I am currently researching bridge in service policies for new hires. I am looking for any information concerning benefits given to re-hires. Also, what are the minimum and maximum number of months used to determine what benefits will be given and how to calculate the adjusted seniority date/

Thank you in advance for your assistance!

I am currently researching birdge in service policies. Any information/policies you can provide regarding what benefits are given to re-hires and how you calculate adjusted seniority dates would be greatly appreciated.

Thank you.

In October 1997 we switched from sick leave and vacation leave to Paid Time Off. Employees sick leave balances were grandfathered. Employees are allowed to use Grandfathered sick leave after 5 consecutive day of personal illness or injury. Sick Leave is no longer accrued.

PTO is accrued each pay period with carry over to the maximum allowable carryover. Once an employee meets the maximum carryover they stop accruing PTO until PTO is used. Since 1997 we are having a significant number of employees hitting their maximum on PTO and are no longer accruing PTO leave.

We are trying to address this situation so employees are not penalized for not taking Paid time off. Any suggestions?

Is there a restriction on making the amendment to use the new rates after the sponsor has already adopted the resolution terminating the plan?

My employer currently has a PTO program. It has been proposed to allow employees to elect prior to the 1/1/2000 plan year to sell PTO that will accrue during the 2000 plan year to pay for benefits the employee elected for the 2000 plan year. The PTO will be deducted out of each paycheck. There will be no restriction that the amount of PTO sold be equal to or less than the cost of the benefits elected. Have you seen this before? What rate of pay is used for the PTO value? The current one?

We've all heard that the IRS would object to a plan sponsor changing the plan formula each year. What cite can they use (or have they used)?

How frequent can a plan sponsor change the formula?

Does anyone know of any situations where the IRS objected to frequent plan formula changes, and what was the result?

(Do I want to be a test case? No!)

We have traditionally provided turnkey service on a balance forward basis for a variety of plans. We use Quantech to generate census, employer summary, and participant statements as well as discrimination testing and do distribution work, etc.

Over the past few years, we have accepted a number of engagements involving alliances with Manulife and Kemper. We periodically import data from the recordkeeper and do strictly compliance testing and the 5500.

We are considering segregating these two types of engagements between our two offices for various reasons, and would like input on software packages suitable for "compliance-only" jobs. Quantech will do the job, but is there anything better and/or less expensive?

Any other comments on segregating the jobs this way?

Do contirbutions made to a SEP count towards the maximum contribution (15%) for a Profit Sharing plan or are they separate from the PS plan

A Participant with an outstanding loan is being called up to reserve duty for the next 9-12 months. The plan permits a grace period for non-payments to not extend beyond the last day of the calendar quarter following the calendar quarter in which the required payment was due. It is likely that the participant will not make payments by the end of the grace period.

Since the participant is on a qualified military leave, must the outstanding balance be considered in default following the end of the grace period or can payments be suspended.

Plans of Professional Service Employers with fewer than 25 active participants are not covered by the PBGC.

How broad can one define Professional Service Employer (ERISA 4021(B) and © have the statutory language.)

Any cites?

Thanks

Company has a Simple IRA (with 100% match up to 3%) in effect for calendar 1999. Decision has been made to replace it with a profit sharing plan effective 1/1/2000. Simple IRS will be terminated 12/31/1999.

1) Can profit sharing plan be adopted in late 1999 with an effective date 1/1/2000, or must is be adopted during 2000? (I suspect the former is OK.)

2) Other than no new money going into the Simple IRA after 1999, what happens to the existing money?

3) The plan sponsor would have preferred to have the profit sharing plan in effect 1/1/99. It is prevented from doing so because of the Simple IRA. Can the Simple IRA be retroactively "converted" into a profit sharing plan? (I suspect any

solution in this area would be complex and not worth the trouble.)

Thanks

Does anyone know if a C2-DB study group is going to be held in Phoenix for the Dec exam?

Any ideas or sites that give ideas on how to communicate to employees that if they don't watch their own costs/utilizations then cost are going to keep increasing (premiums)?

An employer failed the do the 20% withholding for a harship distribution in 1998. How is this reported to the IRS (945)? Is there a excise tax penalty and how is it reported to the IRS (5330)? I believe that employee will have to amend their 98 return to reflect excise tax due on permature distribution. Any comments or thoughts from those who may have encountered this.

I need to determine whether the term SAS 70 Type 1 or Type 2 Employee means anything. Please let me know your thoughts. Thanks Ed

I requested, in writing, my former employee to transfer 401K funds in a Norwest Account to Janus via a wire transfer. Without calling to tell me the funds could not be wire transferred, he used the wire transfer account information and Norwest Mailed a check to the bank where the wire transfer should have been sent. This resulted in a delay of over a month because the funds were lost. The delay resulted in my loosing over $8,000 since I was unable to reinvest the funds at a lower rate. I believe the Plan Administrator had a ficuciary responsibility to contact me to obtain correct mailing information and that he is at fault for the loss and he should reimbursement me for the money I should have had. Am I correct in that assessment. Is there a particular part of the Erisa Law that relates to this? Thank you!

I have a plan document that has a "fail safe" provision for mandatory passing of the RATIO TEST by adding back ineligible or terminated participants. I was told (by someone, and I don't remember who) that this provision is no longer allowed in a document. I am currently restating the AA for Safe Harbor in 1999 and don't know if I can use this provision in the restatement. Any suggestions?

Sorry, to beating what seems to be a dead horse. I would like to know if anyone has seen school loans, payments just started, paid off with a 401K hardship withdrawal.

Looking for a recent PLR stating that an employer's contribution of unused sick leave to a qualified retirement plan does not constitute current taxable income to employees and is deductible by employer.

PLR 9827040 is somewhat similar but I believe the ruling I am looking for is more recent.

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Hi all, this is a topic I've not seen covered very much at all, but it is a big issue as us '98 Roth-converters-and-4-year-income-spreader-outers get ready for 1999's filing.

Based on my conversion, I've got about a $5,000 extra tax liability for 1998, 99, 00 and 01.

# 1 question, is there anything easy I can do to reduce this tax burden? I paid it all in 98.

On penalties, 98 was no problem because I used that first year exemption, so I didn't have any penalty on the amount underwithheld, but I'm trying to figure for 99. Obviously, I can either increase my job withholding or pay estimated tax so that I come in within $1,000 of what I finally owe. The question I have is, I've been looking at the penalty paperwork, Form 2210, and it APPEARs that the government penalty is a mere 5.04% of the amount underpaid. Is this correct? If it is, it greatly changes my strategy, 5% is not very much at all, and I would be inclined to pay the penalty and invest the money at 8 or 10% and pocket the difference. Anyone have any experience here? Anything I'm missing? I'm planning to pay the tax amount on time in 2000, by 4/15.

Here's the other stupid question: It's almost a question about an omission, but here goes. If I want the use of that $5,000 for most of the year, what's to stop me from increasing my w-4 employer withholding during the latter part of the year, I'm talking big amounts out of every paycheck, like $1,000, so that I meet the withholding requirement? 1040 doesn't make any distinction about the timing of w-4 withholding, it doesn't require that it be made ratably though the year, does it?

Thanks,

Chris