any reason a PS plan with annuity options cannot be amended for the involuntary automatic rollover between $1000 and $5000? I question this because I have been told that these plans would need to be amended to reduce involuntary distributions to $1000 or less otherwise they must amend to eliminate annuity options. What about MP or DB plans that are required to offer the QJSA?

50. Nobody else will answer my 415 question

49. He was like an automatic eraser on a typewriter; if you make a shaky comment you get challenged on it right away.

........................add yours..........

I changed jobs and now signing up for my new 401K. I now have an issue with the max limit contribution because of HCE.

What is the max limit that I may contribute?

How is it calculated?

I have another question to ask but will wait till this one is answered...

At last a guy has taken the time to write this all down. Finally, the guys'

side of the story.

We always hear "the rules" from the female side. Now here are the rules from

the male side. These are our rules! Please note... these are all numbered

"1" ON PURPOSE!

1. Learn to work the toilet seat. You're a big girl. If it's up, put it

down. We need it up, you need it down. You don't hear us complaining about

you leaving it down.

1. Sunday sports. It's like the full moon or the changing of the tides. Let

it be.

1. Shopping is NOT a sport. And no, we are never going to think of it that

way.

1. Crying is blackmail.

1. Ask for what you want. Let us be clear on this one:

Subtle hints do not work!

Strong hints do not work!

Obvious hints do not work!

Just say it!

1. Yes and No are perfectly acceptable answers to almost every question.

1. Come to us with a problem only if you want help solving it. That's what

we do. Sympathy is what your girlfriends are for.

1. A headache that lasts for 17 months is a problem. See a doctor.

1. Anything we said 6 months ago is inadmissible in an argument. In fact,

all comments become null and void after 7 days.

1. If you won't dress like the Victoria's Secret girls, don't expect us to

act like soap opera guys.

1. If you think you're fat, you probably are.

Don't ask us.

1. If something we said can be interpreted two ways and one of the ways

makes you sad or angry, we meant the other one.

1. You can either ask us to do something or tell us how you want it done.

Not both. If you already know best how to do it, just do it yourself.

1. Whenever possible, please say whatever you have to say during

commercials.

1. Christopher Columbus did not need directions and neither do we.

1. ALL men see in only 16 colors, like Windows default settings. Peach, for

example, is a fruit, not a color. Pumpkin is also a fruit. We have no Idea

what mauve is.

1. If it itches, it will be scratched. We do that.

1. If we ask what is wrong and you say nothing,"

we will act like nothing's wrong. We know you are lying, but it is just not

worth the hassle.

1. If you ask a question you don't want an answer to, expect an answer you

don't want to hear.

1. When we have to go somewhere, absolutely anything you wear is fine ...

Really.

1. Don't ask us what we're thinking about unless you are prepared to discuss

such topics as sports, the weather, or hunting.

1. You have enough clothes.

1. You have too many shoes.

1. I am in shape. Round is a shape.

1. Thank you for reading this. Yes, I know, I have to sleep on the couch

tonight; but did you know men really don't mind that? It's like camping.

Pass this to as many men as you can - to give them a laugh.

Pass this to as many women as you can - to give them a bigger laugh!!

TWO GAP PERIOD INCOME ISSUES:

ISSUE #1: When do the new final 401(k) regulations require the payment of gap period income with corrective distributions? Is it for corrective distributions paid in 2006 (due to 2005 plan year test failures) or for plan years that start in 2006 (the corrective distributions from which will be paid in 2007)?

ISSUE #2: The new final 401(k) regulations at §1.401(k)-2(b)(2)(iv)(D) and (E) provide alternative methods to calculate the gap period income. Must the method be elected in the document? or may it be made (and changed) annually?

Company has a self funded health plan and firewalls have been set up between the plan sponsor and the plan. An employee with access to PHI inadvertently sent out PHI concerning another employee to the company's attorney who is handling an employment matter concerning that individual.

The company wants to correct the breach, so the employee is asking the attorney to return all the PHI back. The employee will be reporting this disclosure in the disclosure log, and will be taking steps to make sure that the disclosure does not occur again.

Is there anything else the company should think about doing (other than firing the employee)? Should it tell the individual who already is suing the company about the disclosure (as opposed to listing it as a disclosure if the individual ever requests an accounting)?

Hello--Does anyone know where I can get an updated reference chart of all the distribution codes? I'm trying to ensure I use the right ones. Thank you.

Currently, a 401k plan allows for full participant self-direction of assets, but restricts it to one family of funds. One of the owners recently decided that he does not like this arrangement and wants to direct his money to another place. Allowing him to do so would require giving all others this option, which could get messy. While the owners sort that issue out, he inquired about another way to achieve this via taking in-service withdrawals periodically (eg, quarterly, semi-annually, or annually). The plan does not currently allow for in-service w/d's although it could be amended. Still, this seems to not be do-able, since the money would have to accumulate for 2 years before taking it out. Also, the participant is only 45 years of age.

