I am 30 and my wife is 29. We both work, and both contribute the max to our 401k that our employer will match (ie - mine matches 1/2 up to 6% - so I contribute 6%, they match 3%). I plan on continuing matching whatever they will contribute...so will not change that.

I would also like to start a Roth IRA, but am not completely familiar with them, and was hoping to get a few quick questions answered, easy ones for those in-the-know!

1. What is the combined family max income before you cannot open a Roth? Let's assume both my wife and I make $60k each ($120k total) - are we eligible?

2. Where do you open a Roth IRA? Local bank...brokerage...etc? We have Scottrade and Ameritrade accounts...and standard checking/savings account.

Depending on what else I can read in these forums...I may find some other questions. Great boards here!

Thanks in advance.

What is the judicial standard and the circumstances that must be present in order to determine whether an investment is no longer an appropriate investment alternative in a 401(K). In this case, the investment is the company stock that has decreased in value.

If a participant rolls their money from an IRA to their 401(k) plan and they are still working would they no longer be required to take a RMD? That is considering they are not a 5% owner.

The preamble to the 457 regulations states that a participant may not elect to have the special 3-year 457 catch up election apply more than once..........unless the participant is covered by the plan of another employer (etc..)...

The first paragraph of Section©(3)(i) of the regulations states that the plan ceiling can be raised for one or more of the participant's last 3 taxable years.......

It is possible that I overlooked another cite in the regulations, but assuming a participant is otherwise eligible, how many times may the limit be increased?

Thanks.

I have certain common stocks in my self-directed IRA-SEP that are worth considerably less than I paid for them. I'm considering establishing a Roth IRA and transferring these stocks to it. If I die before the 5 year ban on distribution from the Roth IRA, how will the beneficiaries of my Roth IRA be affected?

:confused: I have plan 457 . I want to liquidate my assests i have a finanical hardship my employer gave me a form to write down all my personal information: rent payment utilities food and clothing medical expenses car payments other transportation charge account payments college expenses insurance premiums spouse salary my salary cash in savings and checking stocks and bonds life insurance cash value and other income. Am i required to give all that information to them to get my money. I feel thats being too personal. how can i work around that so i can get my money?

Where can I get the updated Roth IRA TAx code.

Thanks, Ken

This might be a stupid question, but here goes.

A QDRO says that the former spouse is to be treated as the surviving spouse for the participant in a 401(k) that is subject to the QJSA rules. The participant does not remarry. The participant then terminates employment. When he wants to take his money out of the plan, does he have to get spousal consent since his ex is till his spouse under the QDRO or is the ex only considered his spouse for purposes of getting the death benefit should the participant die?

Thanks

Carolyn:

a plan froze benefits at 12/31/82. the formula at that time was a ss offset.

they determine the ss ben based on the law in 1982.

the plan discounts at 5% per year and uses level pay after 1982 until age 65.

say person is age 50 at 12/31/82.

my question is should the PIA be multiplied (or increased) by the 7.4% COLA of june 1982?

my feeling is that a participant's PIA is not increased by COLAs until and after he reaches age 62 and not prior to that point in time. so in this case the COLA would not be applied.

We have a Cafeteria Plan with component self-funded plans of medical and dental, group term life, and flexible spending account for unreimbursed medical. We have determined that all employees are eligible with the exception of part-timers. The percentage of HCE and Key employees is less than 5% of total employees eligible. We have plenty of information regarding testing requirements from manuals but none on what the numeric values should be. How can we make this simple. Are there any sample worksheets available with the math functions?

Plan year is 11/1/01 to 10/31/02...

are the new EGTRRA limits regarding increased employer deduction to 25% effective for Plan Years beginning in 2002 or plan years ending in 2002.....?

Our actuaries are concerned that using the new mortality table required by Rev. Rul. 2001-62 will result in a lower value for annuity distributions and cash balance calculations in violation of 411(d)(6).

I am reading the language of the Rev. Rul. that states "... a defined benefit plan must provide that the present value of any accrued benefit and the amount of any distribution, including a lump sum, must not be less than the amount calculated using the applicable interest rate described in sec. 1.417(e)-1(d)(3) ... and the applicable mortality table described in sec. 1.417(e)-1(d)(2). The present value of any optional form of benefit cannot be less than the present value of the normal retirement benefit determined in accordance with the preceding sentence."

And, I am reading the language that states, "A plan amendment will not violate sec. 411(d)(6)(B) of the Code and the corresponding provision of ERISA solely because of a reduction in any annuity distribution with an annuity starting date on or after the later of the adoption date or the effective date of this amendment if the cause of such reduction is the substitution of the table in this revenue ruling for the table in Rev. Rul. 95-6."

I told them as long as the present value of the annuity is not less than the present value of the normal retirement benefit determined in accordance with Rev. Rul. 2001-62, there will not be a violation of IRC sec. 411(d)(6).

Does anyone else agree with this conclusion?

A non-integrated PSP became effective back in 1995.

The GUST adoption agreement, has a section where I must elect ...either Non-integration or Integration.

The highly paid owner participant would love to switch the plan to Integrated by use of the GUST adoption agreement ..... but it seems to good to me.

Can a non-integrated plan switch to integrated, simply by elceting to do so in the GUST adoption agreement ??

If yes, when is such an election effective? What about the fact that the contributions for years 1995 - 2001 were computed on a non-integration basis. Do any years now have to be retroactively amended ?

The "multiple use" test was repealed by EGTRRA for the 2002 plan year. In your opinion, does a "moldel amendment" explicitly repealing the "multiple use" test need to be adopted by the end of the 2002? Or perhaps this is one of he "non-optional" provisions that does not need to be explicitly reflected in the plan document until the "2005 plan year,", the EGTRRA remedial amendment period?

If a plan has life insurance in it as a plan asset for 3 participants does the beneficiary on the life insurance policies have to be the plan or can it be an individual beneficiary? If it has to be the plan how is the benefit handled once the participant passes away?

I have a frozen defined benefit plan. Benefit service and participation was frozen in 1996. The plan is not top-heavy. Benefits are increased each year based on revised average salaries for the participants. Average salary is based on the 5 highest years of service. There are 5 HCEs and 45 NCHEs. Only 15 of the NHCEs have benefits in the plan. All 5 HCEs have benefits.

The prior actuary indicated that no HCE benefited in the plan for 410(B). Is this correct given that the protected benefits are increasing each year as the average salaries increase?

:confused:

We have a plan that's been distributing deferrals to participants while employed but under age 59-1/2. This has happened infrequently enough that we would like to correct the operational failure under SCP. As part of the correction process, we would attempt to recover the distributions from the affected employees. In the very likely event that these employees will refuse to return the distributions, would SCP still be an appropriate correction? Would we be better off going through VCO or VCP?

Normally a benefit increase created by reallocating excess assets requires a demonstration that the increase is non-discriminatory, per Rev. Rul. 80-229.Benefit increases due to adoption of the higher retroactive comp limits of EGTRRA are not subject to non-discrimination testing. Does the EGTRRA pass trump 80-229?

I think the answer to this is no, but thought I would ask anyway.

Group's 125 plan year is June 1 to May 31. Insurance renewal is Nov. 1. There is a significant change in rates effective Nov. 1. Could an employee who is presently not participating in the 125 plan, but is covered on the medical plan, enroll in the 125 plan effective Nov. 1?

The only reason he was not enrolled in the first place was concern about reducing his future soc. sec. benefits.