I have a new client who is a not for profit community, non-federal governmental, hospital district in South Lousiana. Some years ago the uncompensated board members voted to include themselves as a separate, non-contributory class under the hospital's self funded medical plan. They have no waiting period, as do some of the other classes of employees, and they costs are paid in full by the hospital, while the employee's is contributory.

What is the taxation of the premiums paid by the hospital on their behalf and of the dollars paid to their families in benefits?

This structure of the classes appears not to meet the non-discrimination guidelines. From my understanding the coverage the board, exercising their discretion over the plan, put in place could be reportable as ordinary income to them and not only premiums but all the benefits received taxable.

What has been your experience in similar situations and if there is a better way for the hospital to structure benefits they would like to provide for their board members. I have advised the hospital administration to seek the advise of a tax attorney.

lets say an employer sponsors a SIMPLE IRA plan and turns out to have over 100 employees. does this somehow allow them to convert to traditional 401(k) mid-year to "correct" the problem?

If a cross tested Plan has a safe harbor 3% contribution, is the 3% safe harbor contribution required to be increased to a safe harbor 5% contribution if the gateway requires a 5% contributions?

Meaning: is the 2% Profit Sharing Contribution required to be fully vested?

I am an independent consultant in the retirement plan markets for non-profit employers and am routinely being asked how to locate TPAs that administer 457(B) plans - preferably on a national basis.

Any clue where I can find that information?

Thank you much!

I have a plan that deposited August 2001 deferrals less than $2000 7 days late (on September 28, 2001). I calculate lost earnings at $1.42 therefore the excise tax is about 23 cents. I have to put on the 5500 that the deposit was late. Is there ANYWAY I can get out of a 5330 since the excise tax on there would round down to zero? Anyone know of a "loophole" for me?

A 401(k) plan has a loan policy that permits a participant to have only 1 outstanding loan at a time. A participant is in the second year of a 2 year loan and would like to take out another 2 year loan to pay off the first loan and use the remainder for other purposes.

Is this permitted since the second loan (refinanced loan) is extending beyond the last scheduled repayment date of first loan?

Company A has a Plan year that runs 10/1 to 9/30. Plan has group annuity contract with large insurance (lets call them ML) company that files as a DFE. ML files as a DFE on a calendar year basis and produces its schedule D information it provides to A on a calendar year basis.

What does the Plan report on its schedule D. 9/30 values from its employer quarterly reports or 12/31 values from the ML schedule D data.

Thanks for any help!

After reading both notices, this doesn't seem to be possible, after a plan year has started. That doesn't seem logical since the participants would be in essentially the same position, but with an enhanced benefit. Does anyone have any insight into this issue?

Would it change matters if employer did not give SIMPLE notice before beginning of year?

Now that tax season is over, I am receiving calls from clients who are being given the following tax advice from their advisors:

"Now that you are incorporating from a sole proprietorship into an S-Corp, you are REQUIRED to terminate your existing profit sharing plans and reestablish a new one in its place."

I am not aware of any requirement that an employer must terminate their qualified plan simply because they may have changed their type of business organization. I have been viewing these types of changes as more like mergers where if you have the same business, same assets, same employees, etc, you could amend & restate the plan with the information of the new employer (and note the predecessor employer).

Your thoughts?

Do i need to file a Schedule A with a 5500-EZ when a plan is funded by an insurance policy? The instructions say that only schedules B, E, or P have to be filed with a 5500-EZ, which makes sense to me, but the administrator before me had filed a Schedule A with the 2000 5500-EZ. Any thoughts? Thanks in advance.

ABanky

Also, if I do indeed need to file a schedule A, would I have to file one if the plan was terminated and all policies were cancelled by the end of the year.

