Regarding withdrawals from the Roth IRA for education, is there a repayment stipulation in the tax code?

I converted a non-deductible traditional IRA to a Roth IRA in Jan 98. This year, I received a 1099R from my account with the total account value as the disbursement. The question is: am I only liable for the difference in value between the total amount minus the actual contributions? How do I clarify that on the tax forms?

Employer A owns several subsidiaries, none of which are covered under A's plan.

Not surprisingly, even after throwing out several acquisitions under the transition rule and checking all of the eligibility rules, the plan doesn't pass coverage under the 401(k)portion or the match portion.

Any thoughts as to correction methods (still within 9 1/2 month period)?

I have not tried (yet) any average benefits or non-discriminatory classification testing.

Thanks.

A colleague in New York would like to know how to handle a case of employment being terminated and the ex-employee inadvertently was not informed of their COBRA rights, but the insurance

was canceled as of the date of termination (3+ months ago).

I would direct the employer to reinstate the insurance back to the date

of cancellation, up to some future date - say, the end of this month .

Then immediately mail the COBRA info stating insurance will be canceled

as of end of the month. Is this the path you would take as well?

(Self-insured plan, employer is in NY state.)

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According to the Wall Street Journal, Fidelity has decided to allow the beneficiary of a decedant's IRA designate their own beneficiary on the account in order to allow the assets to coninue on in tax-deferred status. I am assuming they mean that the second beneficiary would continue to take distributions over the life expectancy of the first minus one for each year that has passed but the article doesn't state that.

It was my understanding that it is trust law and not tax law which prohibits changes to a trust once the grantor (origianl IRA holder) has passed away - they created the trust agreement and once they are gone, no changes can be made???

Is anyone else following Schwab and Fidelity in doing this? Any ideas on why no one has done it in the past but now it's ok? Has something changed or are they just getting bolder and more aggresive?

I am working with a client that has a blended fund. The fund is made up of about 5 different component funds. Can the aggregate fund be listed on the schedule G or should the components be listed. What will an auditor and the IRS be looking for? I believe the fund is made up of seperate invement accounts from an insurance company and an outside registered fund. Did the blended fund need to be filed with the DOL or some other agency? I am new to this type of arrangement any direction or IRS/DOL regs. would help.

Thanks!

I am interested in general information related to the cost of educating plan participants. I am trying to develop a pricing matrix to be used to analyze a teams cost. Are others charging for the use of educators? Can travel exenses be passed back to the client? What about ongoing education meetings with a company?

Help. My marketing department is putting together something on IRAs and wants to reference the first tax year for which you could have made an IRA contribution and what law created them. I'm drawing a complete blank - I've been in the business for 14+ years and they've been around as long as I remember - I know I should know this but don't.

Can you help, please? Thank you in advance,

Kathy

Is anyone processing plans with greater than 5,000 lives on Quantech. We have a prospect in this range and want to know how other firms are handling plans of this size. Please send me an email if you have experience in this area.

Chris_Hammond@rsmi.com

Thanks!

I have seen information implying that a $10,000 distribution from either a qualified plan or an IRA is exempt from the 10% excise tax penalty for early withdrawal (pre-age 59.5),if the funds are used for first time home purchase by a qualifying individual.

Other information implies that such a distribution is exempt only if it is made from an IRA. Which is correct?

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Vic

If the owner takes his assets out of a straight profit sharing plan (67%), does this qualify as a partial plan termination? are there any other negative aspects of this move that I should be aware of? tx!

In this still pre-GATT era, does anyone have any idea whether a 1963 George Buck mortality table is "reasonable" in the context of a standard termination? Would you clearly get a notice of sufficiency from the PBGC if you employed that table? It is the table employed to calculate lump sum amounts under the current plan document.

My client in New York state, has 20 year employee that had heart attack at end of December. In hospital until begining of March, left state for rehab in Michigan - to date. I suggested they use up vacation and sicktime then implement the FMLA for 12 weeks then go on COBRA. Also, health plans are contributory. No payments have been made since last paycheck in February. Please advise - quickly. robkt

Help! I have to turn in a 1000-word article for our company newsletter Friday titled "Employee Benefits---Is It Worth the Hassle?" This is not my area of expertise. Any HR folks out there with comments, suggestions where I might find info, anecdotes you'd like to share? I'd appreciate any ideas.

[This message has been edited by Lynn (edited 04-05-99).]

Last year I converted a regular IRA to a Roth IRA. When my spouse and I computed our taxes, we get a higher return (by about $140) if we file separately rather than jointly. But this would mean I would have to recharacterize my Roth back to a traditional IRA. Any advice?

I am unclear on the type of life insurance would be classified as group term. The problem I am having, is that we do not pay any premium (the employer) all premiums are paid by the employee. IRC Sec 79 has one paragraph that deals with coverage that can be taxable for employees paying all of the premiums. This is where I believe we fall and I need some clarification. Any help would be greatly appriciated. Thanks Steve

I have a question on how to proceed with an ACP test as to provide the best results possible. The plan has an immediate eligibility for both 401(k) and after-tax contributions. The plan provides for a matching contribution after 1 year of service, monthly entry dates. The compensation being used for testing purposes is eligible compensation, which is entire year due to immediate eligibility of after-tax contributions. Therefore, the ACP results are lowered for individuals eligible for match later in the year due to using entire year compensation.

The question - Can both contributions be tested seperately (using different compensation figures) and then weight the two individual tests together for a final ACP result?

Thanks for any input!!!!!!!!!!!

I am trying to find information regarding customary benefits in hospitals, either for profit or not-for-profit.

ie Do most Hospitals use the formula:

'final average earnings x 1.2% x years of service'. Or do they use a higher %?

Also what is the percentage of hospitals

that offer a 401K/403B match?

Would much appreciate any info anyone could provide..

I am in New York. Thanks

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Julia

A client is due to renew their ERISA bond. The insurance agent called to ask whether the bond could be subject to a deductible. I have never been asked this question before now.

My initial thought was no, a deductible is not acceptable. It almost seems that a deductible would defeat the purpose of the bond, at least in some small way.

But, I have been unable to find any guidance on this question. Any insights or thoughts would be appreciated.

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Dan Smith

I do not administer non-qualified plans but a client of mine has one, drawn up by an attorney. A terminated participant wants to take a distribution but we have no distribution forms. Does anyone know where I can go for such a form?

Thanks.