I haven't come across a situation where a participant wanted to use an in-service withdrawal feature in such an ongoing manner and it sounds like it wouldn't work. Does anyone agree?

Does anyone have a copy of the last two DOL FMLA Opinion Letters. In the letter dated 10/4/04, the DOL found that an employer's sick leave poilcy that required employees absent due to illness to provide proof of illness in order to receive paid sick leave was acceptable. In the other letter dated 10/25/04, the DOL confirmed that an employer can request a drug test for employees returning from FMLA leave.

Thanks.

The Corbel/Relius software uses the HCE EBAR as the upper bound of the range, then calculates the mid point and lower bound accordingly. Any body have a problem with this methodology?

Hello everyone

Just wanted to announced some added features to the TSP Watch blogspot, located at http://tspwatch.blogspot.com/

TSP Watch, dedicated to the federal employee's Thrift Savings Plan, is proud to annouce the addition of an interactive message board feature, allowing members to engage in interactive discussion regarding the TSP plan.

This message board is located at http://tspwatch.forumco.com/

Discussion of 401(k) and state pension plans is also included.

Thanks

Hello everyone

Just wanted to announced some added features to the TSP Watch blogspot, located at http://tspwatch.blogspot.com/

TSP Watch, dedicated to the federal employee's Thrift Savings Plan, is proud to annouce the addition of an interactive message board feature, allowing members to engage in interactive discussion regarding the TSP plan.

This message board is located at http://tspwatch.forumco.com/

Discussion of 401(k) and state pension plans is also included.

Thanks

I’m attempting to understand one specific aspect of Roth 401k plans. Martha Priddy Patterson of Deloitte Consulting has been recently quoted regarding Roth 401k’s saying, "But regardless of the potential advantages, there is a big fly in the ointment," she warns. "The Roth 401k funds must remain in the plan for at least five years to receive the tax-free distribution treatment. But under current law, the Roth provision will sunset at the end of 2010, meaning plan participants can never enjoy the Roth benefits, if Congress does not extend the law!"

I’m not interested in a discussing of whether Congress will extend the law. What I’m interested in is getting a better understanding of how Roth 401k contributions made between 2006 and 2010 would be treated if Congress doesn’t extend.

Does anyone have an opinion on this?

When active employees turn age 65, are group health plans required to have them elect to either stay in the group health plan (with Medicare as secondary payer) or opt out of the group health plan and enroll in Medicare?

Also, I recall that if an individual who is eligible for Medicare but does not enroll in it that they are assessed a Medicare premium penalty (10%??) once they actually enroll. Becuase of this penalty, are there any disclosure rules that apply?

Thanks!

Suppose you have a 2 participant DB plan with individual aggreagate funding. The participants are 50% partners in a partnership. One partner is somewhat older than the other. Both partners have the maximum plan salary for all years. The normal cost for partner A is $100,000 and the normal cost is $50,000 for partner B. Total Contribution $150,000.

The accountant wants to know the contribution breakdown for each partner. We generally provide the normal cost as above. However, it would probably be more equitable if the $150,000 were allocated based on accrued benefits. Is it acceptable to determine the deduction split this way?

Thanks much.

Must the Plan Sponsor's FSA SPD and their self-insured medical plan SPD definition of a dependent be the same as the WFTR 2004 definition of a dependent? We are working on this right now and need to know if they should match or not. The Plan Sponsor would like to keep the definition of a dependent in their medical plan "broader" than the WFTR 2004 definition. Is this ok? They don't want to put the "residency" wording nor the "income" wording in their medical plan definition of a dependent if they don't have to.

If eligible employees are paid additional compensation for not participating in a high-deductible employer health program in lieu of an employer contribution to an HSA, must the additional comp be paid through a 125 plan to avoid taxation on the amount to all employees?

I saw an article once discussing giveaways to encourae enrollemnt. Is it allowed, etc.? I recall the answer is yes, but if someone knows where I read this that would be awesome! I think it came out in the benefitslink daily email.

A participant elected a lump sum distribution in 2002. The distribituion check was made payable to the participant; Federal & State taxes were withheld and remitted to appropriate agencies and a 1099R issued.

It is now mid-2004, the distribution check (still uncashed & in the Plan Sponsor's possession) is endorsed over to the Plan Sponsor by the Participant (to repay a previous loan made by the Employer to the Employee).

In December 2004, the Plan Sponsor learns that this transaction violated the anti-alienation rules and therefore immediately restores the Participant's account to where it was just prior to the 2002 distribution.

How does the Plan Sponsor recover the Federal taxes that were withheld in 2002?