Does anyone know of an example of actual disqualification of a plan due to section 125 violations?

When a participant with an outstanding loan from a 401(k) plan discontinues loan payments because of

1) bankruptcy (bankruptcy court not allowing loan payments to be made to plan), or

2) approved leave of absence,

what are acceptable choices when the participant

1) is out of bankruptcy, or

2) returns from leave of absence?

Should of can loan payments be "doubled up" to "catch up" on the loan so the loan is repaid within the amortization schedule? Should or can the loan be considered in default? Should or can the loan be reamortized? Can participants coming out of bankruptcy be treated differently from participants returning from leave of absence?

If an employee is offered an early retirement package and is given the option to take a lump sum distribution, if the lump sum is reinvested elsewhere, can that individual take monthly distributions in the amount that the employer was guaranteeing had the plan stayed with the original company? Can they take any monthly distributions without incurring penalties due to the fact that they are not 59 1/2 years of age? Any help would be appreciated.

Can anyone supply me with a working link to

PLR 9837034 re;same desk rule ? Any other info links on the subject would also be appreciated.

Thanks

Does anyone have any?? I could draft from scratch but am hoping to not have to reinvent this wheel.

I'm doing some research on implementing employee volunteer or community service programs, in which employees are allowed unpaid time off to volunteer in a community project or service. Does anyone have such a program, and if so, what kind of policies govern how and for what reasons employees may be granted time off to volunteer?

Any help would be greatly appreciated!

The employer somehow allowed an NHCE to begin making deferrals to their 401(K) plan about four months before that employee met the eligibility requirements. The employer even made a quarterly match for the employee before her date of entry. Should the employee be given back the deferrals that were made before her DOP and revise her W-2 (consider it a contribution in error)? A 402(g) violation did not occur, so it can't be treated as an excess deferral. It happened to an NHCE, so it seems it shouldn't be treated as an excess contribution. What is the best way to handle this? Would giving the match back to the employer also as a contribution in error be advisable (overall match made throughout the year for her exceeded what she should have been allocated)? All help much appreciated.

Can a participant in a (basic matching) safe harbor 401(k) plan take a loan from the safe harbor contributions? I haven't seen any guidance prohibiting it.

On a related note, has anyone ever seen any commentary on the wisdom of allowing participants to take a loan from their elective deferrals? I realize many plans allow it, but it seems like a default in this circumstance (i.e., a deemed distribution) would technically violate 401(k)(10). Any thoughts are appreciated.

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ATTY

I was an employee of US West through August on 1999. In January I received forms to cash out my pension plan as it was under $5000 and I have yet to receive anything back from them. What are the specific guidelines under the ERISA on how long they can take to pay this out?

Can recordkeepers accepted contributions from a terminated participant? If the plan sponsor sends contributions for a terminated participant can a recordkeeper accept it, or does a refund have to happen?

Participant's spouse will retire in July, and as I understand it this is a status change that would allow the participant to drop the spouse from family coverage before next open enrollment. But, spouse is offered his own insurance now as part of the retirement package even though he won't technically retire for a few more months. Does participant have to wait until July to drop spouse?

Does a multiple employer 125 Plan use the same "333" plan numbering system that you use for multiple employer pension plans? Do you use one form for the plan using the "333" numbers and then separate forms for the employers using the 500 numbers.

Can an employer pay 100% of health insurance premiums for HCEs and then design its 125 POP Plan to cover only NHCEs.

Has anyone had experience using a paperless office? We are a third party administration firm that is considering going this route. Any comments would be appreciated.

Do the participation requirements of IRC 408(k)(2) apply on a controlled group basis? In other words, if an employer that is a member of a contolled group sponsors a SEP, must the SEP cover all of its employees AND all of the employees of its affiliates? Is there transition relief in the event of acquisition of a subsidiary?

Any replies would be appreciated...

Is it lawful to terminate an active employee's or former employee on Pre-65 retiree or Cobra medical and dental insurance if they are Medicare eligible? I know that coverage CAN BE terminated, but if it hasn't for whatever reason can be at any time? Our company utilization and experience is getting worse and worse with each year and is devastating to our rising premiums. We have a few totally disabled and post-65 employees who are covered under our insurance plans. Can workers have both Medicare and Employer-sponsored medical and dental insurance? Thanks for any feedback!

A top hat plan that did not file the DOL statement within the required 120 day period becomes subject to Title I or ERISA. What questions need to be completed on the Form 5500 and is there anyway to avoid this filing?

does anyone have experience in a participant using the NUA when taking a distribution of company stock held inside a 401K

Let's say I have a 10% MP Plan with 1 year wait and no last day or 500 hours/ termination requirement. I want to use this to satisfy a Safe Harbor.

What would you think if made the vesting schedule 0,34%,40%,60%,80%,100%.

My thought is 10% times 34% equals 3+% vested contribution, and easy admin.

Any darts to throw?

If the plan document is silent on the issue, what rights do participants in defined contribution plans have to change the amount or form of the benefit they are receiving? What rights do a plan sponsor, or a TPA, have to set policies preventing or limiting the changes, or the frequency of the changes?

For example, suppose a DC participant elects to receive a 10 year certain form of payment, gets payments for 2 months, then decides a 5 year certain form would be better 2 months later, then decides the 10 year certain form was fine 3 months later. (The plan document allows both forms). Can a participant do this if the plan document is silent? Can a plan sponsor or TPA adopt a policy not allowing this?