I'm having a bit of trouble convincing an IRS agent that Average Compensation for a DB Plan can be determined without regard to when the plan began (i.e. a participants high 3 years can be derived from year's prior to the inception of the plan.)

The agent is insisting that the definition of IRC 415(B)(3), "a participant's high 3 years shall be the period of consecutive calendar years (not more than 3) during which the participant both was an active participant in the plan and had the greatest aggregate compensation from the employer," applies to a participant who's years prior to the inception of the plan yeiled a higher average compensation.

I have directed the agent to Reg 1.415-3(a)(3) which states: "...a participant's high 3 years of service is the period of 3 consecutive calendar years during which the employee had the greatest aggregate compensation from the employer"

My comment to the agent was that the regulations clarify the code, and are what should be relied upon in this instance. Her response is that the regulations do not modify the code, and cannot be relied upon.

I am looking for a cite that states that the regulations should be the overriding factor (even if they are more lenient than the code), and may be relied upon.

I am an employee of a not for profit organization funded by federal grants. We have over 50 employees but under 50 are currently enrolled in the health care plan. We do not have a benefits administrator and I have been asked to help with getting bids for new health insurance since the current one is a PPO and the local hospital and the local physicians are not signed up with the insurance (which means substantially higher payments for the enrolees).

Is there someplace that I could get direction or further information about what the rules are regarding to 50 employee cutoff (I know there is something, I just don't know what)and for the RFP and any other information that would be conducive to getting bids for affordable health coverage?

A plan sponsor, through a paperwork error, transferred a participant's account to the wrong fund. The sponsor now wants to correct the error by contributing the $10,000 (earnings lost by participant)to the right fund. Does this correction fall under any correction program (APRSC, VCR, etc.)? Are there any problems associated with 415 limits, deduction limits, etc. (that is, is it possible the $10,000 correction has to be considered a plan contribution and/or an annual addition, etc.)?

If a defined benefit plan had froze accruals for 2 years and now is unfreezing benefits, do the frozen years count toward a participant's accrual fraction??? How does this affect a particpant who terminated service prior to the unfreezing of benefits??

65 year old female has $40,000 invested in traditional IRA with a basis of $8,000. She does not need this money for expenses and does not want to take MRDs at 70.5. Assume her estate is less than the unified credit equivalent, so only concern is income tax. Can she purchase a whole life insurance policy, naming children as beneficiaries, to allow for tax-free transfer of IRA proceeds upon her death?

My company currently covers well child benefits (immunizations, physicals, etc..) up to age 6. No other well child benfits are covered until age 18, when the plan begins to pay for 1 routine physical every 4 years. I am interested in knowing what other plans out there cover in this area. Any comments suggestions are welcome. ALso, please state where you are and what type of company you work for.

Thanks!!!

The allowable deferral for Simple plans is

$ 6,0000. Is there any increase to this if an individual works for multiple employers? In otherwords, could one defer up to $10,000 under the 401(k) and 403(B) rules (cumulative for all w-2s)? I have heard both opinions, yes and no.

Client owns 100% of 2 companies, Company A & Company B. Currently has a single Profit Sharing Plan that covers both companies due to minimum coverage requirements. Company A is profitable. Company B is not. Client would like to only give PS to Company A. As long as minimum coverage requirements are met, a PS allocation could be made to each company separately, could it not (more to A, less to b)? Does general test come into play? Also, client is considering a 401(k) plan for Company B and keeping the PS plan for Company A only. Again, minimum coverage is main issue, but am looking for opinions/thoughts from others with similar situations (hopefully)!

Can someone please provide a link to Revunue Procedure 94-22?

I have attempted to look for and cannot find, thank for any help.

A federal District Court case just issued in December, Walker v. Board of Trustees, will be of interest to any members involved with collectively bargained plans. It held that governmental immunity would NOT apply to a board of trustees of a collectively bargained governmental plan, or to the board members in their individual capacities. This was true even though the court held that the board's actions would constitute "state action" for purposes of applying federal Constitutional provisions to the board.

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Employee benefits legal resource site

Employee in DB plan, that is funded by life insurance policies, advised employer upon entry that his date of birth was in 1932. Premiums are paid and benefits calculated on that basis. Employee dies. After his death, his driver's license shows his date of birth as 1923. Insurance companies reduce payouts. Beneficiaries claim entitlement to benefits based on 1923 date of birth. Can Plan Administrator rely on the date of birth given to him (1932). There is no independent verification of date of birth and several other documents show various dates of birth between 1923 and 1935.

