We have an 8/1-8/1 plan year with a 7/1-7/15 annual enrollment period. We have a situation where employees want to be covered by their spouse during the spouse's open enrollment period (Oct, for example, for a 1/1 effective date), and then want to cancel coverage with us prior to open enrollment. Our interpretation of the regs is that this is not a valid status change and we have denied the changes. Has anyone else had this occur and have used a different interpretation?

Is anyone else having trouble with deciding what to ask (or even if I need to ask) 3rd party recordkeepers and investment funds about their compliance? DOL seems to require that inquiry.

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http://www.401kafe.com provides education and information to 401k participants. What's nice about it is the site is not part of any investment manager's site and is not "salesy" in its presentation.

I WENT ON DI IN JAN OF 98, FROM A LG. CO. I RECV'D MY 1ST CHECK FROM THEM IN APRIL,(4 WKS. OF SALARY CONTINUANCE)THE 4 CHECKS WERE IN MY ADMINISTRATOR'S DRAWER SINCE THE FIRST WEEK I WENT OUT. IN JUNE I RECV'D 20 WEEKS OF CHECKS. IN SEPTEMBER, I RECV'D A LETTER STATING THAT I AM NOT DISABLED, THEREFORE MY CLAIM IS CLOSED. I WROTE A LETTER A WEEK AFTER RECEIVING THEIRS AS I HAD A 60 DAY WINDOW TO REPLY. I HAVE A NERVE PALSY, DRIVING IS PAINFUL AND NOT VERY SAFE WHILE I AM IN THIS CONDITION. IN MID-NOV., I GOT A CALL FROM THE DI DEPT., A NURSE, NOT THE CASE MANAGER WHO WROTE ME THE DENIAL LETTER. I ASKED FOR AN ACKOWLEDGEMENT + A REPLY TO MY LETTER. THE CASE MANAGER STILL DID NOT CALL CONTACT ME AS THE NURSE PROMISED. I ASKED HER TO ALLOW ME AN IME AND I ASKED TO BE PRIVIED TO INFO. EXPLANING THE STANDARD PROCEDURES OF THEIR DEPT. SHE DID NOT RESPOND TO THAT REQUEST. SHE CALLED BACK IN 2 WKS. TO TELL ME THAT I HAVE AN IME ON 12/15/98. I DROVE TO THE IME, A 45 MIN. DRIVE, WHICH WAS OF NO CONCERN TO THE NURSE . I DID NOT THINK THAT I WOULD HEAR FROM THEM AGAIN. MY SUPERVISOR TOLD ME IN JAN. THAT HIS BOSS, STATED, IF SHE DOES NOT GET IT STRAIGHTENED OUT W/THE DI DEPARTMENT SHE WILL BE TERMINATED, IF SHE DOES NOT COME BACK TO WORK. I WORK FOR THE LARGEST INS./FINANCIAL CO. IN THE INDUSTRY. THE INSURER IS NOT A 3RD PARTY. I DID NOT FEEL WELL ENOUGH TO FUNCTION AT WORK, I RETURNED 1/28/99 , ANYWAY. 3 DAYS AFTER RETURNING TO WORK, I GOT A CALL FROM THE NURSE.SHE SAID THAT SHE IS GOING TO RELEASE THE BAL. OF MY STD BENEFITS AND SUGGEST TO THE LTD DEPT. TO PAY APPROVE MY CLAIM. THE END OF FEB. I WAS PAID, ALL IN ONE CHECK FOR 6 MOS. OF LTD. I TOLD THEM THAT I RETURNED TO WORK, I WAS PD. TO THE DAY PRIOR TO RETURNING TO WORK. I JUST SAW MY NEURO TODAY. HE THOUGHT I WOULD HAVE BEEEN BETTER BY NOW. I HAVE A NERVE PALSY, CORROBORATED BY 2 ORTHO SURGEONS AND THE IME DR. I SIMPLY CANNOT CONTINUE TO TRY WORKING RIGHT NOW. I DREAD DEALING WITH THE DI PEOPLE AGAIN. THEY WILL NOT SEND ME A BENEFIT CHECK ON A WKLY BASIS. BY RETURNING TO WORK AND DOING A TERIBLE JOB FOR 9 WKS., I HAVE RUINED MY TRACK RECORD. I HAVE NO ADVOCATE. I HAVE EVERY INS. LISC. EXCEPT AUTO+HOME. I KNOW THESE PEOPLE ARE NOT ONLY UNETHICAL BUT ACCORDING TO MY A+H LISC EXAM, THEY ARE NOT EVEN ADHERING TO THE LAW. I AM IN A VACUUM AND I CANNOT SEE WHO IS GOING TO ENFORCE THE LAW.

ANY COMMENTS? ADVICE?

1 MORE QUESTION> PER THE ADA, ONE NEEDS TO BE PERMENANTLY DISABLED TO BE PROTEECT BY THAT ACT. DOES THAT MEAN FROM 1/98 TO UNTIL I AM DECEASED?

I AM GLAD THAT I FOUND THIS PAGE. ANY INFO., I WILL BE SO GRATEFUL FOR.

