My plan year I am testing is 6/1/2001 - 5/31/2002.

Questions:

1. What is my determination date?

2. Do I only look back at any distributions that occurred for the period 6/1/2001 - 5/31/2002?

If the Estate of the deceased IRA holder is the beneficiary is it and IRS regulation that a Tax ID Number for the Estate must be used to pay out on an IRA death distribution. Can the deceased social security number be used for this pay out?

Thank you

Can anyone recommend a good self-employed calculator? We use Relius administration, but the ideal salary calculation isn't helpful in regards to most self-employed contribution calcs.

Is an employer required to offer health plans to all full-time employees or can they segregate based on geographic location, job, etc?

A new prospect has a very large contingent of commision based sales people who don't necessarily get a paycheck each pay period. Do any other TPA's have any experience in this area - record keeping wise? How do we keep track of missed deductions and make ups? How does it affect Dependent Care reimbursement? Is it as big a nightmare as it sounds?

Thanks!

Carolynn

An employer wants to amend the document to provide that the profit sharing contribution can be made as of any date in the plan year for the 12-month period immediately preceeding that date.

For example, the employer wants to make an allocation as of 9/30/02 using the pro-rata method, and using compensation for the 12-month period immediately prior to 9/30/02 (compensation from 10/1/01 through 9/30/02). The plan year is the calendar year.

Which 401(a)(17) limit would apply? Would it be $170,000 (since the allocation is based on a period beginning in calendar year 2001) or $200,000 (since it's being allocated for the plan year beginning in 2002)?

What other issues are involved here??

Facts: Employer has coupled MP and PS plans, that will be merged in 2002. Plans do not meet the over $100,000 limit to file a 5500-EZ.

Question: After merging the MP plan into the PS plan, is it neccessary to file a final 5500-EZ because the MP has terminated although it is being merged, and the plans have never filed 5500-EZ's before.

Thanks,

Ronnie

Who is the proper alternate payee for a child support QDRO--the child? The non-participant parent? Is it best to structure the QDRO so that the child is the alternate payee and the non-participant parent (or guardian) is the legal representative who will receive notices re the QDRO as well as payment for the benefit of the child? A non-participant parent could be an alternate payee in his or her own right as a former spouse, for example, but does that still make them the correct alternate payee for child support? And what if there is an arrearage? Thanks.

How is an OBRA '93 model amendment supposed to read?

Looking at examples 5 and 6 of the proposed catch-up regulations.....in theory it's relatively straightforward to calculate the additional catch-up contributions that can be made between plan year end and 12/31. However, in reality, who is going to have the ADP testing completed quickly enough after plan year end (10/31 in these examples) to know what the amount is that will be recharacterized for the HCEs, and thus, what the additional catch-up amounts should be limited to?

In these cases, are plan sponsors going to not allow any further catch up contributions by HCEs for the period between plan year end and 12/31, or are they (more likely, in my opinion) going to let them continue at whatever rate they were contributing prior to plan year end? What happens if a person over-contributes catch-ups? There doesn't seem to be "excess catch-ups" defined anywhere and what is to be done with them.

I haven't seen any concerns about this, and am puzzled. Any thoughts? Thanks.

Participant elects an annuity with period certain with spousal consent naming children as beneficiaries. Participant remarries and wants to elect new spouse as bene. Does ex-spouse have any rights? Do new forms need to include spousal consent language for new spouse to change beneficiaries?

Can a Trusteed IRA invest in Common Trust Funds if the bank has sole discretion?

Our company was cancelled by our health insurance provider, for lack of participation. Only about 45% of the employees took advantage of the insurance. Some of the people are able to pick up coverage under a spouse's plan, and some have even found reasonable individual policies. Can we reimburse these people for what their new coverage will be tax-free? Under section 106 it appears that we can. Also, do we have to extend this offer to new employees going forward? We would only like to cover the employees that were taking advantage of this benefit on the date of cancellation.

We have a small number of SEP-IRA's and a handful of Sar-SEPs

I am looking for answer to the question of , "Do we have to restate these plans for EGTRAA, and if so by when"?

The Sar-Seps were not gov't documents the Seps for the most part were, in addition to being one person plans. Any ideas or direction would be helpful.

Is there any official guidance on whether a five year or one year look back applies to distributions from a terminated plan in determining top-heavy status?

It would seem that the last sentence of IRC §416(g)(3)(A), which provides for a 1-year add-back rule, implies that the 5-year add-back rule in §416(g)(3)(B) for "in-service" distributions should not apply.

Why would they have the reference to termination in (g)(3)(A), if they were just going to take it away with the exception in (g)(3)(B)? On the other hand, a distribuiton due to terminatio of the plan is not a distribution on account of "death, disability or separation from service".

Plan's cross tested formula is such that if the employer contributes just a 3% top heavy minimum to everyone, it does not pass ratio test (there is a new, very young HC participant). Does that matter, since everyone is getting 3%?

A man plans to travel to France for a surgical procedure that is not available in the US. Can we reimburse travel and surgical expenses?

FACTS:

The merger of the two plans was effective 1/1/02. However, it was a couple of months before the assets of the money purchase plan were transferred into the profit sharing plan. During 2002, before the assets were transferred from the money purchase plan into the profit sharing plan, the vested account balances of three participants who terminated during 2001 were paid out.

QUESTIONS:

1. Should question 7 of the final 5500 for the money purchase plan be 0 since the plan was merged effective 1/1/02?

2. Would the forfeitures resulting from the distribution of the vested balances to the three participants that occurred before the assets were transferred be forfeitures occuring in the profit sharing plan so that I could mark box 3b on Schedule T and not have to complete the remainder of Schedule T?

Please help, working contract for a company that stops participants when they reach $200,000 or $11,000 whichever comes first.

Been in this business too long not to know that these limits are PLAN YEAR limits. In order to get the VP to agree with me I have to prove this. I have spent hours looking on the web, through Benefit Links, thru the Rules and Regs only to find that there is nothing that specifically says that the comp limit is looked at on an annual basis.

Please direct me to the backup I need!

Client has a safe harbor 401(k) with the 3% nonelective contribution. Due to business downturn, client can't handle the required 3% contribution next year. The safe-harbor 401(k) is top heavy. Almost none of the employees have deferred. Potential alternative is to convert to a simple 401(k). Doing so would cut out the top heavy contribution and if matching contribution is chosen, the employer match should be minimal given the history of no deferrals. Any issues???