Could anyone recommend a source (hopefully online) for a model initial COBRA notice. I recently saw a reference to ERISA Technical Release 86-2, but I have not been able to locate it online. The reference mentioned it is outdated anyway.

I was wondering what people were using for this. I am not sure what is required in the notice, and I need to estimate the approximate length of the text for printing purposes.

Any update on necessity of amending cafeteria plans prior to 1/1/2001? Are there compliance issues if no amendment is made or is it the employer's choice as to making the amendment??

Thanks,

Chris

Are there any exceptions to the general rule that any reimbursement of plan expenses by an employer will be considered an employer contribution? I have heard that an employer can reimburse the plan for the expense of getting out of certain annuity contracts without this being considered an employer contribution, and that this is "done all the time." Does anyone know of a letter ruling or some other guidance that indicates that this is true?

It is my understanding that as a general rule participants should not be charged a fee for processing a distribution upon termination. Is there a problem with the investment company charging a check fee? If so, how can the plan sponsor correct the situation without moving the money?

I assume the check fee is probably O.K. My concern is that the investment company does not call it a check fee, but rather it is clearly labeled an administrative fee. Should the plan sponsor be concerned?

Under what conditions can average comp exclude comp before entry?

Must it be general tested, i.e. no safe harbor treatment?

Is it ok except for integrated plans?

Is it ok for new plans only?

Is it ok for unit credit accrual plans only?

Can anyone clarify this. I find this very unclear.

Having read previous message boards about self-funding plans, I am still caught between the pros and cons of the program. As an adminstrator new to the self funding plan, what am I getting myself into? Please advise.

Do stock options need to be counted in a Cafeteria Plan (not 401k)in determining "key employees"?

Do any formal guidelines exist regarding valid reasons for a hardship withdrawal within a nonqualified deferred compensation plan? The current plan document states that a participant may apply for a hardship in the event of an unforeseeable circumstances beyond the participant's control. Could elderly care expenses apply in this situation and how would the amount be determined (expenses for 12 months, etc.)?

Thanks for any opinions.

The Plan Trustee, a bank has been asked to serve as an independent fiduciary in a prohibited transaction exemption filing to permit the plan to lend money to the plan sponsor. Any advice?

One single employer plan is merged into another. Must the amendment for this merger be signed prior to the effective date of the merger? How about before the end of the plan year in which the merger takes place or retroactively during the following plan year. The 5310-A's will have been filed in a timely manner.

What if a board resolution regarding the merger is passed prior to merger. Does this allow for any type of retroactive amendment?

4041.28(4) addresses "participating annuity contracts" with regard to terminating a DB plan. I have only dealt with nonparticipating annuities so it is unclear to me what is involved with a "participating anuuity contract". The plan will have no residual assets. How does the participating contract work?

My wife and I each made (Schwab) $2000 Roth IRA contributions for 1999 and, as it turned out, we were ineligible. Due to a lack of knowledge on my part, we left the money in there and paid the IRS penalty. She also added $2000 to her Roth account back in January for tax year 2000 and we won't be eligible again this year. Am I best off having her sell the equities she purchased and transfer the cash into a standard IRA account? I assume that by doing this we will reduce the amount of associated penalties that we have to pay. We would just continue to pay the penalties from our 1999 investment. Thanks for any advice.

COBRA regs say that COBRA ends if, after the election period you become covered under another healthcare plan. We seperate out our medical from our dental. That means you can elect COBRA for medical only, dental only or a combination of both. If you elect dental only, or medical and dental and subsequently become covered under an employer sponsored medical plan but have no dental coverage there... must you terminate the dental portion also? If you elect dental only and the administrator finds out you have become covered under a medical plan, do you see a requirement to terminate the dental COBRA? Have others incurred this type of event. I am curious as to how other employers handle this.

I am looking for a bundled provider for davis Bacon Plans. Does anybody know of any? Please help!

Do you need to file a Schedule H for a fully insured welfare plan which consists of group medical, group dental and group term life? All funds went directly to the insurance company. Nothing was self-funded. Thanks.

Assume a trust is the beneficary of three seperate IRA's. The trust is "qualified" such that the ben. of the trust are the desg. ben. of the IRA's. Spouse is one of the ben's of the trust. Assume IRA owner dies.

Q1:

Other than various PLR's, does anyone have any citations as to under what circumstances a spouse would qualify for a spousal rollover? (Having read various PLR's on this topic they tend to use the same language in describing the terms the spouse needs to satisfy).

Q2:

Does it make a diffence, in general, if a spousal rollover goes into a new IRA account or it is rolled over into a pre-existing IRA account of the surviving spouse. If there is a difference, what is it?

Thanks

Can a company contribute, as a corporate contribution to the company's qualified profit sharing plan, the stock of a publicly traded company (not related). The corporation owns the stock and they want to "transfer" it to the plan as a company contribution. They would record it on the corporate books at the market value on the date of transfer, realizing any gain/loss for tax purposes. The company wants to avoid the transaction costs of selling the stock and buying it again for the pension trust.

Does anyone know of any provision limiting the "quarterly" repayment requirement to calendar quarters only? For instance, if a loan was made in December 10, could the first quarterly payment be due on February 10? Or is the initial "quarterly" payment due December 31?

A descretionary profit sharing contribution was made to the plan in March and described as a contribution for the current year. The sponsor really took it on the chin this year and would like to re-classify said contribution on its year end financial statements as a contribution for next year.

Can this be done?

Company A changes from a quarterly balance forward method of accounting to daily recordkeeping. During the blackout, like funds were used. Of 800 participants, about 100 did not have their balances put in the proper like funds. Some made money, some lost. The new recordkeeper wants to correct by puting everyone where they should have been when the error was discovered. This involves taking money away from some and reallocating. Does anyone see a fiduciary issue removing money from the account balances of those who were unjustly enriched. I don't, but thought I would ask.