Plan has the principal residence safe harbor provision.

Several years ago Participant used a hardship distribution to buy a two family house. Participant now wants to move out of the two family house and use it as rental property and take a hardship distribution to purchase a four family house that he will live in. Using the hardship distribution to purchase the 4 family house would meet the requirements of the safe harbor on its face, that is, the money will be used to purchase a principal residence. My sense, however, is that this would be in violation of the Safe Harbor Reg (Reg §1.401(k)-1(d)(iv)(A)(2)). I do not think the intent behind the principal residence safe harbor was to permit participants to keep buying residences.

Does anyone have an opinion on this?

How should "separate account GICs, synthetic GICs, and BICs be reported on the Form 5500 that is scheduled to be in effect for 1999 plan year reporting. These are not held in insurance company general accounts.

I have heard of various terms for "new comparability" plans - third-generation, qualified bonus, super-integrated, etc. I had not heard the term "super comparability" before. Can someone explain what a "super comparability" plan is and where this term came from? Thanks.

I noticed that in Noel Ice's Excel template for the 706 Worksheet the IRD deduction is calculated based upon the average estate tax rather than the marginal estate tax. I also noticed that the prior accumulated taxable gifts were not used in the total calculation. Shouldn't the IRD deduction be based upon the marginal estate tax increase?

does anyone have any old tests they could share?

If a plan has not yet adopted GATT and is computing a lump sum, is the mortality table used required to be 1) mortality defined in the plan document, 2) old PBGC adjusted UP84 mortality, or 3) can it be either 1) or 2)?

I have a client that was fromed on June 1, 1997. For the 1998 plan year we are looking back to 1997 for HCE determination. Do we need to prorate the comp. for 1997 since the company was formed in June or do we look at the actual comp. for our HCE determination.

Any help would be greatly appreciated.

I have a for-profit utility service that did have a Money Purchase Pension Plan and now wants to switch to a 401(k) Plan. Can a Utility Service sponser a 401(k) Plan or does it have to be a 403(B) or 457 Plan?

Rev. Proc 87-27 states: 6. All actions necessary to implement the change of plan year, including plan amendment and a resolution of the Board of Directors (if applicable), have been taken on or before the last day of the short period.

Does anyone know if anything has superceded Rev. Proc. 87-27, or is the deadline for changing the plan year still the last day of the short plan year?

I am looking for Organisations which offer benefit adminstration/wage and salary courses, short term or certificate. I am based out of Minneapolis right now.

Thanks for all your help

A very old loan still in existence was made to a participant and the loan is a general asset of the plan. Both the plan and the participant would like to change the loan so that it falls under the current participant loan rules, so that repayments go into a participant loan account rather than into the general assets of the plan. The plan is a 401(k) profit sharing plan. The plan allows only one participant loan at a time. The current outstanding balance is about $10,000. What is the best way, if any, for the plan and participant to make this change?

Are 415 limits on annual additions prorated for a short initial plan year? Situation: Employer is on a fiscal year from 4/1-3/31. Employer wants to establish a profit sharing plan with an initial plan year from 1/1/2000-3/31/2000. If the limitation year is defined as the 12-month period ending on 3/31, then is the full 415 limit available for the initial plan year, or are those limits reduced because of the short initial plan year?

My 14 year old son has generated $700 in earnings from a part time job working as a house and pet sitter while folks are gone out of town. He would like to open a Roth IRA by investing $500 of his earnings in a mutual fund account. Given the fact that he has earned income, is there any reason he could not start a Roth IRA at age 14?

Anyone experience issues with DOL assertion that company acquiring assets (not stock) of another company has liability to provide benefits to selling company's COBRA participants. Current IRS regs are vague on the subject and IRS has issued proposed regs that address topic. But what has DOL done in terms of current enforcement??

Can a wholly owned subsidiary have different benefits from the main corporation?

Chris, yes, it seems to me to be an accurate interpretation. This is an interesting question. It appears to me that the immediate vesting requirement only applies to the contributions used to satisfy the ADP test safe harbor. In the situation you describe, obviously the matching contributions are not being used to satisfy the ADP safe harbor.

It appears that the only restrictions on the matching contributions to satisfy the ACP test safe harbor are the formula limitations described in Section VI.B. I do not see anything in VI. that would prevent the use of a vesting schedule or last day rule for matching contributions that are not being used to satisfy ADP. One thing I'm curious about: do you have any idea when the following requirement of Section VI.A. would NOT be met: "(i) each NHCE eligible to receive an allocation of matching contributions under the plan is also an eligible employee under a CODA that satisfies the ADP test safe harbor of section V" ?

What are the rules regarding purchase/sale of equity and index options in Roth IRAs?

I am working for an employer who wants to deduct insurance premiums from employee's salary before the premium is due. In other words, the employer wants the employee to pay 13 months premiums during 12 months...so that the employee will always be one month ahead in premium deductions. I think he should pay the monthly premium and then deduct the amount from the pay checks during that specific month. Are there any rules or regs. regarding how the premiums are deducted from employee salary in this case?

Any prohibition against using cross-tested class allocations in both paired MPP & PSP (e.g., MPP = 10% to HCEs, 3% to NHCEs ; PSP 15% to HCEs, minimum % to NHCEs to "pass")? I have a situation where I need paired plans to get the owners (2) to their maximum annual additions.

Can a participant NOT a 5% owner who elected to receive the MRD after the 1996 change now elect to stop receiving the distributions?