Dear Sir or Madam:

Allow me to introduce myself. My name is Ramon N. Pescevich and I

worked for Johnson & Johnson until 1995 when downsizing occured. Last

month I received a letter from my former employer telling me that I

would receive a cash dividend check from my 401K which I would pay a tax

on. The company is expected to save millions with this move. I was also

informed in the letter that the checks are to be paid out quarterly

starting at the beginning of this month. I wanted to set up a DRIP. I

purchased 1 share of JNJ stock and with this check I plan on reinvesting

into JNJ stock. So far the telephone lines for JNJ where down for 5

days. They had an option 9 for the people who are affected by this to

call that number. There is no more option 9 at the voice prompt.

Stocks for JNJ at the beginning of the month

were $70-$75. Today JNJ stock is at $80. Why am I going to spend my

cash dividend buying JNJ stock at $80 a share when I could have brought

that same stock at $70 a share? Why is JNJ doing this to their former

employees? Are there any legal actions that one can take so that one

can purchase these shares in a timely manner? Who is getting this money

with their delays? Hoping to hear from you soon. I would like to thank

you for your time.

Yours truly,

Ramon N. Pescevich

Dear Sir or Madam:

Allow me to introduce myself. My name is Ramon N. Pescevich and I

worked for Johnson & Johnson until 1995 when downsizing occured. Last

month I received a letter from my former employer telling me that I

would receive a cash dividend check from my 401K which I would pay a tax

on. The company is expected to save millions with this move. I was also

informed in the letter that the checks are to be paid out quarterly

starting at the beginning of this month. I wanted to set up a DRIP. I

purchased 1 share of JNJ stock and with this check I plan on reinvesting

into JNJ stock. So far the telephone lines for JNJ where down for 5

days. They had an option 9 for the people who are affected by this to

call that number. There is no more option 9 at the voice prompt.

Stocks for JNJ at the beginning of the month

were $70-$75. Today JNJ stock is at $80. Why am I going to spend my

cash dividend buying JNJ stock at $80 a share when I could have brought

that same stock at $70 a share? Why is JNJ doing this to their former

employees? Are there any legal actions that one can take so that one

can purchase these shares in a timely manner? Who is getting this money

with their delays? Hoping to hear from you soon. I would like to thank

you for your time.

Yours truly,

Ramon N. Pescevich

Dear Sir or Madam:

Allow me to introduce myself. My name is Ramon N. Pescevich and I

worked for Johnson & Johnson until 1995 when downsizing occured. Last

month I received a letter from my former employer telling me that I

would receive a cash dividend check from my 401K which I would pay a tax

on. The company is expected to save millions with this move. I was also

informed in the letter that the checks are to be paid out quarterly

starting at the beginning of this month. I wanted to set up a DRIP. I

purchased 1 share of JNJ stock and with this check I plan on reinvesting

into JNJ stock. So far the telephone lines for JNJ where down for 5

days. They had an option 9 for the people who are affected by this to

call that number. There is no more option 9 at the voice prompt.

Stocks for JNJ at the beginning of the month

were $70-$75. Today JNJ stock is at $80. Why am I going to spend my

cash dividend buying JNJ stock at $80 a share when I could have brought

that same stock at $70 a share? Why is JNJ doing this to their former

employees? Are there any legal actions that one can take so that one

can purchase these shares in a timely manner? Who is getting this money

with their delays? Hoping to hear from you soon. I would like to thank

you for your time.

Yours truly,

Ramon N. Pescevich

Dear Sir or Madam:

Allow me to introduce myself. My name is Ramon N. Pescevich and I

worked for Johnson & Johnson until 1995 when downsizing occured. Last

month I received a letter from my former employer telling me that I

would receive a cash dividend check from my 401K which I would pay a tax

on. The company is expected to save millions with this move. I was also

informed in the letter that the checks are to be paid out quarterly

starting at the beginning of this month. I wanted to set up a DRIP. I

purchased 1 share of JNJ stock and with this check I plan on reinvesting

into JNJ stock. So far the telephone lines for JNJ where down for 5

days. They had an option 9 for the people who are affected by this to

call that number. There is no more option 9 at the voice prompt.

Stocks for JNJ at the beginning of the month

were $70-$75. Today JNJ stock is at $80. Why am I going to spend my

cash dividend buying JNJ stock at $80 a share when I could have brought

that same stock at $70 a share? Why is JNJ doing this to their former

employees? Are there any legal actions that one can take so that one

can purchase these shares in a timely manner? Who is getting this money

with their delays? Hoping to hear from you soon. I would like to thank

you for your time.

Yours truly,

Ramon N. Pescevich

It is my understanding that the Transportation Equity Act, signed in June 1998 and effective on January 1, 1999, permits employees to reduce their salaries in order to pay for transportation and parking expenses on a pre-tax basis.

Other than setting up something like an FSA, has anyone thought about how employers can let employees pay for these expenses on a pre-tax basis under the new law (hopefully, something that requires less bookkeeping)?

Is anyone aware of a prototype sponsor that offers a prototype plan for an employee association to offer a Roth IRA under IRC section 408©?

