I belong to Union 2150 and with the company I work for I do not get paid vacation. Any non-union full-time employee in this company is eligible for paid vacation. How do I find out why being a union member, I do not get the same vacation time and pay?

Hello!

Every year we have a _friendly_ competition between the Benefits and Personnel Departments at our company of who receives more Christmas cards from providers, etc.

We (Benefits) deal with relatively few HMO's or other providers that would send us cards. Our Personnel Department, on the other hand, deals with about a billion (I'm rounding) staffing agencies, temp services, etc. They truly enjoy rubbing in the fact that they get far more cards than we do.

If anyone would be willing to send a Christmas card to us, it would be greatly appreciated.

Send your card to:

Union Tank Car Company

Attn: Raymond Johnson, Benefits

111 W Jackson Blvd., 20th Floor

Chicago, IL 60604

If you're a doubting Thomas, you can check our company's website at http://www.utlx.com and see we're legitimate.

Please DON'T send this to everyone on your e-mail list or post it on every newsgroup in the world. BenefitsLink is the only place I'm posting this. I don't want this to be Craig Shergold all over again!

(Also, please don't send a dollar to everyone on the list and add your name at the bottom. That's illegal!)

I'll keep everyone posted on the competition ... Happy Holidays to everyone!!

I have a client who is a pastor. We opened a 403(B) account for him that his church contributes to on a periodic basis. He does not defer any of his salary. When we make deposits, we code them as employer contributions. My operations department has contacted me several times to explain that if the account will be receiving employer contributions, then I must check the box on the account form that indicates the plan is subject to ERISA. I don't want to check this box because I don't want to obligate the church to ERISA requirements when they should be exempt. Someone told me that I need a 403(B)(9) account for the pastor, not a 403(B)(7). The account agreement that I am using now does refer to 403(B)(7). Are they right. If so, does it matter and why? And, are you aware of a custodian that offers a 403(B)(9) agreement?

I have a client who is a pastor. We opened a 403(B) account for him that his church contributes to on a periodic basis. He does not defer any of his salary. When we make deposits, we code them as employer contributions. My operations department has contacted me several times to explain that if the account will be receiving employer contributions, then I must check the box on the account form that indicates the plan is subject to ERISA. I don't want to check this box because I don't want to obligate the church to ERISA requirements when they should be exempt. Someone told me that I need a 403(B)(9) account for the pastor, not a 403(B)(7). The account agreement that I am using now does refer to 403(B)(7). Are they right? If so, does it matter and why? And, are you aware of a custodian that offers a 403(B)(9) agreement?

Does a cafeteria plan which is used solely for employee contributions to various welfare plans for funded solely by insurance have to distribute summary annual reports? We did file a 5500 for this fringe benefit plan.

We have a particularly large 401(k) client which allows participants to have multiple outstanding loans. We're looking for any kind of loan program which will allow us to more efficiently manage payment receipts, outstanding balances, amortization schedules, etc. Does anyone know of any specialized program for this purpose? There seem to be a lot of loan programs on the Net but most seemed tailored towards real estate issues. Thanks in advance.

Profit sharing plan with 401k (no matching) has 8 participants (2 Key ees; all are HCEs). Plan is top-heavy. Is it correct to assume that ADP is irrelevant? Also, if Keys make maximum deferral, is it correct that employer can make p/s contribution of 3% to non-key ees only and satisfy top-heavy minimum? Are there any other issues that I might overlook in this situation?

I have a Profit Sharing Plan with 4 long-time participants. One of these 4 terminated during the year with less than 500 hours service, so he does not share in the contribution per document provisions. Can I count this person's compensation when computing the 15% deduction limit? This is just an old-fashioned profit sharing plan, no 401(k) features. Thanks for all input.

I thought I read somewhere that a rehired employee who wanted to buyback a formerly forfeited benefit under the break in service rules did not have to pay back the deferrals received in the distribution, only the portion of the distribution based on employer contributions. I have been unsuccessful in trying to find this again. Does anyone know if this rule exists and where I can find it? If I am correct, does this rule also apply to 403(B) plans?

Thanks for your help!

We have a former employee who is currently residing in Italy and has requested commencement of his retirement funds. Normally, we request that the signature be notarized. Does anyone know if Italy has an equivalent to notarization that we could use to prove that the participant is the one who signed his forms?

Thanks for ANY help.

Can anyone tell me where I can find the Life Table 80 CNSMT mortality table? It is a joint life mortality table that can be used for determining a series of substantially equal periodic payment described in IRC section 72(t)(2)(A)(iv).

Any help will be appreciated. Thanks!

Does anyone have any thoughts on the maximum number of employee classes in a ct ps plan? For example, a 250-employee medical practice wishes to create a plan with 15 classes of employees, one class for each profit center (profit centers are radiology, oncology, etc.) Each class would consist of about 15-20 employees, and each class would receive varying rates of ps contributions. Does this sound unreasonable?

Can someone tell me the appropriate dollar amount used for the compensation test when determining HCE's. for example, if we are in 2000 and the idexed amount is 85,000 for 2000, would you use 80,000 for the lookback year since that was the level of compensation in 1999 or would you use 85,000 since that is the indexed amount?

Does 411(d)(6) apply to a governmental plan? The MPPP wants to amend the contribution percentage for one employee. The amendment, however, would need to be made retroactive. What problem will this cause?

If a 50 year old individual has begun taking substantially equal payments from a plan and later divorces, what is the effect on the substantially equal payments. The plan balance will likely be split between the spouses.

* Is there any way to provide spouse with a pro-rata obligation to pay their share of the substantially equal payment?

* Will the IRS allow for a reduction in the amount of the substantially equal payment (I don't think so)?

* Or is there any other way to avoid having half the balance required to pay the entire distribution amount?

Can anyone briefly explain how vacation benefits can be considered a "qualified benefit" under Code Section 125? The tax management portfolio on cafeteria plans makes the statement they are without attribution. Since Section 125 defines a qualified benefit as any benefit which with Section 125 is not includible in gross income by reason of an express provision of chapter 1 of the Code (with certain exclusions). Similarly, on what statutory basis do the proposed regulations govern vacation programs. I could see vacation days as a taxable benefit under 125, like cash, but not as a nontaxable benefit.

Do you know where you purchase an inexpensive "boiler-plate" cafeteria plan document for eithe a POP plan or a POP plan with spending accounts? Thank you!

Does anybody know of an investment broker, bank, mutual fund family, etc. who is willing to be the trustee of a qualified plan that's partially invested in trust deeds?

In your daily recordkeeping system, how do you track accrued contributions for individuals for purposes of determining the balance to use for required minimum distributions? Would your system automatically add a contribution made on September 1, 2000 for 1999 to the 12/31/99 balance to show you the amount to use for a year 2000 required minimum distribution?

Can an IRA hold a stock in a non publicly traded security? If yes, can this be transferred to a Roth IRA? There is no way of valuing the stock without hiring a person to perform an appraisal.