Are there any hurdles to jump through before a trust may be designated as a beneficiary of a Roth IRA? Is it easier to name the trust beneficiaries directly as the Roth beneficiaries?

We are a small organization with a very lean budget. Some of our employees are interested in receiving extra vacation days instead of a merit increase. Has anyone offered this before and, if so, how did you administer it?

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Can a loan from a 401(k) Plan be repaid under a balloon type repayment?

Participant pays interest monthly, then at the end of the loan term they pay off the principle.

Do most people include the amortization schedule with their loan documents?

We would like to eliminate and include just the truth-in-lending statement (includes interest rate, interest $ collected, financed $, total amount paid, # of pmt, amount of pmt, pmt frequency), promissory note, and spousal consent form. Can't find where the amortization schedule is required.

A calendar year plan is established in 1998. The employee deferral and match are made every payroll and are programmed where the percentages are entered by a user.

In October a key employee reaches his $10k limit and the user sets his deferral % to 0. However, the user failed to stop the match and an additional $4000 was contributed to the employees account. The error was discovered in 1999 and the $4000 was returned to the employer as an administrative error.

The question is, should the money have been returned because the error was discovered in 1999? If it was not returned as an administrative error, the ACP and top heavy would have failed. ACP would have required a 1.5% QNEC and top heavy would have been 2.75%.

It is the opinion of the administrator that this was a mistake of fact, and was handled correctly because it was returned prior to the March 15 deadline.

Any thoughts?

I understand that the maximum time to deposit contributions is 15 bz day of month following month $ withheld. But I also understand that client can receive a 10 day extension if certain criteria is meant.

What is the criteria for a 10 day extension????

We have a client who recently acquired another firm, both corporations. They are trying to determine the best way to deal with the two 401(k) plans- terminate the acquired plan and distribute the assets to the participants or trasfer the assets from one plan to the other- anyone have a checklist we can use to guide them through this process? Principal is the administrator for the main plan. Thanks.

Employer wants a nqdc plan which mirrors the investment options of its 401k plan. The 401k plan is daily val'd and participants call the mutual fund company to change investment elections. (footnote: The employer understands that the earnings of the rabbi trust are taxable and does not want to fund the nqdc plan with coli because the 401k investment options are not available under any variable life product.)

Can anyone provide me with legal authority (or source from which I can find such authority other than the federal register in general) that permits such an arrangement? I'm worried that giving participants that much control would turn the rabbi trust into a "funding vehicle" for purposes of Title I.

I suppose the 457 regs could be used to argue by analogy, but such an analogy ignores the public policy of 457 to provide government and tax-exempts with a defined contribution plan they otherwise would not have.

If the plan is drafted to merely permit the participant to suggest investments and keep investment responsibility with a plan fiduciary, would a daily val'd feature work? If a participant uses the 800 number, how does the investment fiduciary get to review and possibly overrule a participant's suggestion? Does anyone have document language that is designed to give participants investment election?

Thanks in advance.

There are a number of states which provide more generous continuation coverage than COBRA e.g.,California. It is unclear at this time whether these laws are preempted by ERISA. I am interested in knowing how people are addressing this issue.

I am trying to find clarification on the funding and time limit of 457(f) plan. I have been told that this plan has unlimited funding, up to 100% of salary. And the deferral period can be as little as two year time frame.

Does this sound right and where can I find the guidance. I vied the IRC 457 code but found very little on the (f) section.

Thanks for any assistance or guidance.

Miguel

You are most likely using the older version of Crystal (4.5). This was

a limitation in Crystal, but has been

resolved in the newer version of Crystal (6.0)! Hope this helps!

What are the required amendments for a 457 Plan.. (other than the The Trust requirement for Government plans) For example.. do you need to incorporate any changes to 401(a), those being due before 1.1.99 ????

What happens to a cafeteria plan that is not operated properly, that is, a plan in which medical expenses are reimbursed to participants only as the amounts are received by the plan?

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RB

If a co has a defined benefit plan what can be done should they not generate a profit for the year? Are there any outs in this situation? were a little leary to start a plan in case we hit a downswing sometime. also, if employees leave the company and later return, is there a way to hold the plan and re-enter? there's a frequent turnover in employment and many return later.

Has anyone worked on the ADEA (age discrimination) issues raised by a disability plan that reduces the duratation of the benefits that are available to employees who become disabled at older ages?

I am aware of the general "cost justification" concept under ADEA (at 29 USC 623(f)(2)) and the special safe harbor rule for certain disability programs that is described in the Regs (at 29 CFR 1625.10(f)(ii)).

I am particularly interested in any experiences/opinions that anyone has regarding a provision in a disability plan that would flatly state, for example, that if a person becomes disabled prior to age 60, the benefit would only run until age 65, and if the person becomes disabled after age 60 the benefit would only run until the later to occur of age 65 or two years.

Any thoughts would be appreciated.

If a plan has a pre-determined layoff, for only a specified period of time, would it be acceptable for the participants to make one lump sum (pre-tax basis)contribution after returning to work at the end of the layoff? Or, must they continue to make the scheduled contributions on an after tax basis? Thanks

Is there any reason why a 401(k) Plan cannot terminate mid-year as long as the proper notices are given to participants, etc. If it's ok, can anyone fill me on any "catches" or problems to look out for with deferrals already in progress. Thanks

Corporation was 2/28 fiscal year-end for tax purposes and calendar year-end for ESOP. In 1998, elected S-Corp status. The S-Corp filed a short year (3/1-12/31) tax return for 1998. Does this have any effect on the ESOP regarding their deductibility limits? Do we use 3/1-12/31 wages or 1/1-12/31 wages for the ESOP?

Does any one have answers to the June 97 or Dec 96 exam that can be sent by email or fax?

Just wondering if anyone is using the NSCC/DCCS to do their trading. Would like to get more information on how this is working for you. How long have you been using it and who do you use to custody the assets?