Can an employer provide different cafeteria contributions for different rank and file employees? Example: can a secretary get $100 and a driver get $200 towards their health costs.

Assume you have 10 participants in a cafeteria plan which provides a medical flexible spending account. If each participant contributes $25/month and its March, there would be $750 in the account. Then, if one participant has a legitimate $300 request, he/she is entitled to the full amount even though he/she has only contributed $75. Question - Will a TPA look at the entire amount of $750 and pay the individual from this amount; or will the TPA go to the employer and request an additional $225 for the individual only recognizing individual accounts?

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Not even two weeks ago, I simply asked Dave Baker if there could be a user's board for BlazeSSI. Bingo! Get an e-mail from him, telling me it's up and I'm the moderator!

So, welcome to the newest users bbs! I welcome any ideas, sane or otherwise. Thanks, Cathy

I made a mistake on my cafeteria plan election forms. I should have elected to have monies taken out for the health care portion, but instead elected to have funds withheld for the dependant care portion. Do I have any options to make a change or am I stuck till the next enrollment period comes around?

finally, at long last I have had a few moments to organize and put some reports on our Web page (LDA-FCPA.COM)

amongst these are a number of ADP tests -

alphabetical sort, one version for plans with no match, if there is a match, report will list next to person why ee is excludable from ACP test.

there is even a version using prior years testing that will 'shift' unused deferrals.

(sorry, the 'shift' for current years deferrals will be available soon if I get a moment of fresh air)

please download the ADP description file as well - I offer no guarentees the results will always be correct - though I haven't encountered a problem yet. I always compare results to Quantech's report.

I will have a version that suggests refunds soon, it is almost ready - give me a day off from plans.(Ha, who am I kidding at this time of year) But it is so close to being done!

anyway, feel free to take a look and use what you want.

[Note: my understanding is that some older web browsers haven't been able to pull the reports, so I guess that's life]

Any comments on the following quote from Kiplinger? Does anyone have the court case cite?

"Figuring overtime pay may get more complex for payroll departments. A district court has ruled any cashout option an employer offers workers under cafeteria benefit plans must be included in figuring overtime pay. Includes the VALUE of a cashout, even if the employee doesn't take it. Court ruling will put a damper on cashout options in such plans, especially if the decision is backed by Labor Dep't and upheld on appeal."

I am a recent B.S.B.A. graduate from ASU and have decided (after continuous thought and study) that human resources will be the direction for my future. However, my next step to success is I need some information from individuals within the HR field. If you have time, I would greatly appreciate some comments about the following questions. You don’t need to answer them all, just any you have an outlook on.

Questions:

1) What is your job title?

2) What experiences help you be prepared or qualified for this job?

3) What do you like most about your job, your company, your industry?

4) What do you like least about your job, your company, your industry?

5) What are the most valuable skills, knowledge, and qualifications to have in HR?

6) Do you know of other locations where I can find valuable HR information?

Thanks for your help! If it is all right for me to get back in contact to you, please note at the end of you response.

Travis Glass

tg8520@yahoo.com

I am a recent B.S.B.A. graduate from ASU and have decided (after continuous thought and study) that human resources will be the direction for my future. However, my next step to success is I need some information from individuals within the HR field. If you have time, I would greatly appreciate some comments about the following questions. You don’t need to answer them all, just any you have an outlook on.

Questions:

1) What is your job title?

2) What experiences help you be prepared or qualified for this job?

3) What do you like most about your job, your company, your industry?

4) What do you like least about your job, your company, your industry?

5) What are the most valuable skills, knowledge, and qualifications to have in HR?

6) Do you know of other locations where I can find valuable HR information?

Thanks for your help! If it is all right for me to get back in contact to you, please note at the end of you response.

Travis Glass

tg8520@yahoo.com

We are in the process of taking over a case from another actuary. One of the owners has been receiving monthly benefits since 4/1/96 (his RBD). He began drawing the full 415(B) limit actuarially increased to age 71. Each year since then, the actuary has increased the monthly payment to reflect the change in dollar limit and an actuarial increase due to his age as of January 1. Is this correct, or should the actuarial increase for age cease when benefit payments begin (4/1/96)?