Has anyone been through a recent DOL audit where expenses charged to the trust was the focus? I'm particularly interested on those that have experience the "Kansas City" office view on this subject. How flexible is the DOL in this area, given the more lax standards they previously announced publicly? Are they assessing 502(l) penalties? Etc. Your experiences are appreciated.

Question, does the 415© limit only apply to after tax contributions? Reason for the question is the mass Teachers Retirement Board has taken this stance when they improved their DB pension plan and long term employeees have to contribute another 6% of salary for a 5 year period to be eligible to use their "Retirement Plus" plan. Teachers that are retiring on July of 2001 they are allowing to put up to 100% of their salary into their DB plan to qualify for the extra benefit. This will mean some of my clients will be contributing almost 80% of their salary earned from 1/1/2001 to 6/30/2001. Their stance is the 415© limit of 25% of salary is only for after tax contributions.

Can a participant, age 76, still make salary deferrals? He is a full-time active employee and has not yet begun his RMD.

Self employed employer contributes to a multiemployer pension fund. The fund gets a judgment for past contributions against the employer personally. The self employed employer also participates in the plan. Can the fund get around the assignment and alienation provisions of ERISA and set off the participants benefit?

I HAVE A DR. GROUP. 5 DRS. 3 ARE OWNERS AND I WANT TO MAX, 2 ARE NON OWNERS ONE I WANT TO MAX, ONE I WANT AT 0%. HOW CAN I WORD THE GROUPS SO I SEPARATE THE TWO NON OWNER DRS.? CAN I JUST USE THEIR NAMES, CAN EACH GROUP BE ITS OWN DR WITH HIS OWN NAME?

THE DR AT 0% IS WILLING TO PERM. WAIVE OUT OF THE PLAN.

HOW WOULD THAT EFFECT THE TESTING? WOULD HE BE EXCLUDED FROM THE TESTING - WHAT ABOUT THE 404 LIMIT? DO I ALSO EXCLUDE HIS COMP?

THANK YOU IN ADVANCE...

IF YOU NEED ADDITIONAL INFORMATION PLEASE LET ME KNOW....

Does anyone have experience drafting nonqualified "wrap-around" arrangements combined with a 401(k) plan? As I understand it, prior to the beginning of a plan year, a HCE participant enters into a salary reduction agreement with respect to the nonqualified plan. He or she also elects to have the maximum permissible elective deferral under the 401(k)plan, after testing is done, transferred from the nonqualified plan to the 401(k) plan.

Could someone lead me to some sources describing the fundamentals of KEOGH plans? They are a new pension plan creature to me and I am looking to understand how they are similar and different from other qualified plans. Alternatively, prehaps you could give me the name/address of a company which offers a M/P KEOGH plans? Thanks.

Has anyone had any experience recently with the PBGC regarding timing on the distributions in a plan termination? We had a client who missed the date by 6 days and I'm wondering if they nullify the termination what does that really mean? The plan was frozen so there are no additional accruals.

What are the main differences between a 403b & a 401A? I work mainly with 403(B)& 457 plan. Is it mainly for employer paid accounts for highly compensated employees? I work in a school district & need to establish one for our Superintendent.

I have contributed toward a Roth IRA which I purchased through Merrill Lynch for 2 years and would like to know how I would go about putting this years $2000 contribution in a fund only offered by ETRADE. Would I have to take my money out of Merrill's account and move it into ETRADE, or can I have part of my Roth IRA with Merrill and part with others? Would I just buy the fund I want through ETRADE and that contribution be recognized toward my Roth?

A top-heavy defined benefit plan was terminated 6/30/00 and all assets paid out.

A new 401(k) plan was effective 1/1/00.

What is the top-heavy contribution requirement in the 401(k) plan (3% of full-year compensation, 3% of compensation for 7/1/00-12/31/00, required for all participants, required only for participant that did not benefit in the DB plan, other)?

Is the top-heavy contribution requirement in the 401(k) plan affected by any top-heavy accrual in the DB plan? For example, if a participant had 1,000 hours of service in 2000 and received a year of top-heavy service in their accrued benefit determination, does that person have to also receive a top-heavy 401(k) plan contribution (since there was a short plan year ended 6/30/00, the participant did not get the benefit of using 2000 compensation in the top-heavy determination, but did get an additional year of top-heavy service)?

The safest and easiest course of action would seem to be to just give a 3% contribution to everyone in the 401(k) plan for 2000, but does anyone know it the plan sponsor could be okay not giving it to some participants (that had DB benefits), or giving less than 3% to participants who had DB accruals?

