Non profit corporation owned by a native tribal entity is thinking of establishing a 457(B) top hat plan. The 457 regulations do not define "government" or "state" in a way that incorporates native tribal entities. Should I assume that they must just be treated as a non-profit in setting up this plan? Concerns are the rollover rules and the "unfunded" nature of the plan.

we administer a mp plan that we want to terminate prior to april 30th. all notices & distribution forms were sent out over 30 days ago. 1 person has not responded in writing and balance is over $5,000. i did speak with that same participant over the phone a couple weeks ago and she told me she wanted to rollover into an ira. can we just pay her out lump-sum and withhold 20%? or can we mail her a check directly and tell her she has 60 days?(knowing this isn't the preferred method...)

i appreciate any input!!!

by way of plan design, what can be done to defer the inclusion of income in a NDC plan beyond separation from service? The law is essentially straight forward with respect to section 83 and constructive receipt. Can this be accomplished by putting additional restrictions in the plan? specifically i am thinking of a payout over a few years?

The group annuity carrier (Company 1) sold all retirement assets on 6/30/01 to another carrier(Company 2); however, two schedule A's were produced, one by each insurance company. Even though no assets remain with Company 1, but commissions were paid, is a Schedule A required for this Company? Lastly, is a Schedule D also required for Company 1? Thanks in advance.

Does a transfer of a Governmental 457(B) plan assets to another qualified plan (403(B) or IRA) - allowed under the provisions of EGTRRA - require a triggering event?

What is the norm for other DC plans in regards to reemployment after retirement (i.e., after a distribution or rollover has occurred)? Are there restrictions?

Under the Florida DB plan, retirees cannot return to employment for one year after retirement unless they suspend their DB benefits. The same law applies to members of the University Optional Retirement Program (DC plan), however, if a member has taken a distribution or rollover there is no benefit to suspend. In essence, there is "no teeth" to the law for the DC members.

If a participant did not receive a Required Minimum Distribution that was due by 12/31/01 (not first year so no extension to 4/15):

1) Is there really any due date for when the 2001 Form 5329 is filed?

2) Are there any consequences if the 2001 Form 5329 is not filed by 4/15/02?

3) Is the penalty to be paid 50% of the RMD, with no adjustments for interest or anything else, whether the 2001 Form 5329 is filed in 2002 or 2006?

I have read several articles that say some employers are hesitant to include the new catch-up contribution language in their plan because there are nearly "two dozen states" that don't automatically conform to federal laws, one of which is California and these contributions could be subject to the state income tax. How do I find out what the other states are?

Is it possible to continue placing money in a Roth IRA account if you have already opened one, but are now outside the joint income limit of $160K?

I've got a rather unusual question for some of you attorneys out there. We have a client who has a life insurance policy in his pension plan. (and I don't want a debate about life insurance in qualified plans, please!) The client wants to purchase a new life insurance policy, within the plan, with another company. But they don't want to surrender and transfer the money to the new policy, because doing so would cause the new policy to be in MEC status. (And they know that MEC status doesn't make any difference while in plan, but they plan to purchase it from the plan in a couple of years.)

What they are doing, on advice of counsel, is to do a 1035 exchange from company A to company B.

Now, I'm not aware of anything in Section 1035 which says it CANNOT be used in a qualified plan. But I'm rather concerned that the act of assigning the policy to company B, even though part of an integrated 1035 transaction, might be considered a prohibited transaction as an impermissible assignment? Am I worrying about nothing? Any thoughts on this whole issue? Thanks.

As the plan sponsor (employer) of my company's 401(k) plan, can I be held liable for anything that may happen to my participating employee's 401(k) accounts, if I recommend a vendor who would handle an IRA rollover transaction for them?

I am really struggling with the new comparability regulations. I have a medium size plan with 21 HC & 128 NHC. The plan is a top heavy integrated 401(k) plan with a 3% match.

The trustee would like to use a $125,000 profit sharing contribution and maximize it for the HC's. Being this is a 2002 plan scenario, the match is being utilized to help satisfy top heavy and then the remaining part of the 125,000 is allocated.

