I have a client that inadvertently excluded some small bonus amounts and tuition reimbursements from compensation eligible for deferrals (and matches). The plan document requires that these items be included in compensation eligible for deferral. I know that the IRS indicates informally that they want an employer in this situation to pony up the deferrals (even though the employee actually received the cash) and the matches. My question is -- What are the practitioners actually seeing in audits and VCP (formerly walk-in CAPs)? Is the IRS really requiring this, or are they backing off on this and allowing just the matches to be contributed by the employer? Are you seeing any de minimis threshold applied? Any information would be helpful. Thanks.

An S Corp has a SIMPLE IRA. The owner of the S Corp wants to set-up a second company as either a C Corp or an LLC and wants to adopt a 401(k) plan. The only employee of the new company will be the owner who will also be an employee of the S Corp. Would any restrictions be placed on the SIMPLE IRA or 401(k) plan because of related party issues? Would the owner be able to defer the maximum under each plan? Would the SIMPLE IRA and 401(k) be subject to a combined limit of the $35,000?

I have two stocks in my Roth IRA.

- 490 shares of Webvan that cost $3046 and are now worthless

- 30 shares of Qwest Communications that cost $1405 and are now worth $668.

My marginal federal tax rate is 28%.

Is there any way I can deduct the capital loss in Webvan?

Hola,

I have a client who is a sole proprietor of one business and a member of a LLC for another business. The client uses a SEP for the sole proprietorship and maxes contributions each year (about $8k.)

Can the LLC make contributions to a SIMPLE plan for the client?

Thank you.

I am age 52. I was 100% vested in my pension plan in 1982. In 1995, the plan was changed: 1) The benefit payable upon early retirement was reduced. As of the date of my vesting in 1982, the benefit payable at age 55 was 79% of the full benefit. In 1995, the plan was changed so that the benefit payable at age 55 is 56% of the full benefit at age 65.

2) A new class of employees, called Vested Former Employees, was added. Under this provision, the benefit payable at age 55 is 38% of the full benefit at age 65. I became a Vested Former Employee in 1993 when the subsidiary I worked for was sold. Because of the changes in the plan, my vested benefit at age 55 was reduced from 79% to 38% of the full benefit at age 65. Can someone advise if these changes are permitted under ERISA?

one section of egtrra, which still seems

vague and in need of guidance, is the section

allowing "reductions in retirement subsidys",

if they are "complex for a plan and participants,

and the cutbacks do NOT IMPACT ANY PARTICIPANT

MORE THAN de minimis"

observations:

-complex for plan and particpants is vague

is deminimis 1 % 2%, or other ????

-this section (not withstanding conf report example), could be used by fiat of plan amendment, eg.,NOT JUST IN PLAN MERGER scenarios

-Treasury is ordered to issue final regs(by 2003)-

How can treasury "quantify what is deminimis or

not?" What might be de minimis to a highly

compensated employee could be hugh impact

to a lower paid employee ? LAW STATES NO

MORE THAN DEMINIMIS IMPACT TO ANY particpant

-Does the above allow retirement subsidy cutbacks,

retroactively ?

-Could a DB plan use this new 411(d) language,

to summarily reduce payouts to retirees (*already

in pay status) prior to egtrra enactment?

-Does this 411(d) deminimis cutback, have any affect on current law and regs governing

plan terminations ??

any observations on the above would be appreciated:

I've read about the issues involved in rolling my traditional IRA (TIRA) into my Roth IRA (RIRA), but I'm still unclear about the taxes, if any, that I'll owe upon conversion. I've already paid taxes on $8000 in my TIRA. Also, in June 1999 I rolled over my 401k balance of $57,200, on which I had paid no taxes, into my TIRA. At this time, my TIRA looks like this:

TIRA Portfolio Value Report as of 8-25-01

Security Cost Basis Gain/Loss Balance

Cisco Systems 21,589.81 -12,464.81 9,125.00

EMC 19,669.50 -16,229.50 3,440.00

Kopin Corporation 18,017.25 -11,142.25 6,875.00

MCData Corp. 0.00 125.13 125.13

Nortel Networks 9,683.88 -8,800.13 883.75

Oracle 5,549.62 3,564.38 9,114.00

Sun Microsystems 47,587.81 -27,677.71 19,910.10

-Cash- 376.44 0.00 376.44

TOTAL Investments 122,474.31 -72,624.89 49,849.42

Thus I have a lot of capital losses in the TIRA. We're under the $100,000 AGI conversion threshold, so if I roll my TIRA into my RIRA, what will my tax liability be?