Under section 408© of the IRC, and employee association can establish a traditional IRA and/or a Roth IRA for its members. I have an employee association as a client that has already established a traditional IRA through the opinion letter process, that now wants to establish a Roth IRA for its members.

According to the IRS, since the opinion letter process is not currently open for Roth IRAs, the employee association must obtain a document provided by a prototype sponsor to establish the Roth IRA. The problem is finding a prototype sponsor that has a prototype document for an employee association to establish a Roth IRA.

I would greatly appreciate any assistance in finding such a prototype sponsor.

I have a question regarding a company merger. An S Corp with a 401K plan is merging with a sole proprietor without a 401K plan into an LLP. The employees of both the S Corp and Sole Proprietor will become employees of the LLP. However, the 100% shareholder of the S Corp and the sole proprietor will continue to receive salaries only from their respective companies ( S Corp and Sole Proprietor). My questions are:

1. Does the S Corp's current 401K Plan need to be terminated or can the LLP take over the existing plan?

2. Once the LLP has a plan, can (and how can) the S Corp owner and the sole proprietor be participants in the LLP's 401K Plan if they receive no compensation from the LLP?

Thank you.

Can anybody explain the difference in plan language between a new comparability plan and an age neutral plan?

I s there a source for sample language of the age neutral plan?

Kelly

Has anyone heard if the TPRA of 1998 includes anything that has a direct effect on 401(k) plans, CODA or DC plans?

Under recent approval, 401(k)'s plans were allowed to deduct up to 3% of every participants salary into the plan without the approval of those participants. Does this same ruling also apply to 403(B) plans?

Jim Groves

Has anyone had experience correcting a untimely contribution at the plan level? For example, the contribution was credited in August rather than February.

I am looking for a streamline approach to correcting this. Such as crediting the depost currently and providing participants the highest rate of return earned by investments options for that period or a weighted return based on plan asset allocation? Any ideas?

I have had to do an APRSC because of an old and somewhat incomplete administrative checklist. Does anyone have a checklist for defined contribution plan administration that is complete but concise (I hate checklists that are longer than the report I prepare) that you are willing to share?

FMLA and paid time off can run concurrently. As long as your state regs don't prohibit the practice, and you have a clearly stated and consistently applied policy, then you can require an employee to exhaust available paid time off in conjunction with an FMLA leave.

FYI, again if there are no state regs against the practice, you can also count lost days under worker's comp toward FMLA, as long as the FMLA notifications are made appropriately.

Who are some of the major full-service providers in the 457 market. I'm very familiar with service providers in the 401(k) market, but I don't know much about the 457 market. I currently have two clients who sponsor 457 plans. One uses Aetna and the other uses Jackson National Life. Who are some of the other major providers? (By the term "full-service", I mean a provider which offers participant-level record keeping, investment options, daily valuation record keeping, 24-hr. toll-free voice response telephone service for participants, etc.). Thanks in advance for your help.

Is anyone aware of service providers who will determine the Maximum Exclusion Allowance (MEA) under a 403(B) program on an "as needed" basis? If so, please send eMail.

I have a client that participates in a state retirement system (a defined benefit plan that has pick up contributions under 414(h)(2)) but also maintains a 403(B) plan. Does anyone have any thoughts re whether the pick up contributions count as an annual addition under the 415© limits that would apply to the 403(B) plan? Since pick ups are treated as employer contributions it seems logical and consistent with the statutes to treat them as employer contributions to a defined benefit plan. Thus, the pick up would not be treated as an annual addition under 415© but the benefit attributable to it would be counted for purposes of 415(B) and 415(e).

May a defned benefit plan provide a post-retirement death benefit? A client maintains a plan that is overfunded. If the individual retires and begins to receive his retirement benefits from the trust, may the on-going plan provide a post-retirement incidental death benefit? Any comments. Thanks. Ed

I'm a TPA and have not gotten involved with 125s yet. I have a life insurance agent who came to me recently with a proposal to prepare docs, SPDs and 5500s for premium only plans. I thought there was testing involved with these plans, but the fellow says no; and he says he "checked it out with an insurance company".

If there are tests involved, what are they and where can I get more info on how to do them ?

Thanks, Steve

I work in New York state. I believe that at present time ther is a law here which states that any company that employs X number of workers is required to pay its workers for time serves on jurry duty. At present the company I work for pays all it's employees this benifit. There is a rumor going around however that to cut costs they may stop paying people like my self who work the third shift which is from 11:00pm to 7:30am. There theory goes that unless you are on a court case that is sequestered, your jurry work will usualy be 9:00am to 5:00pm leaving you plenty of time to get to work. Is this leagle? Can they pay a benifit to 2 shifts and not to the last shift? When would I sleep? I would have to practicly go directly from work to the jurry room with just enough time to shower and change. If I slept after jurry duty that would mean I had no life for 2 weeks I would work for the jurry system in the day for my company at night and sleep in between. Please let me know if they could really do this. By the way this is a major drugstore chain warehouse and nonunion.

Can anyone provide a sample -- or a source for a sample -- of a change form that employees in a Section 125 plan would use to change their benefits coverage as a result of a family status change?

We need to develop something that provides employees with a "check off" indicating the qualifying event and what they wish to change.

Thank you !