Hello! First time here. It's great to see so many HR professionals and the advice you're giving here is invaluable.

I've created this infographic about employer benefit trends throughout 2019 and into 2020. It includes benefits that employers are trying that you may not have even heard of. Take a look and let me know what you think.

Here is the source for this graphic. Custom HCM Software Development

Thanks!

participant want to take ISWD of $50,000 from his Roth 401k account.  He is over age 59 1/2 and has me the five year rule on his roth contributions.   My question is - when the money comes out do you have to split between basis and earnings on that amount?  It should all be non-taxable because he met the requirements but so is there any reason we need to determine the amount of the earnings attributable to the amount being taken out of the plan?

Who must receive a Form 1095-C per the instructions:  Employer must file a Form 1095-C for each employee who was a full-time employee for any month of the calendar year.  So if an employee was not employed an entire calendar month, then they don't receive a Form 1095-C?  They were regularly scheduled to work 30 hours a week.  For example, employee was hired 5/16/18 and term'd 6/20/18.  They were in the 90 day waiting period.  Don't give them a 1095-C?

A small engineering firm has a 401k plan.  They are showing an operating loss for the 2018 year.  The plan sponsor would still like to deposit a discretionary PS contribution.  The plan document is clear that is permitted.  However, (details not clear on this), he has a contract with the state of New York for some/all of his business which states in part that there can be no PS if no profits.  

I am recommending legal counsel for this but just wondering:  Does an ERISA plan document take precedent over a state contract like this?  

Thanks

Are employee HSA Payments part of compensation used for 401k adp testing purposes?  Wages under Code §3401(a) is used for the plan and no exclusions.  Thank you.

Are multiemployer health and welfare plans subject to the Americans With Disabilities Act?

We have a participant who terminated during the year he turned 55. So, normally, he would have a Code 2 for the distribution. However, since he has Roth funds in the account, the code would be B2. If he had the funds in the account 5 years or more, my understanding is that he would not be subject to the 10% penalty on the earnings (because he was terminated in the year he turned 55), but would have to pay taxes on the earnings (because he's not 59 1/2). Would you agree?

We were about to tell the plan sponsor that the hardship paperwork they had sent to us looked in good order when one of our admins stumbled upon a GoFundMe page set up for the specific purpose of paying the bill that the hardship was submitted for.  A very well-supported GoFundMe page.

If we tell the Plan Administrator, they're just going to ask us what this means, and should they approve it or not.  On the one hand, one could argue that there is no longer a financial need.  On the other, there's no real proof that this was set up by the participant in question and that the money will actually get to the participant (internet scams abound).  The hardship form does have a certification that the participant has no other funds with which to pay this bill, and this was signed by the participant.  Maybe it was signed before the GFM page was created, or maybe it wasn't fully-funded at the time so they were looking to make up the rest via the hardship; I don't know.

Our consensus is that no auditor would look this far into the situation - they would review the distribution form and the payment in the light of the [proposed] regulations and everything would be fine.  No IRS agent is going to do an Internet deep dive on this - at least, I don't think it will be in their training in the next three years.

Anyone already think through this and come up with a policy?  Thanks.

The background: Solo-k client is moving assets from one Investment Company to another.  The new Investment Company requires that a client use their AA (for which we provide the service.).    So, our firm was asked to restate the plan onto our document.  Per the advisor, the plan was effective 1/1/2014. 

We always asked for the prior AA for compliance and mapping purposes.  Well, client cannot provide a document - no AA, no SPD, no resolution adopting a plan, nothing and asked that we just use our default provisions for the restatement.    This is clearly a VCP issue.  Client has asked prior Investment Company for the document, but the client claims the Investment Company will not provide any data (sounds fishy to me...) Has anyone had any experience with filing under VCP for what would be now an new plan effective 1/1/14 and basically asking relief for it not being signed until 2019? 

Any guidance would be greatly appreciated.

I have a situation in which an employer's NQ plan should have credited its COO's fully vested NQ plan account with a significant amount of employer non-elective contributions over the last 5-6 years. COO is still working for the taxable employer and the crediting failure doesn't impact how or when the non-elective amounts, once credited, will ultimately be paid to the COO.  Client would like to credit all the past-due amounts into the COO's account in 2019.  It feels like this is a likely 409A violation but I am having trouble identifying the violation since the error doesn't involve an employee deferral election or the timing or form of benefit payment.  The error does, however, mean that Form W-2s issued to the COO showed the wrong amount of FICA wages in each year.

Anyone have any thoughts as to whether and how the error violates 409A and how it might be corrected?

Thanks.

One-person plan, invested in illiquid assets. There is no cash (annual contribution is paid out annually as RMD).  Some kind of payments were due on the real estate holdings (taxes maybe) so Plan Sponsor put money into plan, separate from annual contribution, and then paid the expenses out of the plan.  Owner has informed us of this and that she treats the money as a loan to the plan, although no loan documents were ever set up and no interest payments back to owner ever made.  Contemplating what to do now.

We have a client who has maintained a plan for well over 30 years and has passed away as of last week, he was trustee on the plan.  He owned a dental practice and now there is a dentist who was renting space from him and actually caring for his patients while he was ill, this dentist is going to be buying the assets of the practice.  Question, can the plan be sold with the practice and the new dentist become the successor sponsor?

Plan Document says a participant can get a hardship distribution for the safe harbor reasons.  Participant submits documentation for medical expenses (say $1,000) and also to prevent foreclosure (say $10,000).  Asking for $11,000 in one distribution to cover both.  Is that permissible?  Assume the plan language doesn't speak to that.

Thank you.

In regards to line 6g, if a plan that is filing on a cash basis, should it still include participants that have a receivable at the end of the year?  These participants would have a zero balance without the receivable. 

Basic HCE 101 but I'm getting old! Employee A owns 90% of a company,  employees B & C each own 5%. Employee B makes over the compensation amount for an HCE. Employee C does not. However, employees B & C are married.

Is employee C considered an HCE though she does not own ore than 5% and does not meet the HCE compensation requirement?

An individual establishes an S-Corp.  He is the only owner, no employees.  He wants to start a 401k plan for himself. His income for 2018 consisted only of 1099-MISC income, coded as nonemployee compensation (box 7).  It was paid to him and reported on the 1099-MISC but was coded using his SS#, not the S-Corp EIN.

Is this income eligible to be used for 401k plan purposes?

Thanks

A plan is on a calendar year. 

EE is eligible to participate on their date of hire, and the entry date is the first day of the month coinciding with or next following the date they satisfy the eligibility requirements. 

EE was hired on 11/25/2015 and is >21 years old. There is no termination date.

Until what date are they still considered otherwise excludable based on:

Option 1: The group includes participating employees who have not satisfied the IRC Section 410(a)(4) entry date period applicable to them – in other words, they are treated as otherwise excludable employees until the earlier of the first day of the next plan year after attaining age 21 and completing one year of service or 6 months after satisfying such requirements. This is the maximum waiting period under the Code.

Any comments or thoughts would be much appreciated! Thanks! 

Can i you apply for a Medical Hardship withdraw if you have not paid anything on the outstanding medical bill or do you have to have paid on the outstanding medical bill in order to apply for a Medical Hardship

I took out a 401k loan of 20k in 2015.

I just repaid the remaining balance of $6700.  

Does that loan affect the maximum allowable amount because it's old?  Or does the balance of that loan at any point in the last 12 months lower the maximum available amount?

Can I take 50k or will it be 50k - the balance of that old loan 12 months ago (roughly $10,500).  Is the max 50k or 39.5k?

Yes, I DO have a vested balance over 100k.  Thanks!!!!