Does the plan document governing a health FSA (with more than 50 participants) have to be amended if all claims are sent to a third party administrator?

I realize that other HIPAA requirements would need to be met (entering into business associate agreements, adopting policies and procedures, etc.), but if the plan sponsor never receives (nor will it ever recieve) PHI, would a plan amendment be nessesary?

I have been asked to assist a client that participates in a GIA. Since the beginning of time, the client has been particpating in a GIA with a number of other unrelated employers. The GIA trusts established are for Group Health, Group Life, LTD and Dental. The participating employers remit premiums to the individual Trusts.

Until recently, the Form 5500 has been completed as a DFE and filed by the Trust. The client has just been told that the Trust will no longer file as a DFE and that each client must prepare their own 5500. Everything else will stay the same - participating employers will continue to remit premiums to the Trust.

A couple of questions...

1. Has anyone ever experienced a similar set of circumstances? If so, would you please direct me to some guidance?

2. If the employer is now required to file an individual 5500, do they file it as a multiple-employer plan?

3. Is the sponsor required to have an independent audit performed? Note: The participating employer that I am working with has greater than 250 participants in each Welfare plan.

I am sure that there is more information that is needed to make an accurate assessment - anything that anyone can offer in the way of direction would be appreciated.

Thanks.

I need to get up to speed on Safe Harbor plans as quickly as possible. What resources (prefer web based) would you recommend? Thanks!

Traditional IRA created with form 5305. Designated beneficiary is an irrevocable trust. IRA owner is still alive and competent. Can the beneficiary designation be changed?

A Canadian company has one american citizen working for them and would like to set up a SEP for this employee. Can this non-US company set up a SEP for this individual?

Thanks.

Does anyone have any informaton or advice for this information? I have searched the DOL site as well as others, but can not find much.

Do all of the employee deferral deposits have to tested or just a sample? I find it hard to believe that 100% must be tested. Also, do the results have to be reported in the Auditor's report even if all deposits were made as soon as segregated?

I understand that prohibited transactions must be disclosed, but my preliminary readings indicate that the Auditor must disclose (in the report) the results of the testing.

I appreciate any information you can provide.

company wants to put in a leveraged ESOP

stock is of the parent company which happens to be oa European country, and publically traded on the stock exchange in that foreign country.

is that possible, and/or does it even matter which foreign country it is? and are there other ramifications?

hello. i just opened a ROTH IRA account with ameritrade. my situation is that im 18 and i put in $2000 before april 15. what do i do with the ira now? its just sitting there. any feedback would be great. thanks

I haven't seen the answer to this question in earlier posts.

A not-for-profit employer maintains a safe-harbor 403(b) plan (no discrimination testing) under which employees receive a 4% employer match for their elective deferrals.

Inadvertently, the employer over-contributed with respect to the matching contributions for a highly compensated employee. Namely, the employer failed to observe the $200,000 limit.

I am trying to figure out the best correction method.

I'm thinking of:

1) Since the HCE never should have received the excess $$, under the Plan, the Company should forfeit it (and then no-one gets taxed, or has to file an amended tax return, etc.),

2) Treat the excess as after-tax contributions, and leave the excess in the Plan (but I'm worried that might necessitate an ACP test),

I'm hoping that choice #1 can work out. I'm assuming that this can be corrected under EPCRS as an operational failure.

I'm not finding enough authorty on this to feel comfortable yet. Any thoughts? Thanks much!

From what I understand, if someone has a 403(b) account and also is a participant in a defined contribution plan, the 415 limits apply separately. Which means the total to both could be $82,000 ( $41,000 to each).

But what if the 403(b) owner owns a business and has a plan for the business, is the rule the same? Or is it only one limit of $41,000 total to both plans because it is a controlled group?

Thanks very much in advance.

Jane

What are everybody's thoughts on this product, especially with the 'safe harbor' guidance that was just released? Some of the exemptions regarding fees were a bit vague for me...for instance, would annual custodial fees for maintaining the account be allowed or would they be limited to income generated? Maybe its Friday and I can't think straight but depending on when I read it...I get a different answer....

Thanks

We have an old frozen DC plan which has only terminated vested participant accounts remaining. All of the remaining account balances are over $5,000, and none of these participants have or will consent to lump sum distributions.

The §411 regs say that you can terminate a DC plan with a lump sum provision and force out payments without participant consent even if the balances are over $5,000, UNLESS the employer maintains other DC plans, which it unfortunately does.

So, could we add a J&S form of benefit payment to the plan and terminate the plan, then buy commercial annuities to get the assets paid out so we can shut down?

Or are we stuck with maintaing a plan document, trust, 5500s, etc. etc. etc.

husband owns 100% of company, but does not participate in the plan. He's not a w-2 employee. Wife participates in plan. Is she key?

Company X files for VCP listing, among other issues, the failure to impose plan-imposed and regulatory suspensions following in-service withdrawals. The proposed correction, refunding deferrals and forfeiting match, is accepted by the IRS and a compliance statemetn is issued. During the period given to implement the correction, it is discovered that due to depletion of account balances by loans and subsequent in-service withdrawals, the correction cannot be implemented for many, if not most, of the partcipants. I know it is possible to modify a correction statement if you go back to the IRS within 30 days and pay a $3,000 compliance fee. Is there any other alternative short of a new VCP filing?

A client had a plan year of 5/1 - 4/30, short plan year of 5/1 -12/31 & a calendar year plan going forward.

For the discrimination test, do we look at total compensation from 5/1 - 12/31 or 1/1 - 12/31? Where can I find this information?

An employer has decided to terminate their VEBA. If any assets remain after the outstanding claims are paid, can that money revert to the employer? If so, would the employer be subject to an excise tax?

An Indian tribe has a prototype 401(k) (non-standard) and would like to allow an entity that has a close affiliation with the tribe, but which has a different EIN, become a participating employer under the adoption agreement. If they were affiliated corporations, the controlled group rules would apply and the affiliate could sign on. What kind of analysis would apply to a tribe for these purposes?

Can an individual make a non-deductable Roth IRA contribution to someone other than a spouse? If so is it limited to that 1 individual or can it be made to multiple family members?

Probably a simple question, but I'm confused about the 2nd and 3rd design based safe harbors (paraphrasing greatly):

#2 - safe harbor if using fractional method and meets "1/3rd" requirement

#3 - same as 2, but plan must also require 25 years of service

I understand the 25 year rule is a safe harbor and meets 1/3rd requirement since (assume by benefit is 50% of pay):

50% / 25 = 2%

50% / 33 = 1.515%

1.515 * 1.3333 = 2.02% > 2%, therefore safe-harbor

Question is, if I limit the denominator in the fraction, can I use less than 25 years and still fall under the safe-harbor? Say I want to accrue benefits over 20 years. Am I a safe-harbor if I limit my denominator to 26?

50% / 20 = 2.5%

50% / 26 = 1.923%

1.923 * 1.3333 = 2.564% > 2.5%

Does anyone have the January 1, 1995 120% Annual Federal Mid-Term Rate for purposes of accumulating a prior distribution to re-purchase vesting service. I can find the 1996 and beyond rates via benefitslink article and/or IRS.GOV but I can't seem to find the 1/1/95 (Jan.) rate.