A plan miscalculated the MRD for 1998 and sends the participant a "make up" distribution in 1999 along with the "regular" MRD for 1999. Particpant is seeking waiver of the excise tax for the underpayment in 1998. Should the "make up" MRD be reported on an amended 1099 for 1998 or should both the make up and regular MRD be reported on a 1999 1099.

I have a situation where the owner of a U.S. company (permanent resident status) is separated and in the process of divorcing his wife who left him by going back to Germany with their children. He is staying here and the wife and children will be in Germany where the wife is a citizen.

Could the soon to be ex-wife be taken off the health plans now and at the time of official divorce/separation then put her back on due to the qualifying event if the courts so order?

There is also the issue of a domestic insurer covering a non-U.S. citizen living in Germany, e.g. claims paid from a German doctor. To my understanding, the insurer won't cover dependents living outside of the U.S.

A self-employed client of mine made a SEP contribution for 1997 in April 1998 based on what we thought was his 1997 self-employment income. In the middle of 1999 (yes, 1999), he received a 1997 K-1 from new partnership which reported a net self-employment loss. This new information has many ramifications; the one I'm most concerned about is that it means that his 1997 SEP contribution was overstated by roughly $4,700. Is there any way to characterize that amount as a 1998 contribution? Or are we forced to comply with the excess contribution/excise tax rules?

Does anyone have experience with 457(f) ineligible plans for officers of credit unions in which assets are set aside in a supplemental retirement account on the books of and held by the credit union (i.e., no grantor trust or insurance or annuity vehicle) and invested in mutual funds? The main issue is whether such investment, which would normally not be permitted as a credit union investment, is permissable as an investment because it relates to the credit union functioning as an employer providing retirement plan benefits to employees. I am aware of a few NCUA letters on this, but am looking for practical experience, e.g., how common is it to fund the plans internally, are there likely to be audit/examiner inquiries, accounting treatment, etc.

415f says to combine muliple db plans of same sponsor for 415b purposes. Once the 415b limit is obtained, how is the split among the plans determined?

We have a 9/1 PY "Doctor" plan that is going to terminate soon. There may be lingering 415(e) issues, although the prior (retired) actuary indicated that the 87-21 adjustment wiped out the dc fraction.

Would it be a good idea to run a short PY ending 12/31/99, and then term 1/3/00? Wouldn't this be like an insurance policy on 415(e), since it no longer would apply?

Any ideas w/b appreciated!

Thx

David Lipkin

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A pension equity plan has distribution options in the form of either a lump sum, an immediate annuity or a deferred annuity. Sponsor would like to provide alternate beneficiaries for the joint and survivor annuities with appropriate waivers by spouse. Any good references for issues that arise in this proposal?

If a profit sharing plan is taken over in a transaction and the new company does not plan to make contributions but has tactical reasons to keep the plan going for some period of time (ie, 3 years) and then the new company plans to terminate the plan- can the company wait until after the 3 years have past to vest the participants, or is immediate vesting required?

Employer wants to limit cash benefit available to employee who has medical coverage through a spouse's employer's plan. If monthly budget is $150, and cost of individual group medical coverage is $100, plan would give $50 to employee who selects the coverage, but only a percentage of the cash benefit that would otherwise be available to the employee who foregoes coverage because he/she is covered under a spouse's plan.

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If a distribution is less than $200, but the plan administrator chooses to allow it to be an "eligible rollover distribution," then 1) does mandatory withholding apply and 2) is a 402(f) Special Tax Notice required? It appears to me that 31.3405©-1 says that mandatory withholding would not apply, but that the notice (with any inapplicable language removed) would still be required. Am I correct?

What is considered "best practice" methodology for adjusting original employment date for reemployed individuals for purposes of vacation entitlements, etc. NOT qualified benefit plan service?

If an employer with a 401(k) plan with a discretionary match decides to make no matching contributions in 1999, does that mean the allowable HCE match limit for 2000 is zero? Any known exceptions to this?

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When Converting a Traditional IRA to a Roth, is there a way to have taxes withheld from the conversion proceeds?

If so, is this viewed as a distribution and therefore subject to a 10% penalty for early withdrawl?

I am looking for a sample investment policy for allowing a self-directed brokerage account. Would appreciate any references.

I filed my return in August and now would like to recharaterize my Roth due to how the market has affected my Roth. Is this possible or must I have filed by April 15th? If it possible is the only thisng I would lose would be the 4 year spread?

Our TPA & consulting firm has been trading on the NSCC platform by going through Columbus Circle. We ran into a few problems and are now looking at Mid Atlantic. Does anyone out there have any experience with Mid Atlantic? I would love to hear from you. Thanks.

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401(k) Plan was implemented 7/1/98. Top heavy determination indicates that plan is top heavy for initial plan year (1998).

Question: Re: minimum top heavy contribution allocation, are you required to use full-year compensation (as defined in 415©(3)) even though the plan was not in effect for the entire year?

Has anyone ever heard of a "177A pension plan". Never heard of anything like this. Could this have something to do with a federal plan, e.g., Railroad Retirement. Any help would be appreciated.

Our client has a 401(k)/403(B) plan for its employees, to which it also makes employer contributions. If the participant fails to sign an election form, employer contributions are placed in a suspense account until the form is completed. The suspense account earns no interest. The employer would like its contributions to earn some interest until the employee completes the election and investment option forms. The broker-dealer that services the plan has indicated the SEC prevents money from being invested prior to the receipt of employee forms. Can anyone point me in the right direction with regard to SEC rules that govern broker-dealer conduct so I can see verify the broker-dealers conclusion.

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A person has the following pays:

1995 50,000

1996 60,000

1997 70,000

1998 55,000 (terminated on 10/1/98)

plan uses a 3 yr avg.

Is it legal to ignore the 1998 compensation in computing avg salary, eventhough it would produce a higher avg, because the plan says it only uses complete years worked? Or is it really just based on what the plan says? Interested in other opinions.