For a one ee company, is it inappropriate to install a plan for 1 year and take deduction, knowing that in yr 2 the plan will terminate? ie. company will terminate.

Do split dollar plans for a top hat group need ERISA claims procedure language or any other specific language? It says at the beginning of Seciton 401 "This part. . ." doesn't apply to top hat plans, but I can't tell if part means section 503 also.

Do split dollar plans for a top hat group need ERISA claims procedure language or any other specific language? It says at the beginning of Seciton 401 "This part. . ." doesn't apply to top hat plans, but I can't tell if part means section 503 also.

Do NQDC plans need ERISA claims procedure language or any other specific language? It says at the beginning of Seciton 401 "This part. . ." doesn't apply to top hat plans, but I can't tell if part means section 503 also.

A plan terminated and there will be no further employer contributions to the plan. There is still money left in a forfeiture account. The plan document calls for using the forfeitures to reduce employer matching contribuitons. Our first thought is that the forfeitures should be used to offset plan expenses and we believe the plan document does allow this. But what happens to any forfeitures if there is still something left after offsetting all expenses? Can or must it be reallocated to participants?

I am employed by an educational institution. Earlier this year TIAA-CREF had calculated the max. monthly amount I could defer for 1999 under my 403(B) salary reduction agreement. I have currently been deferring that amount. I also have self-employment income from consulting work and have set up a SIMPLE IRA. Is there as maximum combined amount I can defer in a given year when I combine both the my 403(B) salary reduction and my SIMPLE? My calculations currently show that if I fund the max. $6000 allowable in my SIMPLE IRA I would by above 25% of my total net earned income for the year.

Can the safe harbor and facts-and-circumstances tests for determining whether a hardship exists and for determining whether a distribution is necessary to meet the hardship be mixed in the following ways (that is, can a plan document be written to allow for the following):

1) The hardship is for funeral expenses (a facts-and-circumstances hardship) but the safe harbor is used for determining whether or not the hardship is necessary (that is, the sponsor does not check other resources of the participant, but does suspend deferrals for 12 months, etc.)

2) The hardship is post-secondary school tuition (a safe-harbor hardship) but the plan sponsor checks the resources of the participants to determine if the distribution is necessary to meet the hardship (that is, does not suspend deferrals, etc.)

I am confused as to whether there is one set of safe-harbor rules which must always work together, or whether there is a separate set of safe-harbor rules for each of the 2 tests that can be used separately.

Any cites would be greatly appreciated.

I am trying to find the 402(g) limits for TSAs for 1990-1998. Can someone please list what the limit was for each of these years. I believe that 1998 was also $10,000 and that 96-97 were $9,500; however, I need to verify this, as well as to get previous years.

Thanks for your help!

The short answer is yes, you can have two profit sharing plans covering the same employees. One sometimes sees a variation of this to sort of get around the 401(a)(17) on compensation which applies to each plan.

However, having two 401(k) plans (or qualified cash or deferred arrangements within profit sharing plans, to be technically precise) leads to some rather punitive testing results. HCE deferrals to both plans are counted in each plan's 401(k) but only NHCE deferrals to that particular plan counts against that plan's test. There's a parallel rule for 401(m) testing I believe.

I think what you want is to freeze one plan and start up a new plan. As long as this occurs at the same time as the plan year end, the above rule won't mess up your plans.

According to Announcement 94-101, a plan is not permitted to have a "catch- all" hardship category. One plan document I've seen lists "Other heavy financial need of the participant or the participant’s spouse or dependents" as a hardship category. Is this an impermissible provision? If so, is it enough to simply never use this provision?

How does a payor employer repor retirement payments of a Nonqualified Retirement Plan to a payee? Would the employer use a 1099 R, 1099 MISC, W-2 or something completely different? Thanks.

In April of this year i tossed $2K into my Roth IRA (one account) for 1999. This money sat for a couple months waiting on a limit order (missed by 1/16...stock was 3 5/16, now at 10...d'oh). I then used $1850 of this to buy a stock which is worth around $900.

Is there any way i can recharacterize this year's contribution as a traditional IRA, and then roll it over into a Roth thereby getting a tax deduction of ~$950 on my investment ineptitude?

If so, how would i figure out the interest earnings on this year's contribution, keeping in mind that my previous IRA contributions are in the same account as my '99 contribution?

In a takeover situation, how would you "withdraw" a contribution that should have been made to the qualified PS Plan and was by error deposited in an inactive SEP? This was an accounting error, essentially, due to confusion on accounts. Deposit was made in 1997 for a 7/31/97 Plan Year. Thanks for all input...

First,I understand that a DB sponsor must pay a premium to PBGC... how is this determined?

Second,I also understand the defined benefit contribution made for an older employee can be greater compared to someone younger becuase of the time left until retirement, but is there anyway to adjust if the younger person is the owner or a HCE.

Thanks for any input,

Jason

In looking through our back pages of the prototype,it actually indicates that "loans shall not be granted to any Participant that provides for a repayment period extending beyond such Participant's Normal Retirement Date". Is that something just in our prototype, or is it part of the regs?

Anyone? Thanks!

I would assume the reason for going this route is you would run inton problems with the 15% limit in the profit sharing plan.

Another alternative (although you would incur the expense of a second plan)

is to have a money purchase at 3% (or more) covers top heavy, and then the profit sharing by class. then you probably wouldn't need to amen, so you save something there.

sorry, no experience with IRS in regards to amending often.

no experience with it except looking at their sample download, but FlexSoft does DB as well as cross tested.

4/1/2000 is the new required beginning date. It is the 4/1 following separation from service, which may catch some sponsors by surprise if they are slow in getting their year end census to their recordkeeper.

My company is starting a 401k plan. We currently have a Profit Sharing Plan, and that money is all going into that plan, I don't want to do that, our 401k Plan is a Lord, Abbett Mutual Fund. and I want to gradually put that money into the plan on a per month basis not in one lump sum. What if the stock market is not doing well, then the initial investment is going to be less that what it started out to be. Do I have that right to ask for my money from the Profit Sharing Plan? I am 100% vested in that plan, since they are closing it out. I don't think my company has that right to do that without my okay.

How are ESOP stock evaluated? My boss who is the plan administrator said tht it is determined by the area of business that we are in (banks) and that what other banks our size are worth or sold for goes into determining our stock value. I thought it what your own bank's profits are and not what other banks are. we are a closely held company.