Is a 5500 required for a Section 132 plan (transportation)?

I am looking for a service that will provide a generalized Employee Benefit Policy and Procedures Manual that we can then personalize and modify for our Trust Department and our Employee Benefit Administrative Officers.

Any ideas?

Could anyone direct me to a good reference ( book or article(s) )that addresses the checklist of items that need to be considered for a practitioner who has been asked to quarterback a merger of 2 multiemployer plans ?

Money purchase pension plan has plan year end and fiscal year end of 12/31/99. Employer has extension for filing tax return to 9/15/00. Does the contribution have to made before the return is actually filed? For example, can the employer file the return 6/26/00 but actually make the contribution 9/1/00? Would answer be different if it was a profit sharing plan?

I ran across PLR 9135060 in which participant retired at age 50 and waited until age 55 to take a distribution. PLR stated that the distribution was not subkect to 72(t) 10% penalty. I know that PLR's cannot be cited as precedent and are only good for the specific taxpayer who requested it....... The PLR doesn't provide much in the way of reasoning, but it does get to the right result (per the participant). Anybody run across this situation or PLR before?

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I understand that that to convert a traditional IRA to a Roth your income must be under $100,000. Is this correct? If it is true. How is your income determined? Is the rollover itself considered part of your income? As an example, if I have a $60,000 taxable income and wish to rollover another $60,000 my taxable income for that year would be $120,000. Hence, I would be inelgible. Is the rollover itself excluded in determing elgibility?

Priscription Drug Coverage is increasing in cost at an alarming rate. There are many new programs that have been started to try to control these rising costs. Formulary Management, Cost Shifting, Prior Authorization for high dollar drugs. I would like to start this message board to share and identify new and successful programs to control costs. If you have any suggestions, or questions, please contribute

If I understand the instructions for Schedule T and Rev. Proc. 93-42 correctly, a plan that filed a 1997 5500-C that did not apply the substantiation guidelines on line 21 must file a Schedule T for 1999. Afterwards, one wouldn't be needed until 2002. Is this correct? Thanks for all help.

If a company is using a POP and wants to modify it to include flexible spending accounts, DCAP, etc, can it reopen the election date for these new benefits. Or, will the employees have to wait for the next election opportunity?

Can a 2 person Non-Profit have a 401(k) Plan? And does is matter if both are HCE's?

I would be interested in talking to anyone who is looking for ways to decrease the rising costs of health care benefits for their employees. I work for a health promotion company called Summex, and we can significantly reduce these costs - which I am sure you are aware - are expected to increase another 10-12 percent this year. We provide tools and programs used to measure and reduce the high health risk level of your employees. Our all-inclusive employee package uses our Health Monitor health risk assessment to first measure the risk factors of your population. Next, we implement interventions to reduce that risk level -- tools such as telephone calls from our health educators, home-mailed self education, medical self-care books, and stage of readiness for change based information. Individual reports go out to the employee, group reports to the employer, and monthly activity reports are generated to track all interventions and results. ALL employee information is guaranteed CONFIDENTIAL.

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Thoughts or discussion? Post a reply and I will answer for everyone to read on this board too!

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We have several employees who have submitted reimbursement requests for significant $ for travel-related medical expenses (i.e. traveling to dr's appointment by car). Obviously the only expenses are wear and tear on car and gas!

Is there any special requirement regarding this type of reimbursement? What type of proof, if any, is required (i.e. proof of appointments, etc.)?

OR should we as the ER not be concerned with proof and place the burden of proof on the EEs in the event that the IRS comes knockin'?

Any additional thoughts would be appreciated. Thank you for your assistance.

I'm trying to determine the appropriate correction technique for an improper distribution. In my case, the employer treated employees as terminating employment when they were transferred to another division/classification that was not eligible to participate in plan. There does not seem to be any doubt that these participates did not have a true termination of employment and therefore, should not have received a distribution. Does anyone know what the proper correction technique would be? I'm sure we can start by requesting the participants to return the distribution with interest perhaps. However, I suspect that many of them may refuse. If so, then what can the plan sponsor do? Sue the participant? I think I read somewhere that the IRS has treated the plan as being disqualified as to the participants who don't return the distribution.

Kurt

A controlled group has an ownership change so that it is no longer a controlled group. The transition rules for 410(B) should apply as this is a disposition.

How is the plan affected if this is a prototype document? Is there a transition period to complete the plan spin off and establishment of a separate plan, or is the plan automatically a multiple employer plan on the date it ceased to be a controlled group?

Any cites are appreciated.

third party administrator will charge $50 to calculate rmd, can this expense be charged to the participant rather than treated as a plan-level expense?

A bank holding company sponsors a profit sharing plan. Each of the six participating employers elect to contribute an amount from 0% to 15% of participants' compensation. While the employer will cross-test under 1.401(a)(4)-8, how does the plan satisfy 410(B)? I seem to recall something that said a plan with more than one allocation rate would be treated as separate plans. Or does the plan "automatically" satisft 410(B) and the stumbling block would be 401(a)(4)? Any advice? Thanks. Ed

Thank you for your response. I have a further question. If I convert from a 403b to an IRA then to a Roth IRA is there a minimum amount of time that the money must stay in the traditional IRA before I convert it to a Roth?

A cash bal plan defines AB by saying that the account is projected to age 65 at 8%. Then converting the amount to an annuity that is increased each year by the rate of 8%. i.e. a COLA of 8%/yr.

The Plan says if a lump sum is chosen, then the account bal at termination is projected at App Int Rate (PBGC rate) and the COLA is the App Int Rate.

Can they change the projecting interest rate and the COLA just because the lump sum option is chosen?

To me it doesn't seem right. In other words it appears that they are changing the AB, which seems that it s/b the same weather the pension is an annuity or a lump sum payment

Any thoughts?

I'd be interesting in hearing real-life experiences with "bridge" loans on termination of a 401(k) plan (i.e., to avoid loan offset, a short-term loan is made to pay off the plan loan, the account is rolled to a different plan, and a loan from the second plan pays off the short-term bridge loan). If you've used it, were participants advised to find their own outside source of funds, or did an employer lend the funds for the "bridge" loan? If the latter, did you have collection problems? DOL or IRS problems? What if participants with loans are disproportionately HCEs? Did you consider simply grossing up regular comp for the tax hit? Any other problems/issues?

Thanks for your comments.

I'd be interesting in hearing real-life experiences with "bridge" loans on termination of a 401(k) plan (i.e., to avoid loan offset, a short-term loan is made to pay off the plan loan, the account is rolled to a different plan, and a loan from the second plan pays off the short-term bridge loan). If you've used it, were participants advised to find their own outside source of funds, or did an employer lend the funds for the "bridge" loan? If the latter, did you have collection problems? DOL or IRS problems? What if participants with loans are disproportionately HCEs? Did you consider simply grossing up regular comp for the tax hit? Any other problems/issues?

Thanks for your comments.