Thanks very much for the help.

Have the $160k maximum been changed?

Code Secs. 72(t)(9) and 402©(10) [added by EGTRRA] will require a gov't 457 plan to separately account for any amounts rolled into it from a qualified plan, 403(B) or IRA in order to be able to identify those amounts subject to the 10% tax on early withdrawals. From what I can tell, there is not a comparable Code provision requiring the tracking of 457 dollars that are rolled to a qualified plan, etc. If not, then it seems as if those amounts would become subject to the 10% early withdrawal tax. Am I missing something here?

Hello,

I am thinking about transferring my loser Tech. Fund presently in my Roth IRA to another more stable fund. I was wanting to know if I could write off the amount that was lost due to the downturn of the market.

Thanks for any advice,

Zane

An employer terminated their DB plan and rolled it into a new 401(k) plan. I have been informed that the DB rollover money is not available for hardship or loans.

Any comments?

Thanks

A plan failed the ADP test but due to delays in getting information, the refund was not made until after the end of the plan year following the failure.

Any suggestions on how to correct? APRSC? In my opinion, the operational failure is insignificant.

Thanks

When a Plan defines act equiv for a lump sum based on the PBGC male purchase rates what mortality table are they referring to?

I mean it really isn't specific, if I were to play devil's advocate.

For example PBGC Table 1is considered the healthy male mortality table and is based on the GAM83 table for males. The PBGC table for lump sums is Table 3, which is the UP84 unisex table. That is Table 3 is neither a male or a female table.

The Plan uses the UO84 table with a 1 year set forward as the male table. While I believe this to be true, I am not sure where there is actual documentation supporting this assertion.

Curious to hear any thoughts out there.

Thanks.

lets say a construction company has a profit sharing plan. lets also say that this plan loans money to the clients of the construction company. the company insists that its clients COULD borrow from banks, but lending from the plan saves the client money by cutting out the middle man. i don't think the clients are parties in interest, but i am concerned that these transactions are prohibited anyway. any thoughts or suggestions?

A former employee who elected COBRA has become ELIGIBLE for group health coverage at a new job. She has inquired if she can keep her COBRA in place if she declines the new coverage. The benefits under COBRA obviously beat the new coverage she is eligible for. Does the former employer have the right to term her COBRA since she is ELIGIBLE for new group health coverage, or does she actually have to ELECT new coverage to lose her right to COBRA? Assume for the sake of argument that the new plan has no pre-x. Any opinions????????????

My accounting firm purchased 6 other accounting firms several years ago - and all 7 firms have their own qualified 401(k) plan. On November 1, 2001 we are merging all 7 plans into a brand new plan. My question is how do I handle the year 2001 adp/acp tests. For example, how do I consider my highly comp. ees, do I perform a short plan year test for each of the 7 plans and then another short plan year test for the new plan. What if I want to use the prior year method for my nonhighly comp. average percentages, etc. Any help or guidance would be appreciated. Also, does anyone know where I can read about this type of stuff. Let me know. Thanks a million!

Is there a statute or regulation that defines compensation for safe harbor matching contributions, or can it be defined by the plan document? I ask because I am weighing the merits of annual matching and per payroll mathching. Consider the following:

The employer sponsors a plan with a safe harbor match of 100% of the first 3% of compensation and 50% of the next 2%. An eligible employee, earning $52,000 per year ($2,000 bi-weekly payroll cycle), elects not to participate until the last payroll cycle of the year. The employee then elects a 10% ($200) deferral for the last cycle.

Would the employer match be $80, based on compensation for that payroll cycle, or $200 because the $200 deferral is less than 3% of annual compensation?

I have a client that is self-employed (only employee) and over the age of 70 1/2. This year he opened a Keogh and contributed $35,000.

Since he is greater than a 5% owner he needs to make a RMD. Since his 12/31/00 Keogh balance was $0, what do I base his RMD on? Do I base it on his initial $35,000 contribution?

Thanks

If a traditional ira was recharacterized in 1998 and this is the last year we are paying the tax on it. Is that money that we put in a roth ira considered contributions and are we able to touch some of it without tax or penalty, since we have been paying the tax on it anyway.

Is it still $5,250 per year or was it increased under EGTRRA?