Company A has an established 401(k) Plan. Has been making PS contributions to paln for years. Company is "dying" (their words not mine) to put in more than 15% this year, preferably the 25% max.

Obviously my first thought would have been MPPP. With EGTRRA it will not be necessary (read, it would be stupid) to implement MPPP.

Issues:

If Company A starts a MP plan for 2001 and then merges the two plans, do we have a problem with the plan not being "permanent"?

Several threads have said the correct date to merge the plans (assuming two exist) would be 12/31. Can I "merge" the plans on 12/31/01 and make all deposits to the 401(k) plan?

Will I need a document for the MPPP? (I think yes but need back-up)

Do I file 5500 for the MPPP for 2001?

I should probably know this stuff, but any and all help will be greatly appreciated. If I have missed any important points that will trip me up, please speak up.

Where is it specified that a plan must satisfy cross-testing requirements as of a certain day in the plan year (other than the methods available under Treas. Reg. 1.410(B)-8(a), for minimum coverage rules)?

Is L/D of plan year always acceptable?

And can cross-testing (new comparability) be performed based on a short plan year, including a short year of compensation?

A profit sharing plan allocates profit sharing contributions based on the following formula: participant's compensation for the plan year divided by the toal compensation for all eligible participants for that plan year.

Is this a uniform allocation formula within the meaning of 1.401(a)(4)-2(B)(2)? I'm confused! :confused:

I have a doctor that purchased an office building. He wants to know if he can use the property as an investment inside his Defined Contribution Plan. My first reaction is that he can not. Can anyone point me in the right direction as far as research? Also, any input is greatly appreciated. Thank you. Mary

I would like to know if there is a 10% early withdrawal penalty for selling all or part of your company common stock owned.

Is an acquiring corporation required to recognize and credit deductibles paid by participants under a prior group health plan following a corporate acquisition? For example, if following the acquisition the prior plan were maintained, the answer is obvious ... things would continue under the terms of the group health plan. What happens in an asset deal where the group health plan is not transferred to acquiring company? Do employees start all over with respect to deductibles under the new plan? I would guess that a company could do whatever it wanted with respect to this issue. Any thoughts? Thanks. Ed

I administer a multiple employer plan that added an additional participating employer this year. The new member is a newly established company. A couple of the HCEs from one of the existing employers went to work at the new company.

My feeling is that this new company will have no HCEs (based on compensation) in their first year of existence because no one earned any wages during the prior year. I have had someone tell me I am mistaken on this, that compensation earned at another participating employer would be used in determining HCE status. I've been looking for some guidance of a less anecdotal nature, but haven't found much. Anyone have any cites that would help me?

We recently acquired another company and merged the 401k plans. After the merger, the previous plan's administrator presented me with a domestic relations order they had received prior to the merger. Nothing was done with the order. Because the order indicates the name of the plan before it was merged into our plan, does the order have to be amended to reflect the current plan's name before we can accept it?

Based on the following information, what is the non-taxable portion of the IRA distribution made in 1997 (rounded to the nearest dollar)?

1,500 Aggregate deductible contribution

2,000 Aggregate non-deductible contribution

3,800 Aggregate IRA account balance as of 12/31/97

1,000 IRA distribution made in 1997

Answer is 417 - help!!!

Thanks!

Per EGTRRA, spousal rollovers to qualified plans will be allowed for distributions after 12/31/01. What procedures should (must?) be followed when a participant and spouse are in the same plan? Can the spouse roll the money over from the plan to the same plan? Does a check have to be cut? If so, does the check have to be made out to the spouse, or can it be made to the plan? Can the money just be transferred without a check being cut as long as the reporting (1099-R) is done correctly?

Does anyone have any experiece getting the web module to work for participants who use AOL as their browser? It worked when we were at 5.0 even though support said the web has never been compatible with AOL.

For the record, I don't use or like AOH*LL but my boss says I can't just tell people to get a real ISP. Yes, I know that it is possible to use a different browser with AOL. And I know that even downloading a browser will be beyond the technological skills of many of our participants.

Any other solutions or insight as to why Relius thought this was a good business move? If we would have known this would be an issue, we would have reconsidered upgrading to 6.0.

Another question for you kind folks:

In regards to Premium Only and Premium with FSA 125 Accounts...

As far as I can tell there is no specific language which DEFINES "significant change" - allowing 125 participants to change/terminate their elections.

At this time our SPD does not have the definition and we would like to incorporate it.

Any input regarding this concern would be appreciated.

Thank you in advance.

why do more firms with cafeteria plans offer core rather than total free choice plans? Anyone?

can't seem to find an answer to what i thought was

an easy question:

earnings distributions from a roth ira, assuming you're

59.5, are entirely tax-free in the USA. but what about

if you're a legal resident overseas, for example, in Australia ?

Will Australia tax these earnings just like they would

the earnings distributions from a regular IRA ?

Hey everybody,

I'm having a hard time finding information on how to convert a Roth IRA from one firm (Morgan Stanley) to another (E*Trade).

How do I do this? Is there some IRS form that allows me to name a new trustee? If so, where do I get the form? Or can I simply withdraw the money from Roth #1 and dump it into a conversion Roth #2?

Totally lost and looking for some guidance. Thanks in advance.

Brian

Must a DC plan that is subject to QJSA rules (such as a money purchase plan) get spousal consent every year a Required Minimum Distribution is paid, or can the spousal consent for the first year cover all subsequent Required Minimum Distriubtions?

A client has recently requested my assistance in terminating a small 401(k) plan for a company that terminated all its employees about 3 years ago. All plan participants became 100% vested in their 401(k) accounts at that time. Participants were sent information about distribution of their account balances. Some employees responded and had their accounts distributed to them. Others did not respond, and were never heard from again. Trustees fees have been routinely charged against the remaining plan assets. By this summer, trustees fees had eaten up any remaining account balances. Board action has been taken terminating the plan and the Form 5310 is being prepared. Reg. 1.7476-1 defines interested parties in this situation to be 1) all present employees with accrued benefits under the plan, 2) all former employees with vested benefits under the plan, and 3) all beneficiaries of deceased former employees currently receiving benefits under the plan. None of those definitions seem to currently apply in this situation. Since the company has no current employees and all account balances are zero, to whom should the required notices regarding the planned filing of the Form 5310 be sent?

Can an Owner (President) of a company participate in the Flexible Spending Account? If they cannot participate in the Unreimbursed Medical account can you please refer me to where I could find information stating that.

Another question-how far back can a participant go for medical expenses for a hardship? If someone has already paid the expense it would not appear to be acceptable. On the other hand you have someone who was in a serious motorcycle accident and has been out for almost two years. He continues to run up medical expenses and has some that are outstanding. Can we cover outstanding legitimate medical expenses going back to the accident occuring?

I should know this because it seems obvious. If you use the safe harbour rules for definition of hardship, is it acceptable to allow people to include in their hardship request the down payment on a prinicpal residence. I have always interpreted this as part of "Costs directly related to the purchase of a principal residence for the employee, excluding mortgage payments." I have seen it in examples in ASPA materials before and know other consultants who also accept it. This is for a large client that has an attorney that tends to challenge everything.