I am working on revising my company's Short-Term Disability and Disability Leave policies. Can anyone share examples? I'm specifically interested in criteria for eligibility for paid leave, duration of paid maternity leave, percentage of salary paid as STD benefit, and the impact on STD benefits of part-time work during a disability leave of absence (for instance, an exempt employee on maternity leave spends several hours on the phone with clients). Also, does anyone out there have a paid paternity leave policy?

Any information on policies / best practices would be greatly appreciated.

Thanks!

Often times the mutual funds that your plan is investing in are paying fees and commissions to brokers and/or other types of "interested parties" (recordkeepers, etc.) My firm in in the business of identifying these fees and commissions, collecting them, and then rebating the majority of the BACK to the trust. These rebates may be used to offset expenses of the trust, provide for participant education, etc. Many sponsors are very surprised at how much money brokers/etc. are making on their plan, often in return for little or no service. Many sponsors also use "no-load" funds to avoid excessive commissions, but often fees can be found on these funds.

------------------

1-800-693-7800

cfriday@macg.com

Is anyone aware of any law, rule or regulation which limits disclosure of confidential medical information to the executives of the employer which is a third party administrator and administers its own self insured plan?

------------------

A settlement agreement states 50% of benefits accrued. The DRO in process states 50% of total account balances. This relates to a 401k plan with non vested employer dollars. The question is Does phrase benefits accrued include non vested contributions and thus the DRO is not correct?

For the purpose of the 25% of compensation 415 limit, do you define compensation by starting with the employee's pay and subtracting the 401(k) employee deferrals as well as the Section 125 plan deferrals.

For example, an employee earns $100,000. He defers $10,000 into the 401(k) and another $5,000 into the Section 125 plan. Is his 415 limit equal to 25% of $100,000, $95,000, $90,000 or $85,000.

(Please ignore the issue if his pay is above $160,000)

Thanks

I'm interested in any information you have on health plan vebas structured as individual accounts (similar to group health savings accounts)

i have a tsa mutual fund that i no longer make contributions to. i would like to move it into 2 other funds that do offer 403b(7) accounts but neither fund is listed as available through my current employer. does this move comply with the law if i make a fund to fund transfer?

Law Firm has age-based plan. All attorneys except the eldest opted out to keep it efficient. Now, they want a 401(k) plan for all employees. I think the age-based plan will be deemed a CODA if we allow the other attorneys to participate.

Also, they were a partnership when the elections were made, but an LLP now. More reason to disallow participation or irrelevant?

Thoughts anyone?

------------------

BB

An article describing the income tax, FICA tax, and withholding consequences of early retirement incentives and failed section 457 plans maintained by governmental employers is now online. Just click on the link above to go to it.

---------------------

Employee benefits legal resource site

Is it permissible to have IRA account holders make contribution checks out directly to their existing IRA accounts in the underlying mutual fund or annuity contract and thus bypass the trustee of the IRA?

Seeking comments on the pros/cons of using a combined SPD/Plan document, for a self-funded arrangement that encompasses group health, dental and flex benefits. Also, any insights on how to document the employer's transition to combined document from current situation, in which plan document is maintained separately from SPD.

------------------

Greetings:

I would like to have feedback from all

the posters of this board regarding the following

problem:

A client of ours (who works on

branch of a multinational corporation; that said

branch located in Puerto Rico ) is reporting

that his employer demands from its employees

to report themselves to the SSA and be represented by

council provided by the employer if the want to

request LTD benefits.

QUESTION: Does ERISA or the SS Act allows

private employers to establish different work-related

benefit request requirements based on the fact that

one of its branch is located on a US

territory?

(I know, tall order!)

Feedback will be appreciated.

Thanks.

Juan Barrios

Hernandez & Associates

Attorneys At Law

Bayamon, Puerto Rico

An employer sponsors a premium-only health insurance plan. It currently pays the same portion of the premium for all employees. Can it pay different percentages of the premium for different classes of employees (like it could without a 125 plan) without the plan being discriminatory?

Is there a procedure for making a "John Doe" submission under either VCR or Walk-in CAP? In other words, is there any way to communicate with the IRS on an anonymous basis to find out how the IRS would require you to correct a plan defect, so that you can then make a more informed decision whether or not to go into the program?

We want to encourage our employees to take advantage of the health screenings in our Wellness Program. Even though we pay them a certain dollar amount to take the exam and a discount on their insurance premium if they pass, we still have low participation. Is it legal to make them take the screening before they can enroll in the plan and then once a year to stay in the plan? We obviously don't get the results by name and their enrollment wouldn't be based on whether or not they passed, just whether or not they took the test. If that isn't an option, what other suggestions are there to increase participation?

Thanks, Karen

Does anyone have a good system for the annual performance reviews for employees? We ask our employees to complete a "self review", but we would like to get much more detailed. Do most small firms develop the review forms themselves (as we did), or are there any good products that may be worth looking into. We often struggle with the employee review process.

Thank you.

We are having a raging debate here as to whether or not the elimination of the family aggregate applies to SARSEPS. Some say yes, others that SARSEPS are "grandfathered" and the new rule does not apply. Please settle this for us!

------------------

MEG

I'm sorry everyone. There was a thread concerning 403(B) rollovers. It was updated as recetnly as today. It was appearing in duplicate. When I attempted to erase one of them, they both disappeared. So much for housekeeping!

As I recall, the discussion was complete. Repsonses indicated that 403(B) distribs cannot be rolled over into a 401(k). SOmeone also pointed out that pending legislation would allow it.

If I omitted anything relevant, please post a message here.

Is a safe harbor 401(k) plan considered a comparable plan with a profit sharing plan.

Client wishes to terminate existing profit sharing plan and distribute funds to participants due to segregated assets and the associated cost of administration. Client also wishes to establish a safe harbor 401(k) plan.

My understanding is that a comparable plan is covered by the same limitations on deductions as the original plan.

What are the tax implication if you wish to recharacterize a Roth conversion IRA back to a traditional IRA after year 1 if you elected to spread your tax liability over 4 years? First, can this election be revoked? Second, can you file an amended return for year 1 to recapture the taxes paid on the first 25% of the conversion. Third, if no recapture of year 1 tax is available, what is the tax status on that 25% of the Roth soon to be IRA funds, can they be withdrown tax free in the future?