I have a question I hope someone can provide some information on. We offer employees that leave the company with a minimum years of service to continue their medical coverage until age 65 (until they are eligible for Medicare) and life insurance for 10 years after they retiree.

Are either of these items considered retiree benefits that are subject to FASB 106 ?

I recently took a position with a company. When I arrived I

ask the previous Benefts person for the Section 125 plan document. She handed me the plan document for the Flex Spending Account. I have asked the Accounting, Finance and HR

people and no one knows where the plan document for the section 125 plan, meanwhile pre-tax employee deductions are being deduction from employee paychecks.

I would appreciate any feedback from others that I have found themselves in this position. How do you break it to the management that we could be in alot of trouble if the IRS was ever to audit us ! How do we do this - do we adopt it retroactively?

Also, based on the research I have done: We need a master plan Section 125 document, a Premium only plan (to take the employee deductions pre-tax) and a Life Insurance plan document (since we are providing $50,000 in life insurance to employees on a tax free basis.

Any help is appreciated. Thank you very much.

Anybody see a problem with an employer paying out a terminated participant with a company check and counting that distribution as a contribution?

The concern is that the money is not being run through the trust.

Client has a "traditional" 401(k) that they want to terminate as of 12/31/02. Do 100% of the assets have to be out of the plan by 12/31/02 in order for them to set up a SIMPLE plan 1/1/03? All employees will probably roll their plan balances into the SIMPLE, but that can't happen until early January 2003. Thanks. Maverick

Some years have passed since I looked at this type of plan as a viable form of NQDC. However, I now have an application and I am hoping for some advice/direction on the following issues:

1.RP 92-64 appears to be the clearest Fed guidance to date. It does not appear that Rabbi Trusts have been codified - have I missed anything?

2.My intended application is for a employee contributory plan, however, the literature only deals with situations where the employer makes the contributions. Any thoughts on the pitfalls of an employee pay all plan within the context of a Rabbi Trust?

Thanks for your help! - monty

Assume that an employer does not have an open enrollment period, but that they do operate under a Section 125 flex plan. Since flex plans have the 12 month rule and require annual elections, does this overide the employer's desire not to have open enrollment, and basically force them to adopt an annual open enrollment coinciding with the flex plan's plan year?

If a 401(k) plan follows a safe harbor match formula and it intends to match age 50 catch up deferrals, is there any IRS guidance to suggest that the match on the age 50 amounts will be subject to special nondiscrimination testing?

It appears that a cash balance plan cannot provide different contribution rates for a select group (even if passes nondescrimination rules) due to uniformity requirements. It also appears that a new cash balance plan cannot arbitrarly grant past service credits to individuals (i.e., the opening account balance)...seems like must grant past service on a uniform basis or the opening balance must be from a DB conversion. Please let me know if I'm wrong on either or both ascertions.

I'm a sole prop and had opened a SIMPLE IRA. If I file my taxes on a 1040-C where do I report the contribution, Sal Def and employer match contribution? Does anyone know??????????

Under ERISA's definition of employer security, is it possible to have more than one employer's stock constitute employer security?

For example, Company A sponsors a stock bonus plan. Subsequently, Company A enter's into a financial arrangement in which it give Company B options (with no limitations other than the passage of time and value) that will make it A's parent. After this transaction, could both Company's stock be considered employer stock or just that have the parent? This is relevant because the plan is considering selling stock to Company A.

The definition of employer stock in the Code relevant? Notice the different language.

I don't think this worked the first time - sorry if this is a duplicate...

New Plan effective 01/01/01

Document states Current Year testing method

Plan fails ADP/ACP/Multiple Use on Current Year basis, but passes on Prior Year basis.

After reading prior messages and IRS Notice 98-1. It seems as if for the first plan year you can test using Prior Year, then going forward use Current Year method.

I think my problem would be that the document says to use Current Year testing method and if I change to Prior Year I'm stuck for 5 years.

Any thoughts or better interpretations - please reply.

Can an employee collect both employee sponsored STD and Social Security benefits?

In order to receive Sub TA fees from American Funds Service Company (AFS) we must provide them with data from Relius on every plan that holds or offers American Funds.

One of our staff members had been told at a user's group meeting that there was a custom report out there that they could provide us in order to get this information to AFS. No one seems to be able to find this report and the data that AFS is requesting on a quarterly basis is staggering.

Does anyone out there know of any reports that have been created for this purpose?

Check this site. It has what appears to be an up-to-date and comprehensive list by state.

http://www.americanbenefitscouncil.org/

My 69 year old mother passed away in November 2001 leaving me, the sole beneficiary, with her $170k IRA. I plan to change the titling on the account to an Inherited IRA and begin taking distributions over my life expectancy. I have two questions:

1) Do I just use the single life expectancy table or is there a special one for accounts titled Inherited IRA?

2) Can I withdraw more than is required in any one year, as determined by the life expectancy table? ie. I'd like to start by withdrawing $15k to pay bills.

Thank you

When a 401k plan fails testing and must have money removed by 3/15 for an employee, (1) In what year is the refund to the employee taxable? (2) Who reports the refund to the IRS? (3) Does the W-2 for the employee need to be corrected? Thank you for any help you can provide on this subject.

My understanding is that a plan sponsor may choose to rely on either the 1987 proposed regs or the 2001 proposed regs for determining Required Minimum Distributions due by 12/31/02. Is there any guidance on how a plan sponsor must specify this choice, and if there is any consistency requirement regarding the choice? [Can an employer rely on the 1987 regs for some calcs, and the 2001 regs for other calcs? Once an employer has relied on the 2001 regs for some calcs, can the plan sponsor decide to change back to 1987 regs for other calcs on a go-forward basis?]

Can anyone tell me if the courts have been sympathetic to participants in these plans in the event of bankruptcy when all the contributions have been employee deferrals (no employer contributions)? Or have they just put them in line with the rest of the creditors.

One of our agents called me with this question. A non-profit employer has a 2 year old 401(k) profit sharing plan. Previously they maintained a 403b (for approx. 10 years). At the plan year end, they calculate their profit sharing contribution. In preparation to send the money in, the employer requests that employees with no investment instructions on file fill out enrollment forms. There have been a couple of employees who have refused and continue to refuse to fill out the forms and tell the employer that they don't want the contributions!!!! They have also filled out "waiver forms".

I informed the agent that I think the employer should send the money in for the employees anyway, setting accounts up for these employees and the trustee should choose the investments. I also told him that in the case of an audit the employer could be responsible for paying the contributions for the past 10+ years to those employees who refused them plus interest.

Could anybody give me some feedback as to whether the employer is allowed to just not give the profit sharing contribution if the employee says they don't want it?

As I read the EGTRRA changes to 457 plans, the extension of the QDRO rules only applies to 457(B) plans, not (f) plans. So, does this mean anything has changed with respect to a payment from a 457(f) plan pursuant to a divorce? For example, if such a payment were made to an ex-spouse, I assume the participant would be taxed on the amount. Would FICA taxes be due as well?

Thanks for any help.