Anybody given thought to how to adjust a plan that would satisfy the 5% contribution gateway if the contribution were sufficient, but isn't in 2002.

Example, plan designed with rate groups of 20% and 5% for 2000. Plan says contributions are allocated proportionately to those percentages. Testing passes in 2000 and 2001, but in 2002 the employer can only put in an amount resulting in 10% for one group and 2.5% (or 3% if top heavy) to the second group.

This fails the 1/3 and 5% gateways, so cross testing isn't available. Should such a plan, if designed in 2000, have a "fallback" formula in such contingency? How might it be worded? How then would it be definitely determinable?

Clearly a corrective amendment increasing the contributions for NHCEs would be allowed. How else could this be planned for in advance without restricting design to the 1/3 rule?

Business owner has Target Benefit plan they are considering rolling to an IRA. She is eligible for 10 year averaging. She wants to know if she should take her lump sum distribution this year (2000), or wait until next year when in July, she will be 70 1/2. Additionally, if she takes her RMD in 2001, will she lose her 10 averaging option? If she postpones her RMD until 2002, will she still lose her 10 averaging option since it is excercizes in or after the year in which she attained 70 1/2?

Thanks for your input.

I am hoping for some feedback on a procedure that I have never questioned before: who do you send a pre-existing lookback questionaire to? I always assumed the plan member. I spoke recently with someone who told me they send theirs to the person's treating physician, asking for medical records. In other words they never ask the member about prior treatment, diagnosis, etc.

I could see contacting the physician as a cross-check against the information provided by a member, but failing to ask the member at all seems imprudent to me.

Has anyone seen this approach before? I would be interested to know if this question is addresseed in the regs anywhere.

A bank sponsors a profit sharing plan. The plan has invested a portion of its assets in participation interests in loans made by the bank. In other words, the bank makes a loan to a third party, and then sells all or a portion of the note to the plan. This appears to be a prohibited transaction (sale or exchange of property) for which there is no exemption.

How is the excise tax calculated? Would the "amount involved" be the amount paid by the plan for the note? Is there a 15% excise tax liability for every year the plan holds the note, or is it just a one-time excise tax for the year in which the note was purchased?

Does anyone see a problem with a self-funded health plan using the following procedure in regard to claims possibly subject (based on diagnosis and date of hire) to pre-existing exclusion?

Claim is determined (based on diagnosis and date of hire)to be possibly subject to pre-ex exclusion.

Claim is denied, and request for certificate of creditable coverage and/or questionaire on treatment in the lookback period is sent to member.

When certificate info and or questionaire is received, denied claim is recalced if warranted.

I am not terribly familiar with the new regs concerning timely payment, improper denial of claims, appeals, etc. and was wondering if they had any bearing on the procedure described above.

Would it make any difference if the information had been requested at enrollment, but not received yet?

Qualifed Transportation Fringe and Transit Passes

Does anyone understand the IRS Proposed Rules on Qualified Transportation Fringe as it relates to transit passes?

The way I read the rules, if a community or transit district makes readily available (without significant administrative costs) to employers vouchers which can be exchanged for fares, then the employer cannot allow employees to purchase the fares with pre-tax dollars on a reimbursment basis.

If this is the case, it seems that the employer is expected to provide these vouchers to employees at the employer's expense, e.g. free to the employee (with no salary reduction). What is the incentive for employers to do this?

Is the IRS accepting Form 5310's during the restatement process? We have a company with 2 plans they want to terminate and file 5310's...a 401(k) and a MPP plan. Do we need to wait until we get the approval from the IRS on the 5310's to pay everyone out? They are anxious to terminate these plans.

An employer has two plans, a MP and PS. The MP plan was terminated and received a D letter on the termination. All assets of the MP plan were then moved to the PS plan in a trustee-to-trustee transfer, as if it were a merger of the MP and PS plans, not a termination. Shouldn't the participants have been given the option of taking a cash distribution or rolling it to the PS plan? The plan document says that on termination of the plan the Employer will direct that the plan assets be distributed to the participants. Can (or should) the MP assets, that are now in the PS plan, be distributed since they should have been distributed when the MP plan terminated?

Plan has GUST determination letter stating plan will use prior year ADP testing method for 1999 & future years. Now wants to change to current year ADP testing method for 1999 & future years. Can this still be done within the remedial amendment period or are they precluded from making another retroactive amendment because they have a letter?