Do most plans provide employees with a copy of a life or disability policy issued by the carrier or do they summarize the policy and include it in the SPD that describes the other coverages such as health, flexible spending? We are in disagreement as to whether the average employee can understand the carrier's language. We have had an issue in the past where the life and disability benefits were summarized as opposed to using the actual policy and an employee misinterpreted the summarization. We understand that DOL requires that the SPD be written in terms understandable by the average plan participant.

If plan documents and trust documents of an erisa governed decfined contribution fund are silent on the issue of amount of permissible company stock the plan can hold, is there a limit.

co worker tells me that they can hold up to 100% BUT ONLY if the trust agreement says they can, whereas my understanding was that if the plan/trust documents were silent, DCs can hold up to 100 (compared to DBs that can only hold up to 10%)

any guidance or relevant ERISA provisions would be greatly appreciated

as always - Many Thanks

i have a 401k plan with a 9/30/01 year end that failed the adp

test. excess contributions will be distributed in april 2002. how

should box 7 of form 1099r be coded? what is tax implication to

participants.

My company is considering offering a Long Term Disabilty Benefit.

We feel that this is a important benefit for employees to join so we want to offer a company paid Life Insurance Policy to all employees who join the LTD Benefit (at a 50% co-pay). Would this be considered discriminatory to employees who do not join the LTD Benefit?

I have a client that has missing participants that have left the US and moved to Mexico. Is it best to use the SSA or IRS? I am aware that participants can be located using the IRS and SSA. Can someone provide the address used and format required when inquiring through the SSA? Thanks!

Have several high-level questions regarding

single-employer db plan termination and PBGC

"takeover" versus normal reversion

(a) Have yet to see a case where a plan

was takenover by pbgc- and the plan sponsor

had not gone bankrupt or liquidated.

Is this generally the case... or can a plan sponsor simply let a funded plan become

unfunded (underfunded) to avoid steep reversion

on surplus.. and simply "cut and run" by letting

the pbgc cover it, assuming all of the pbgc premiums were paid up and in order?

(B) Separate and a part from premiums collected,

does the PBGC effectively play "robin hood",

from a collection of terminated plans ?

Example: a large plan(A) only slightly underfunded, with assets in place to cover most of its plan option pre-65 retirees and post 65 retirees is taken over.

Another large plan(B) with only post 65, demographic, is massively undefunded and is taken over.

Does the pbgc- in effect- with its pre-65 payout

reductions, cut the retirees from plan (a),

and use these gains to cover post 65 retirees

from plan (B)..?. although in the case described

Alot of the asset recovered from plan (a),

was in place to cover nearly all of the early

retirees from plan (a).

Does anybody know where I can find a website where it shows a chart that explains that putting $2000 in per year starting at age 18-25 will get you more money if you started to put $2000 in per year starting at age 26-65?

It looks something like this:

Age Example #1 Example #2

18 2000 0

19 2000 0

20 2000 0

21 2000 0

22 2000 0

23 2000 0

24 2000 0

25 2000 0

26 0 2000

27 0 2000

28 0 2000

..

..

..

65 0 2000

Total $1.5 Mill $1.4 Mill

If anyone could find this website, that would be greatly appretiated. Thanks, Ryan

How do you complete the Schedule T for a Plan that allows discretionary profit sharing contributions or matching contributions if no Employer contributions are actually made? Can you use the exception code that say's that no HCE are benefiting since no HCE received an Employer contribution? Alternatively, should you use the exception code that say's that all non-excludable NHCE are benefiting if they actually would have all benefited if an Employer contribution had been made?:confused:

How is the deductible limit calculated for a target plan or money purchase plan when the tax year and/or plan year is changed?

For example:

1) Tax Year is Calendar Year 2003.

Plan Year is Changed from 7/1/02-6/30/03 to calendar year, creating short plan year 7/1/03-12/31/03?

2) Tax Year is 10/1/02-9/30/03, and is changed to calendar year, creating a short tax year 10/1/03-12/31/03.

Plan Years are 11/1/02-10/31/03 and 11/1/03-10/31/04.

How is deductible limit calculated?