I have used the spread sheet provided by Fred Payne to calcualte the Gateway and it appears to pass, I am just real concerned that I am not satisfying top heavy.

At it stands now the highest HC is receiving a contribution of 2.34% overall and the lowest NHC percentage is .77%. A participant who made no deferral is receiviing a 3.11% contribution. the 2.34% + .77%.

This just doesn't seem to make sense in my brain. Any advice would be appreciated. Hope I don't totally confuse everyone with my lack of knowledge.

Thanks

Employer sponsors a 401(k) plan with a calendar year plan year and individually designed plan document. Hence, the GUST remedial amendment period ended 2/28 and the 2001 plan year ended 12/31/2001. The plan document provides for 2001 and future plan years that the prior year testing method is used for ADP testing. We'd like for the employer to amend the document now (April 2002) to change for 2001 and future plan years to the calendar year testing method. Is this permitted?

They have been several threads on this question in the past, the most useful of which is

http://benefitslink.com/boards/index.php?showtopic=13800

in my opinion, but now that the GUST remedial amendment period has ended, it becomes a tougher issue to resolve.

Recently Indiana made it a requirement that insurers etc must make detailed claims experience info available even for small groups.

Are there any other states with similar laws?

Who inherits in the following case:

John is the secondary beneficiary of his father's IRA. His mother was listed as primary beneficiary when the IRA was opened 12 years ago. His parents divorced 6 years ago and haven't spoken since. The beneficiary designation on the IRA was never changed. The divorce decree was issued in the state of Tennessee and specifically states: "Each party hereby waives any and all interest or claim to the retirement account, etc. of the other party, and by execution hereof each party expressly waives such interest or claim." Unfortunately John's father is recently deceased. Does the divorce decree negate the mother's (ex-spouse) status as primary beneficiary which means John inherits the IRA as secondary beneficiary?

Please see link:

http://benefitslink.com/boards/index.php?showtopic=49788

1.411(B)-2 sets forth a method for computing and applying an actuarial increase for retirement after age 65, as a minimum accrual, if no suspension of benefits notice is provided.

my question is s/ this act increase include a mortality assumption during the deferral period?

i.e if a person retires at say age 70 (simplified for purposes of this discussion) s/ the act increase look like which one below?

a) N65/N70 (with mortality)

or

b) (1+i)^5 * a65/a70. (without mortality)

any comments?

gary

I'd appreciate any information or thoughts anyone might have on the following issue.

I have a 403b account that I need to consider as I prepare my will and do some estate planning. My picture has been that a 403b account could be left to an individual or to a trust. Each approach had benefits and weaknesses. Leaving the account to an individual allowed the funds to be withdrawn over the life expectancy of the recipient, allowing for long protection from taxes; however, a young recipient might make poor withdrawal and investment decisions. Leaving the account to a trust could protect against poor decision making; however, the funds would have to be completely withdrawn within roughly 5 years after my death.

I've recently read that a trust mechanism is now available for Roth IRAs that gets around this problem. Specifically, I understand that Roth IRAs can now be left to a trust, but that the money only has to be withdrawn at a rate based on the life expectancy of the eldest beneficiary of the trust. This mechanism seems to have all the benefits I'd be interested in.

My question: does such a trust mechanism also exist for 403b accounts? If so, I'd appreciate learning about any books/magazine articles/webpages that contain relevant information.

Thank you much for taking your time to read about my question. I appreciate it very much.

The attached document suggests that an IRA owner may use his IRA money to purchase shares of his own LLC. This seems to be a prohibited transaction- is it not?

Just want to confirm this with anyone:

Plan year ends 3/31/02. Limitation year is the plan year. We are using the following.

Annual addition = 40,000

Compensation = 170,000

Salary Deferral = N/A

Now for EGTRRA, the company has not signed off on any amendment yet. Does the new EGTRRA laws still go into effect starting after 12/31/01. For example can the new 415 limits go into effect for the 3/31/02 PYE? What others are effected? Any other insight would be appreciated