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peabodyvmh

A qualified plan provides that employer contributions are made in accordance with a collective bargaining agreement ("CBA"). The CBA provides that only employees who work more than 1600 hours during a plan year will receive an allocation. I don't think this is permissable. 2530.204-2 dealing with partial years of participation applies only to defined benefit plans. Any thoughts? Thanks. Ed

If a governmental agency "picks up" employee contributions in a defined contribution plan under IRC 414(h)(2), I understand that the contributions are considered annual additions. Assuming the contributions "picked up" meet the criteria outlined in Rev. Rul. 81-35 and 81-36 to qualify as excludable from the employee's gross income in the current year, is any further testing necessary?

Recently was presented with a plan document that states that where a spouse does NOT provide consent, a lump sum will be paid when requested by a participant as follows: 50% of lump sum to Participant or Participant's designated beneficiary and 50% to Spouse. Note: this is lump sum and not and annuity. Is this permissable? My reading of J&S and consent rules in Code make me question this. Please help

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P in multi-employer money purchase pension plan retired in 1991 (when witholding was optional), took lump sum and rolled to IRA. P worked in 1997 and 1998 and retired again in 1998. Plan did

not let P elect between cash and trustee-to-trustee transfer. Instead, plan followed P's 1991 election, paid him 80% and witheld 20% in 1999. P wants plan to "undo" the payment and do a T-to-T transfer to his IRA. Is there a procedure for getting the 20% back from the IRS?

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An employer made a $100,000 contribution to a DB plan. Subsequently, the employer determined that the DB plan's normal cost was only $20,000. Can the employer withdraw excess as a mistake in fact if withdrawal occurs within one year of date of contribution. I don't think such a withdrawal is possible. Any thoughts. Thanks. Ed

I'm 64 I have an IRA that is made up of a Small Cap Stock. It's worth now is 4111.00. At one time it was worth almost 6000.00. I don't intend to cash this out, because I don't need the money as of now or maybe never. I can afford to pay the tax on this money if I decide to convert it to a ROTH IRA. Would it be to my advantage to do so and also my boys advantage? Mae

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Mae

Can an employee elect to have a surgical procedure (i.e. eye surgery in Canada-cheaper than the states) in a foreign country and claim that expense on their health care spending account? The expense is valid but Outside of the country is the question. Thanks!

My understanding is that APRSC cannot be used to return excess salary deferral contributions until after April 15th -- deadline in reg 1.401(g)-1. A client insists that Revenue Procedure 99-13 allows for APRSC to be used before April 15th AND that the distribution is taxes ONLY in 1999. Does anyone else have this understanding of APRSC?

I am processing a plan in which the trustee wants to accrue his fees on a quarterly basis, to be paid on an annual basis, for a plan that is using unit accounting. Does anyone know a way to accrue the fee in Quantech and have it reflected as such in the reports, especially the participant certificate? Quantech support has indicated to me that it is not possible.

Will Roth IRA's be available in the upcoming years or must I start mine before April 15th to qualify for 1998?

And If I must start one before Thursday, what's the best way to go about it now?

Does a 125 cafeteria flexible benefits plan that includes a child care reimbursement account and a premium only plan for health & dental insurance need to have a summary plan document for both or just for the child care since the others are only premium only?

Company initially adopted a M&P standardized prototype plan which gave authority to amend to Sponsoring Organization. The original effective date of Company's Plan was in 1986.

Sponsoring Organization received a Notification Letter from IRS in 1991 approving its TRA '86 Plan.

Through oversight, Sponsoring Organization failed to notify Company of updated plan.

Recognizing that there may be 401(a)(1) and/or other issues, would you consider this a "non-amender," since the plan was timely amended by the Sponsoring Organization.

Where in the law is it required that the Company AGAIN adopt (i.e, timely sign) the plan, when the right to amend has been deligated to the Sponsoring Organization.

Rev. Proc. 95-12 talks about the employer "adopting" the plan, but does not (I think) define "adopt" for this purpose.

In essence, I am saying that if (a) the sponsoring Organization timely amends the plan; and, (B) the Plan Sponsor (i.e., Adopting Employer) "deligates (has previously deligated) to the Sponsoring Organization the right and power to elect any amendment to the Document without the prior consent of Company" that there is no such thing as a "Non-Amender" in this instance.

Do you agree with my position? All comments appreciated.

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Client has SARSEP and SEP - assume NOT TOP heavy - and one EE has deferred legal limit (15% of comp after deferrals). Now client wants to make ER contrib to all eligibles. Is the EE with the maximum deferrals locked out of the ER contrib and is this OK?

Don't forget to look at the potential revenue sharing you can get from mutual fund companies for what are known as sub-TA fees. A mutual fund will typically pay a transfer agent for keeping all the individual records of its investors. In a qualified plan, if you are doing daily recordkeeping, you are the one keeping the records. So, you may be able to collect a portion of the sub-TA fee to help offset other plan expenses. Typically, these fees can be up to $10 or $12 per participant that holds that fund as one of their assets. Many people worry about getting revenue sharing for the 12b-1 fees but fail to get information about these fees.

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Carol J. Ringwald

Can anyone offer me any insight on this matter?

My question, if it is unclear, is basically can a non-spouse beneficiary move the assets of the IRA sharholder from the current trustee to another trustee, once they assume the IRA?

Also, can anyone tell me if there are any Private Letter Rulings on this matter?

Thanks