Newby to the IRA arena, Please help. I opened an IRA with my bank 2 years ago. Last year I converted it to a ROTH IRA which would be better for me. My questions is this, I noticed that IRA is invested in DTGBX - Dreyfus Prem Tech Groth Class B funds and that there is a back load on them when sold plus other fees. Can I open another IRA that has no loads? Can this be transfered into it? Was opening it at the bank and not an internet location a bad thing?

I have an employer who has an investment advisor that is pushing them to adopt an "enhanced 401(k)." In essence, the plan will have an increasing match based on the amount of deferrals contributed - not service. For the first 6% the match is 50%, for anything over (up to 20%) the match is 65%.

I don't think that the formula is discriminatory on its face, but I'm concerned that it could be in practice - lower paid HCEs potentially being the ones to defer more as higher paid HCE's may be limited percentage-wise by their salaries. Will the plan also need to test for benefits, rights and features because of the different match rates? Other than the BRF test and ACP, is there any other testing that I am missing?

Would appreciate any insights from anyone who has dealt with a plan like this so I can realistically discuss this with the employer.

At what age a child can reasonably earn income from working for his parents?. The IRS did not set up an age limit for a Roth IRA, you just have to have earned income in that year. Your child then could earn $2000 and you could put that whole amount into a Roth IRA. The question again is when can a child start earning income from working for his parents?

A QDRO assigns an Alternate Payee a dollar amount "plus interest on that amount." Should "interest" be interpreted to include losses? How should "interest" be interpreted?

Does the "segregated amounts" requirement mean only that the plan must be able to separately account for the segregated amount? Or does this requirement mean that the dollar amount specifiec above should by physically separated from other assets? If it has to be physically separated, are there requirements on how the segregated amount should be invested?

Is there guidance on these issues in the law, from the DOL, and/or from court cases?

Thanks!

Under the safe harbor rules, employee contributions still have to satisfy the ACP test. Suppose a 401(k)plan is safe harbor and the Plan matches employee deferrals and/or employee after-tax up to 5% of compensation using the Basic Matching formula.

What if 4 out of 5 HCEEs make deferrals but 1 HCEE makes after-tax only. No NHCEE makes any after-tax. The plan would satisfy ADP and those HCEEs making deferrals up to 402(g) would be O.K. but what about the HCEE who is making after-tax and getting matched on their after-tax? Those after-tax would have to be tested under ACP and since this HCEE is the only one, wouldn't it fail and require a return? What am I missing? Seems odd that is what is intended but didn't see anything specific in 98-52 or 2000-3.

This issue has been discussed before, but I'm not following the responses very well. We have a safe harbor 401(k) plan that uses a $1 for $1 match up to 4% to meet safe harbor. Can an additional subject to vesting match also be given? From reading responses to prior inquiries the answer is yes, but I am not following the logic. Notice 98-52, Section VI.B.4.b states that a plan fails to satisy ACP safe harbor if the plan provides for matching contributions that could exceed 4% of compensation. Its seems to me that the safe harbor provision eats all that up and there can't be an additional match. What am I missing?

Plan allows for post-tax contributions. Participant has a 402(g) violation. Is it possible to ‘re-characterize’ the 402(g) excess as post-tax? If so, any guidance on how to report?

Thank you.

I have seen plans that use the 71 TPF&C mortality table and then I saw a Plan that uses the 71 TPF&C Forecast Mortality table for males.

Does anyone know of there being two different mortality tables or are they really the same table, but one uses a more detailed title?

gary

New to 403(B)...In designing a 403(B) plan, you are eligible to begin salary deferrals immediately on hire date. Is it possible to have quarterly entry dates? Or is part of the universal requirement, that there can absolutely not be any waiting period?

Brokerage house accepts trustee to trustee transfer of retiree/client's 401(k)for rollover into IRA. A nontaxable sum is also paid out to retiree and sent to brokerage house for investment. Brokerage house, however, mistakenly adds nontaxable funds to rollover amount and places all funds into the IRA. Three years later brokerage house learns of its mistake. What is best course of action for retiree/client/taxpayor to have this mistake by brokerage house corrected? What are the penalties to the retiree?

does it really work this way. If a person contributed $500 towards Ins. Premiums and that money grew to $1500 the first $500 can come out of the policy tax free. Then if the Insurance cost was another $500 they would also be able to withdraw that $500 without any taxable implications.

Are hardships withdrawls a "protected benefit"?

Are Loans a "protected benefit"?

I have a client that owns two companies. One company has a December year end and one has a September year end. I have been told that I must pick one of the year ends and combined the data for both of the companies as of that date for coverage and ADP/ACP testing. I was under the assumption that you could only combine plans with the same year end. Do the plans need to be combined for anything? Any guidance would be appreciated!

Is a 401(k) plan sponsored by a union aggregated with 1 401(k) plan sponsored by the employer? For example, suppose the the union employees participate in both plans - do the 415 limits apply to the combination of the plans or to the plans separately? How is deductibility affected? Are the plans aggregated or treated separately for other purposes?

Employee is complaining to employer on 3/15/01 that there were no 401(k) deductions from his paychecks during 2000. Employer is unable to find written modification of his deferral election. But employee isn't concerned until tax time. Employer argues that because (1) employee didn't "notice" this for 24 pay periods and (2) he was invested aggressively and would have suffered market losses anyway and (3)there was no match applied to the deferral that the employee has not suffered. What, if anything, to do?

I have a profit sharing plan (no 401(k) provisions, etc.) with year end 12/31/99. The profit sharing contribution was not decided until 3/1/00. It is my understanding that in determining top heavy status for 2000 I only consider invetsment account balances at year 12/31/99. I would not consider the profit sharing contribution for the 1999 plan year because the BOD did declare by the dtermination date (12/31/99).

I have been told that I am wrong and that I should include the profit contribution in determining status for 2000. Is this alternative view correct?

Thanks in advance for any guidance.

We have a 401k plan and the employer is looking to increase his profit sharing contribution for 2000; problem is, it is knocking 2 nhce over the limit. I assume if i keep these two employees at the limit it's discriminatory because they get a lower psp contribution rate. Is the solution to use a lower psp contribution percentage for all. I am exceeding the aggregate 25 % limit and the 415 limit. Where can i go online to read more on these limits? The plan has deferrals, match & employer psp contributions.

I have a client with two IRA's as well as three separate 401(k) balances. He turned 70 1/2 in 2000. He is not employed. His broker told him that he could aggregate all of these accounts, for calculation purposes, and pull one RMD out of just one of the IRA's. The information that I keep reading is that he cannot combine his IRA's and 401(k)'s to calculate the RMD. I think he can combine his IRA's but that the 401(k)'s must be calculated separately. Does anyone know the answer?

I know that this has already been discussed. However, I am looking for any cites which contain detail as to how many decimal places you need to carry out, in order to determine a plan's top heavy status. I.e.- my client's plan has a top heavy ratio = 60.07%. He is arguing that it should be 60% rounded down, but I took the conservative approach that anything >60%, without regard to rounding down, is considered top heavy. I informed him of my findings but he wants me to consider the plan not top heavy.

I told him that I would send him the testing results and he needed to let me know how he wanted to proceed, in writing. Any thoughts as to how to indemnify myself and my firm from any future backlash if the IRS determines through audit that the plan is top heavy?

Thanks in advance for any thought.

It appears that if a participant elects out of a 403(B) plan, he or she is included in coverage testing. Are they also included in ACP testing?