A business owner (friend) passed a name of a CLU along to me who he has been working with recently. They were talking investments and such and the focus later became looking at implementing a possible DB plan for the company. The CLU has told the owner that he is in fact an enrolled actuary and has offered his advice on some plan design issues. The owner asked me (a non-actuary, for sure) if I had ever heard of the CLU/actuary before and I haven't. I also don't think I should drop his name (yet) in this context.

Is there a central place where all approved, certified actuaries in the country are listed? Can I call or look up on the web such a list? Would I need an actuary number to even begun seaching for him? I have the phone number to the JBEA, but would that be inclusive of all actuaries, or would I have to obtain a list of all actuarial organizations and try to sort this out with them one at a time? Per the owner, he refers to himself as an "enrolled actuary" and uses the EA moniker.

The owner was somewhat comfortable with the CLU on investment advice but is getting a little suspicous when the talk turned to plan design and the CLU insists that he can do it all (ie, doesn't want anyone else involved). I'm a little curious myself now as well.

I have a client, a 100% S-Corporation owner. In 2002 he and his wife, an employee of the S-Corp, set up a 401(k)/Profit Sharing plan, and both made elective deferrals as well as receiving a profit sharing contribution. No Form 5500-EZ was filed, as assets were less than $100,000.

In 2003, husband and wife divorce, and as of 12/31/03, both of their account balances remain in the plan, and the amount of assets is still less than $100,000. Question: Is a Form 5500 (not 5500-EZ) required for 2003? I think it is, as the instructions to Form 5500-EZ do not address this issue.

Thanks for any replies.

Is it possible to maintain simple IRAs and a 401(K) Plan at the same time.

Thank you

Someone simply please confirm...

If the one who reached 70.5 is a 5% owner ( and of course wife is 5% as well by attribution ) there is no delaying the RMD... correct?

I have been looking into the rules that govern a 401(k) plan maintained by a Guam based corporation. I am finding that most of the same tax and ERISA rules apply, whether a plan is maintained by a US based domestic corporation or a Guam based corporation. For a Guam based corporation, certain documents, most notably the 1099-Rs, would need to be filed with the Guam tax department. However, it appears that the IRS Form 5500 needs to be filed with the US DoL. I was wondering whether there were any other special rules or caveats that apply. Thanks in advance for any insights.

does anyone know whether the rules are the same for guam as they are for PR?

An entity is leaving a controlled group and the account balances/assets in the 401(k) PSP attributable to the entity's employees are being spun-off to a new plan that the entity is setting up. Unallocated forfeitures from the suspense account are being spun-off along with the participants' accounts. Question: What do we do with the spun-off unallocated forfeitures? Do they go directly into the new account's suspense account (and are used pursuant to the terms of the plan)?, or must they be immediately reallocated among the participants in the spun-off plan. Thanks.

If I have a stock or index fund that is not performing the way I like is there any tax consequences if I sell that stock or fund?this is for a roth ira

If the IRA owner dies before Required Mn Distrib date (April 1 of the year following attaining age 70 + 1/2)

as opposed to dying after Req Date.

May the beneficiary use his/her own age to calc life expectancy?

Does anyone know where to get the mortality table for cross testing?

We need qx and px values, n'est-ce pas?

for each age x,

Health Reimbursement Arrangements (HRAs)

Per IRS guidelines, an employer can reimburse an employee for health insurance premiums for themselves, thier spouse, and and any dependents.

Is there any guidance tht anyone knows of that states that the primary insured on the health insurance policy itself has to be the employee? Or could the primary insured be their spouse or even separate policies for each family member and still be reimburseable?

Hi - can anyone confirm for me that if an employee has a baby mid-year they can then elect to participate in a health fsa account? (They have not previously participated during the year so this is not an increase to the amount they are contributing, but a new election altogether).

Thanks for your response!

Have a separate 401(k) plan for a group of Agents and Managers. The agents are paid on a strictly commission basis so how can we calculate their hours of service? Trying to complete the 2003 ADP test and it's failing, want to knock off NHC with less than a year of service. How can I take them off using that rule if I can't determine how many hours the agents work?

Plan document states "The number of hours of service to be credited to an employee for any period shall be governed by section 2530.200b-2(b) and © of the Labor Department Regulations relating to the Employee Retirement Income Security Act of 1974, as amended".

Help?

Kim

What was the first year plans could make Safe Harbor contributions?

Just wondering how most people complete this question for a 401(k) plan where there are only 401(k) deferrals being contributed, yet the Plan does also allow for a discretionary match. Would you indicate a pension feature code of "2K", even though the Employer never contributed a match to the Plan?

Part of my Roth portfolio contains a Canadian stock that pays regular dividends. The Canadian government witholds 15% of the dividends which is refundable since I'm an American citizen & living in the US. Since these earnings are tax free, how can I get these witheld earnings back into my Roth account without it appearing as an excess contribution?

MY SPOUSE DIED LAST YEAR, WITH A SUBSTANTIAL LOSS IN HER 1998 ROTH IRA CONVERSION (ABOUT 50K). I AM THE BENEFICIARY OF THE ROTH, AND I NEED TO KNOW WHAT THE BASIS OF MY SPOUSE'S ROTH IRA IS. SINCE IT IS NOT A CAPITAL ASSET, IS THE BASIS ADJUSTED UNDR IRC. 1014 AT HER DEATH? CAN I KEEP IT SEPARATE FROM MY ROTH IRA'S AND DISTRIBUTE MY SPOUSE'S (LOSING POSITION INSIDE) IRA'S, OR DID THE OPPORTUNITY EVAPORATE LAST YEAR, BEFORE/AFTER HER DEATH? I ALSO HAVE A SUBSTANTIAL LOSS IN MY ROTH IRA'S, SO IT MAY BE DESIREABLE TO KEEP THE SPOUSAL IRA'S INTACT, AND CLOSE ALL OF MINE SEPARATELY. CAN I DO THIS?

ANY SUGGESTIONS?

P.S. DON'T TALK TO ME ABOUT DIVERSIFICATION, I LEARNED MY LESSON.

I have been hearing that there is a "problem" with using a maybe notice and then not making the safe harbor contribution.

I am hearing that you "should" amend the plan and remove the safe harbor language rather than announce 30 days before the end of the year that there will not be a contribution (and announce that maybe there will be one for next year).

Am I hearing things? What's an administrator to do?

Thanks for any comments.

A formerly missing terminated vested participant who is now age 72 has come forward with her new name and asked to begin receiving her monthly payments.

An amount was calculated to cover the period from age 70 1/2 to present and the participant has decided she does not want to receive benefits because the increase in her income will affect her eligibility for some kind of benefit (which has not been clarified).

The participant has stated that even if the plan issues her a check, she will not cash it. Is there any way around this for the plan not to pay her? As one possibility, can she be paid an actuarially equivalent value to present age instead of making up her missed RMD payments?

From my research there is no clear guidance on how to calculate the 15% excise tax for late deferrals to be reported on the 5330. I know it is based on the interest. I've checked the ERISA Outline Book and even it is unclear. The outline book hints at the fact that this would be treated as a loan to the employer. So does that mean that it is "discrete" or an ongoing transaction. And from what I can tell, the calculation for the interest to be deposited is different from what is used to calculate the amount for the 5330. And how does this come in to play when the prohibited transaction and the correction date spans two different years.

Can anyone shed some light on this for me or specifically direct me to a place the DOL or IRS has issued guidance on this subject?

Thanks.