Has anyone heard that 5498-SA filing deadline has been pushed to August 31?  The only thing I know if that Notice 2020-23 extending the filing and contribution date to 7.15.  We have an HSA sponsoring saying their filing deadline was extended to August 31.

Due to current economic hardships, plan sponsor would like to not make safe harbor contributions for the HCE's (all family member owners) for the prior plan year. Is this actually possible? They'd also like to stop current year to date safe harbor contributions to themselves.

Forgive me if this has been covered.

The SECURE Act allows employees with 401(k) annuities the opportunity to preserve the annuity if the plan sponsor changes providers or eliminates the option altogether.

Employees can do a direct transfer to an IRA or another plan that accepts the annuity.  Or, it can do an in-kind distribution.

The first option would be tax-free, but what about the second?

Appreciate any insight.

The FAQs issued on April 11th by the DOL state that health plans will be required to cover COVID-19 testing with no cost-sharing, etc. during the current declared public health emergency relating to COVID-19.  A footnote states that this declared public health emergency is scheduled to end on April 25, 2020 unless extended.  I have been unable to locate any information about an extension.  Am I correct that, absent an extension, health plans may stop covering COVID-19 testing with no cost-sharing on April 26th?

Hello, I have a client who owns a Foreign Entity in Australia.     The Employer is Australian, but owns a residence and lives in Manhattan.   The employer does Not have a US Resident Alien SSN.   How can they not have one of these, but have a US Payroll bank account?  

The Employer has 2 US Citizens and would like to establish a 401k plan for their US Citizens to participate in.  Over then next 12 months, they will be hiring 30-40 more US Employees.     So we are having a difficult time finding a platform for this type of client from a Trustee perspective.   Does anyone know what investment platform would allow for a Foreign Entity, with a US Residence obtain approval as Plan Trustee?

Charged tips will be paid via W-2 wages. Participants are able to defer on these tips.

The employer makes a Safe Harbor Match Contribution- They want to exclude tips from the definition of compensation for the safe harbor match.

1. Can tips be excluded from compensation for the Safe Harbor Match?

2. If yes, since the plan is safe harbor, this mid year amendment to change formula and definition of compensation is not allowed for 2020?

3. Since this would not meet the safe harbor definition of compensation, the plan would need to pass compensation test at year end ? 

4. Not a Top Heavy Plan.

Thanks

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I'm reviewing a GAAP valuation report whose signature block for years states that the actuary is an EA. There's nothing wrong with that- after all, some of my best friends are an EA.  On checking the credentials I found that the person is also an ASA (with other related and very impressive credentials) .What I am struggling  with is why the signor doesn't include the ASA designation in the signature block.  (The person is still active and in good standing).

Any ideas or suggestions as to be on the lookout for hidden landmines? 

Has anyone seen anything about plan audit relief?  I have a client that cannot afford their plan audit right now.  Restaurant group.  I haven't seen anything yet. May tell them to work with their auditors for some relief.

Thanks!

I have a client with a safe harbor nonelective contribution plan that wants to exclude Christmas bonuses from contributions for 2020.  My first thought is that this is a "reduction" in the contribution and, as provided in Notice 2016-16, can be done as long as a notice is given. However, the SECURE Act made it so there is no notice required for the SHNE safe harbor plan.  The more I read my research materials the more confused I become - is this mid-year change allowed?  If so, does ADP apply? Is there a notice required? 

Hello - thank you in advance for trying to answer this question:

I was co-employed by a PEO and know the combined employer/employee rates for Medical coverage because I have the contract between my former employer and the PEO.  Therefore, when I received the Cobra notice, I was surprised that the Medical rate wasn't just 102% of the total cost of the medical plan (employer + employee).  

Is there something that I am missing that would allow the PEO to charge more than 102%?  

Thanks again.

I know this seems like an elementary question, but where in the regulations does it state that an individual's coverage must end in a Health FSA upon termination and therefore no expenses incurred after termination may be reimbursed (unless COBRA)?  I may be making this more difficult than it is, but the definition of Period of Coverage does not provide that the Period of Coverage ends upon termination.  And under the Uniform Coverage rule, amounts must be available during the entire Period of Coverage, but 1) if one is on a LOA and doesn't make the required contributions or 2) terminates employment, I realize expenses incurred when not a participant aren't eligible expenses, but my brain is a not helping me find the specific regulation language/section and I'm drawing a blank. 

