Does the ADEA apply to retiree medical benefits (not as applied to reducing severance benefits)? E.g., can an employer charge retirees an age based premium without having to satisfy the ADEA's equal benefit/equal cost analysis?

Thank you.

I am working with a plan that will not allow integrated profit sharing contributions to be used for inservice withdrawals. Was this ever restricted by law? If so, what is the cite? Was it part of the LRMs? Thanks!

401(k) top-heavy test % is 60.71. The plan sponsor has decided (via CPA advice) not to make a top-heavy contribution because the ".71" can be dropped, thus resulting in a passing % of 60. CPA also stated it is up to employer to pick a method and keep it consistent year to year. Our consistent method has been to include the .71.

Can not find any reference to state this is right/wrong. Any suggestions?

does anyone know of a report writer software that is compatible with different types of pension software, mainly datair and asc. both have their own proprietary report writer software but we are looking for something better, simpler.

thanks

I have a doctor client who sponsors two plans ps & mp. He has a partner who is an adopting employer. They both contribute 1/2 of the ee's contributions each year. The doctors are splitting. Do the employees going with the "adopting er" lose vesting? Are they terminted for vesting purposes? Are they affected at all if they roll all money into the leaving md's new plan? I may need to give more info.. but any thoughts would be helpful. Thanks

Employer offers a dependent care reimbursement account (DCRA) funded only by employee salary reductions. Is it permissible for the plan and the employer to allow reimbursements up to the annual elected limit, even if the account balance at the time of the reimbursement does not have sufficient funds to support the reimbursement? The employer, in effect, covers the deficit until the salary reductions cover the deficit. If this approach is acceptable, does it present problems for the employer or employee, particularly if the plan has a fiscal year and there is the possibility that reimbursements to an employee could exceed $5,000.00 in a particular calendar year?

Company A will merge with Company B. Company A maintains a multiemployer plan. It appears that merger would not tigger withdrawal liability because original employer still exists. I've reviewed ERISA Sections 4218 and 4069(B). Any thoughts? Thanks.

A client making a nonintegrated 10% contribution to a money purchase plan wants to adopt a safe harbor 401(k). Both plans will be "paired" standardized plans. It is our understanding that the safe harbor 3% nonelective contribution be satisfied in the money purchase plan, but several questions have arisen - Will the current 10% pension contribution satisfy the safe harbor, or must the pension % be raised to 13? Also, participants are required to complete a minimum of 500 hours of service to qualify for a pension contribution, but no such requirement exists for the safe harbor contribution - can this be rectified? Will the minimum funding standard requiring pension contributions be made not later than 8-1/2 months after the end of the plan year also apply to the safe harbor plan?

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

I have set up educational IRAs for my children, but they will not accumulate enough to finance the entire cost of their college education.

Can I withdraw a portion of my Roth IRA prior to age 59 1/2 to help pay the costs of their education?

I know a person who is a federal employee w/ the postal service. This person wants his pension reviewed. ERISA provides the emplyee w/ the right to review plan documents in the private sector. Does anyone know of the process in order to review a federal pension/ Or is there any formal procedure and can it be done? Does someone just ask for documents, eventhough there is no formal legislation providing that right?

ERISA sectio 104 provides for an employee to review plan documents in order to check their pension entitlement. I know someone who is a federal employee w/ the postal service. Does anyone know the procedure for getting documents to review the pension from that type of plan. Or if there is anything specific. Perhaps one can request the documents anyway, but the person wouldn't have ERISA provisions supporting them. Any comments appreciated.

Code Section 404(a)(3) limits deductibility of contributions to Profit Sharing Plans at 15% of compensation paid to "beneficiaries" under the plan.

IRS rulings indicate that an employer cannot count the compensation of a participant for whom no contribution is made for the year (e.g., due to a last day of year employment requirement). Their logic is that such a participant is not a beneficiary under the plan for that plan year because no money has been contributed to the trust for their benefit.

Is any one aware of a different rule in the case of a participant in a 401(k) plan? That is - if a participant is not eligible for a PS contribution (due to a last day of year employment requirement) AND that participant elected not to make any elective 401(k) deferrals, is there any chance the employer can count the participant's compensation for purposes of the 404(a)(3) 15% limitation?

The supporting logic would be that the participant is considered to be a beneficiary because s/he had the opportunity to make deferrals. (This is similar to the approach for minimum coverage testing under Code Section 410(B); i.e., a participant is "benefitting" under a (k) plan as long as s/he is able to defer - whether or not they actually elect to defer.) Have you heard any pronouncements from IRS that might support this reasoning?

Thank you for any feedback.

I presume that Client sponsors a DB plan in which leased employees participate and that these leased employees were leased from Company B for some period ending on day X and then leased from Company C from day X+1 to date.

If this is the case, there has been no change in the status of these employees and they should continue to participate without change.

If my interpretation of your situation is not correct, please provide more details (does the message topic "Terminated DB Plan" mean that the plan was terminated?).

If a plan is terminating and will have excess assets, one option is to transfer the surplus into a post-retirement health benefits account. I would like to know exactly what is meant or howi t's designed, with regard to the health benefits account being part of the plan (as a requirement)?

Does anyone have a simplified method of depositing withholding payments where the check is written on a brokerage account and the bank is not local? The local bank will not accept the deposit.

The first year of a new calendar year plan is 1997. The Top-Heavy determination date for the first year is 12/31/97. The only asset as of 12/31/97 is the 1997 contribution of $30K which is entirely receivable ($20K to Key EEs and $10K to Non-Key EEs). For the first year of a plan, receivable contribution amounts ARE included when determining the Top-Heavy ratio, therefore, the Plan is Top-Heavy for 1997 since the T-H ratio would be 66.67%.

For the second year of this Plan (1998), the T-H determination date would be 12/31/97 as well. IRS Reg. 1.416-1 says that you DO NOT include receivable amounts determining the T-H ratio for the second plan year and forward. Since, if you do not include receivable amounts, the account balances as of 12/31/97 for all participants is $0.00. DOES THIS MEAN THAT THE PLAN IS NOT TOP-HEAVY FOR 1998??

(The Top-Heavy equation for 1998 is 0 divided by 0 = undefined.) Common sense leads me to believe it IS Top-Heavy for 1998, since if any amount at all of the 1997 contribution was deposited by December 31, 1997, it would be Top-Heavy for 1998.

Does current participation in a 457 Plan prohibit the participant from electing the VISD under another 457 Plan in which the employee formerly participated? We have two 457 plans available to employees-- it has been asked whether it's legal to allow an employee currently participating in Plan A to elect the VISD provisions of Plan B, where the employee has ceased contributions to Plan B.

If two companies are merging can the survivor company accept the FSA elections from the non-survivor company? Or are new election forms required?

I read in some financial magazine (Kiplingers, I think) that Sen. Roth had introduced a bill that would increase the amount you could contribute to your IRA from $2,000 to $5,000. Does anyone know the status of this bill, or if it is likely to pass? Would increase the limits for 1999 contributions? Thanks.

Currently you can set up a comparability profit sharing plan which relates to class, age and compensation. There is also an age nuetral comparability plan which relates to class and compensation. Does anyone have information on how this works (perhaps a sample spreadsheet comparing both types)and who offers the document?