Can an employee be reimbursed for herbal medicines prescribed by a physician to treat a medical condition? My understanding is that vitamins, even if prescribed by a physician, are not reimbursable. Are herbal medications treated the same as vitamins?

My question is actually 3 questions, I've never run across a situation like this before.

1 - Can an employer request that an employee (or former employee) pay back an amount that was reimbursed to the employee under and FSA if that amount exceeded the employee's election. For instance if the employee elected $ 500 for the year and was reimbursed $ 600.

2 - If the employer cannot do so, can they add the amount that was over reimbursed to the employee's W-2 as a taxable fringe benefit?

3 - If a non-qualified expense was reimbursed in "error" can the employer add the amount of the ineligible expense to the employee's W-2 either as income or taxable fringe benefit?

I am new to this company and it appears that the prior Payroll/Benefits administrator was not particularly conversant with FSA regulations. So I am now trying to correct the situation as best I can. Your thoughts are appreciated.

What are the advantages and disadvantages of naming a bypass trust as beneficiary of your Roth IRA

Do we have to let an employee elect plan coverage in our open enrollment period when he was previously dropped from plan coverage for non-payment of premiums? Can we condition his reentry on collection of the past premiums?

Where can I find information on the various issues associated with individually directed accounts? I think the DOL had a recent Q&A posted or published somewhere, but I can't find that.

I was terminated by my employer in 6/99. I finally had to contact him in 10/99 to get paperwork. His plan year end is 9/30. He is giving me the 9/30/98 value plus my contributions? I am 100% vested in the plan. Shouldn't I be entitled to any earnings, divs, gaines/losses on my money from 9/30/98 until it is distributed? He has sent me a check for the rollover which I'm not sure I should accept, I have not signed that I have received final payment yet? What rights do I have? I have asked specifically in writing for a statement showing the current value and the latest is the check in the mail? I don't know what to do?

Okay gang, my boss has another "cutting edge" idea to implement. At a seminar she attended, a bank HR officer stated that they had reduced their turnover from 50% to 14% and attributed a good portion of their success to contributing $25/week to employees for child care. Of course, she didn't ask for specifics, so now I get to "research" this.

Running it through our FSA means that the money is taxed, although I don't see how that can be avoided anyway. Our payroll person is concerned about creating this new "class" of employees (those utilizing day care) and how to verify that they are actually eligible for the funds.

Do you know of anyone (or your company)that subsidizes child care when it is not provided on-site? I'd love to get some insight and ideas on how to administer this and any pitfalls that you see that I might be missing.

Hoping for a rousing good discussion on this one! Thanks in advance

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Good Luck!!!

Sheila K 8^)

How far back can the IRS require corrections in the event of a 415 violation? Are the refunds taxable in the current year?

Let's say you are calculating a profit sharing contribution for a Plan whose Plan Year ends on 7/31/1999. This annual contribution is integrated with Social Security, and is posted to the accounts in December 1999. Which taxablw wage base do you use: 1998's or 1999's????

Suppose a client is over 71 and has a couple IRAs and needs to take a distribution (and does annual recalculation so is not locked into a regular distribution). The client now intends to convert the smaller IRA to a Roth and pay income tax yet in this year on the conversion amount. Does such action count toward satisfying the age 70 1/2 required distribution?

Conflicting thoughts: No, because it is a conversion rather than a distribution. Yes, because money comes out and the IRS collects income tax so they should be happy.

I looked quickly, but did not find any written guidance to settle the debate.

Steve Hample

I am interested in setting up a Roth IRA via payroll deduction with a mutual fund company. Does anyone know of any no load fund families that will let someone contribute to a Roth IRA by having $25 deducted bi-weekly with a small opening deposit. The best thing I have found so far is a $500 minimum with a $50 payroll deduction minimum. Thanks.

Is there a distinction of which contributions that are used in cross testing a plan under 410(B) and 410(a)(4) ie Profit Sharing, 401(4), Match QNEC QMAC & Safe Harbor. Any cites would also be helpful.

Thanks.

JTS

[This message has been edited by Dave Baker (edited 12-15-1999).]

I have been asked whether certain contributions to a state retirement fund would be considered a prior year contribution for purposes of the maximum exclusion allowance. For example, employees in Illinois can purchase credit for out-of-state work, work with related agencies, or to obtain a service upgrade for prior years. The law refers to the purchase of annuities as a prior year contribution, but I know the IRS has looked at state retirement benefits during the audits I am handling. Any thoughts are appreciated (or cites).

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What is the going rate for setting up a cafeteria plan (medical/dental) for an employer with less than 100 employees?

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Facts: Money Purchase plan terminated 9/30/99. Participant has vested balance of 6500. Received distribution paperwork with a letter stating that they must respond by 12/15/99 or balances will be paid out and taxes/penalties will apply.

Am I missing something because this is a plan termination, or am i correct in thinking that they can't force out distributions over $5000. Participant called me panicked about the timing of the entire process (today being 12/14 and all)

Please help!

A small local government with a 457(B) plan missed the deadline for amendment to comply with the SBJPA trust requirement. Is this plan irretrievably disqualified, or is there some way to fix it now?

What would the maximum loan amount be in the following situation:

1-1-99 Participan borrows $14,000 - Loan 1.

3-1-99 Repays $10,000, Outstanding Balance

$4,000.

5-1-99 Repays $3,000, Outstanding Balance

$1,000.

7-1-99 Borrows $21,000 - Loan 2.

12-1-99 Repays $5,000 - Outstanding Balance

of Loan 2 - $16,000.

Participant wants to take the maximum possible as Loan 3. What would the maximum be on:

2-28-2000

2-29-2000

3-01-2000

3-02-2000

6-01-2000

Any explanations would also be appreciated.

It appears that Code section 401(a)(4)'s "nondiscrimination in availability of plan benefits" test is of limited applicability to qualified plans maintained by Federal government agencies. Code section 410©(1) (which provides that 410(B) does not apply to ANY 414(d) plan) indirectly renders the current availability test inapplicable. As such, it seems that only the "effectively available" test is applicable. It would be nice if the 401(a)(4) test didn't apply at all, but there is nothing out there that renders that Code section inapplicable to federal plans (state and local governmental plans, however, are exempt from this test). Is it everyone's understanding that just the "effective availability" test applies to plans sponsored by federal government agencies under 401(a)(4)? Am I missing anything? Thanks in advance for your help!

The General Rule calculates liabilites for the current year at the required interest rate and the Alternate Method adjusts the prior year's liabilities from Schedule B to the current year and the required interest rate; does anyone know if it's acceptable to apply the Alternate Method to the current year's Schedule B liabilities ?

Seems like a slam dunk to me. Was a Rev. Rul. really necessary?