Normally for plan sponsors who want to provide for in-service distributions, I recommend restricting them to accounts that are fully vested only, just to eliminate a potential error in later determining vesting.

What are people doing/seeing WRT CRDs?  Suppose an employee has $50K in deferrals and $25K in match, 60% vested.  Total vested benefits are $65,000. Limiting CRD to $50K from deferrals only or also allowing up to $15K from match?

I've got a plan that wants to be nice and add loans until 9/23/20 as part of the CARES options.  Loans were never offered in the plan before.  The plan sponsor would like to pass the costs of the loans on to the participants.  Functionally, do we add the loan provision dated 30 days from now, giving out the notice today that starts the fee disclosure clock?  That feels wrong, if not from a legal standpoint, then certainly from a "doing the right thing" standpoint (and I fully realize that sometimes the rules are written such that "doing the right thing" is not as easy as it could be).

A participant terminated employment due to COVID at the end of March. She has a loan outstanding and wants to take a full distribution. Once the full distribution is processed, should the loan be offset? I realize that for regular distributions, the loan would be offset once a full distribution is taken. However, can she freeze the loan until 12/31/2020 because she was affected by COVID?

Thanks,

Our company is transitioning from a SIMPLE to a 401K plan.  Through a series of events by Fidelity, we were not able to start the plan on January 1 but instead have a live plan starting April 1.  For a variety of reasons, we would like to keep the SIMPLE for the balance of 2020 and delay the start of the 401K until January 1, 2021.  Fidelity seems to indicate this is not doable.  Can a delay in starting a "live" plan be done reasonably?  

Hi All,

Employee will "retire" from employer soon but will still do part time work of less than 20hrs/week.  Is she eligible to make a rollover to an IRA?  Her 401k is expensive.

Thank you 

Charlie

Hello, 

I need some counsel from the group - 

I was employed for all of 2019 with my current company. 

On Feb 2019:  I received a lump sum bonus - 50K from my employer. I was NOT enrolled in my employers 401K and therefore no 401K contribution was made from my bonus.

On March 2019: I joined 401K plan.  

Does the bonus of 50K in Feb count towards the "income eligible for 401K" for 2019 - given I enrolled in March?

Hear this! I don't expect that contribution will be backdated to the bonus check.  But when I contribute 5% of my annual compensation to 401K in my fidelity401K system, it is 5% of "what"? ---  is it the "total annual compensation including the bonus" or the "compensation received after the enrollment date"?

Please advise, and if there is a IRS bulletin where this is clearly articulated?

Greetings - Health plan was amended effective 1/2019 to provide for  a change in the plan sponsor. New plan sponsor is an affiliate of the previous plan sponsor. Plan name was also changed accordingly. 

Is there a form that needs to be filed with the IRS notifying of the change in plan sponsor? I have come across Form 8822-B (Change of Address or Responsible Party) but this does not seem to be exactly on point. 

This came up as a result of the new plan sponsor filing for an extension to file Form 5500. 

Your thoughts are greatly appreciated!

J

I guess I'm asking a question of other TPAs that primarily partner with recordkeepers.

And maybe I'm being overly paranoid, which is very likely.

It seems that the majority of the recordkeepers we work with have special forms for processing CRDs and CRLs, and if the plan sponsor does not "opt in" to using these forms they will process distributions in the "normal" manner regardless of the participant's status as a qualified individual.

We have some clients that feel their plans offer sufficient distribution options already and do not want a new special inservice distribution option, so they don't want to "opt-in".

Now a participant who terminated 5 years ago wants to take a distribution as a qualified individual under the CARES Act because they were laid off from their current employer.  Being savvy enough to know that they should be permitted to waive out of the withholding are told by the recordkeeper that because the plan sponsor did not opt in to allow CRDs, they will be subject to 20% mandatory withholding. 

At this point it should not be the plan sponsors decision, should it? 

I understand that the Plan would need to be amended to permit a qualified individual who would not otherwise have a distributable event under the current plan provisions to take a distribution if say for example they are still employed with reduced hours and are 30 years old. 

But does the Plan have to be amended to permit a qualified individual who has a distributable event to be able to waive out of the withholding?  Isn't that expressly permitted in the Act?

Are other TPAs telling their clients just to opt in so that qualified individuals are treated correctly under the Act?  Could a qualified individual who does not have their withholding applied correctly make an issue for the plan and require a penalty to be paid for not being able to waive out of the withholding?

Thanks.