Client accidentally deposited payroll contributions twice for the same effective date. Instead of reversing second transaction, can employer leave the funds deposited alone, and change the effective date of the second deposit to match with the next pay date? The funds would have been deposited before they were withheld from participants' paychecks, but isn't the risk entirely on the employer? There is no harm to participants - in fact, they benefit. 

A small business with a 401k becomes unprofitable. It terminates all employees, the business and the 401k.

However, the business will receive payments for billed services for several months. This leads to a few questions:

1. Does the successor plan rule apply even though the business stopped operations and the employees received all contributions due them?
2. If the above answer is yes, can the owner adopt a 5305-SEP IRA (which is an exception) in the same plan year or must they adopt a prototype SEP IRA plan?
3. Or is there no way to make employer retirement plan contributions on this residual income?

We received notice that a FT employee was terminating after they had terminated. This resulted us in only receiving one-half of their premiums for their health, dental and vision payments. Amazingly, they wrote us a check for the half that we paid.

Just trying to think this through,

1. Would i add this to their yearly totals of deductions. It would show on their w-2. (I'm thinking yes)

2. Do i deduct it from their taxable gross? (Drawing a blank on this one)

3. If it's part of their taxable gross, do i owe them some Medicare deduction amount?

4. Anything else i'm not thinking of?

Thank you,

Good day,

I hope this is not a ridiculous question. Are deceased participants included in the 8955-SSA filing? The instructions are not clear to me. For example, if a participant dies while active, there is a benefit owed to the estate/beneficiary, but at this point is not owed to them, the SSN on the form. The same is true of those who termed in the past and were reported on an SSA, but died in the plan year. Their estate/beneficiary is paid out at this point, so should they be a D on the form with their SSN?

Two questions:

Are TPAs preparing Form 990-T for the retirement plans of their clients, or are they deferring to the client's CPA?  and

If a K-1 (1065) has an attachment for Part III, Item 20 (Other Information), letter 'V" (UBTI), does the figure on the attachment reflect the net UBTI or the gross UBTI?  

Thank you in advance for any assistance!

PS plan terminating with merged MPP assets subject to J&S.  If MPP portion is >5K and participant is missing or unresponsive, can we roll their funds to an IRA or must we purchase an annuity?  

if you have a controlled group.  plan a has no service requirements immediate eligibility deferral and safe harbor match.  Group b has 1 year of service and monthly entry.

The plans must be aggregated to pass coverage and we have to test on statutory exclusions

The plans are not top heavy single or aggregated

Is the plan really satisfying safe harbor?  it seems like there would be a problem if one group is immediately eligible to defer and receive shmc when the other group has to wait 1 year and dual entry

Are there any additional testing requirements that are needed when you have a controlled group and vastly different eligibility requirements?

I just got off phone with an IRS agent in the Enrolled Agent department and I want to check the information I received with other ERPAs.

This concerns the requirement that you earn 72 hrs in 3 yr cycle with a minimum of 16 hrs each year (including 2 hrs ethics).  She told me that actually there is no 16 hour requirement as long as you get all the credits you need in the 3 years.

My current cycle is 04/01/16-04/01/19.  So I plan on going to a conference in November that will actually give me over 72 hours credit meaning all I need for 2018-2019 is a few hrs of ethics.  This is okay.

Does anyone disagree with this?  Does anyone have experience to the contrary?

And speaking of Ethics, does anyone know a good source for Ethics hours?

I have a plan that uses prior year testing method for deferrals and match.  Client did not make a matching contribution in 2015.  So, is it correct to say that the match percentage applied to the HCEs for the 2016 year is 0%, so that any HCE who receives a match in 2016, must forfeit the entire match amount?

Hi all, 

Does anyone have recent (i.e., post-2013 M-1 regulations) experience with late filing penalties for the M-1? Assuming there's no fraud involved, and an employer unintentionally created a MEWA, does the DOL actually assess the $1,500/day penalty? There does not appear to be a DFVCP-like program to self-report and mitigate the penalties, and we are struggling to figure out how the DOL handles this in practice. We've tried the DOL number in the M-1 preamble multiple times, with no luck. 

Does anyone have any experience with this, or a contact within the DOL we could reach? Thanks much!

Can people share success rats for a VCP for an owner's loan (owns 50% of the business)? Suffice it to say, the participant did not make the majority of payments in the first year, so "way behind."

Hi,

My situation is a little complicated and really appreciate your help -

I have been contributing 13% pre tax and 50% after tax to my 401k for a while. Suddenly, my employer failed to withhold my 401k pre and after tax amount on 9/7 payday. Also I lost 6% pre tax employer match. I let my HR know 9/7 immediately; they admitted that it was their error but are still working on the solution.

The next payday is 9/21. The pay statement showed up in ADP account 9/19. They withheld 13% pre tax but did not withhold 50% after tax.

I am pretty sure that I haven't reached any IRS annual limit for 401k contribution this year.

I have questions as below -

Because of the high contribution %, especially after tax contribution, it will be hard for employer to withhold more in my future paycheck this year to correct the errors. What can they do?

Is there any IRS regulation about employer failing to withhold after tax 401k contribution?

Thank you.

In a safe harbor 401k Plan, the plan sponsor failed to withheld deferrals on bonus checks.  They realized the error the next week.  Since it was caught so early, are they allowed to just let participants make up their missed deferral on the next check.  If a participant chooses not to make it UP - do they have to get something in writing and do they still have to fund the match that would have been related to the missed deferral? 

Need some advice!

Thanks

This link is to the Congressional Budget Office's one page describing a CBO finding that H.R. 2823 (which would undo the Labor department's investment-advice fiduciary rule "would have a negligible effect on revenues for the period between 2017 and 2027."

https://www.cbo.gov/system/files/115th-congress-2017-2018/costestimate/hr2823.pdf

http://www.napa-net.org/news/managing-a-practice/regulatory-compliance/a-boost-for-the-401k-limit/?mqsc=E3909970&utm_source=WhatCountsEmail&utm_medium=NAPA_Net_ListNapa-Net Daily&utm_campaign=2017-09-19_eNewsNAPA_Tue

This is the latest from Mercer projecting the 2018 cola adjustments

Hi all,

We took over administration of a plan in late 2016, prior TPA doing 2016 administration.  This TPA listed all plan investments as "Mutual Funds" both on Schedule H and on Schedule of Assets for line 4i.  Auditor has correctly identified all assets as Pooled Separate Accounts.  Should 5500 for 2016 be filed showing correct information at 2016 Year end ( all assets in Mutual Fund at beginning of year and PSA at end of year)?  Do amended returns need to be filed for prior years?  Should I get a life and stop worrying about things like this? 

Thanks for any help.  

I have heard of plans which only have annual valuations holding a certain percentage of plan-year distributions in escrow until the next valuation date, at which time the escrow can be released after adjusting for gains or losses during the period between valuation dates.  Has anyone seen any official IRS word on such procedures?   

Would anyone have a copy of the basic plan document that MetLife used in its RetireServe program pre-2009? In May 2007,  my client executed the MetLife 403(b) Adoption Agreement, but was not given a copy of the basic plan document.  The Adoption Agreement contains a footer indicated that it is an "ERISA/January 2007" document and a 2004 copy write by MetLife.   I would not be asking the question, but for the fact that the client was really late in signing MetLife's 2009 restatement.  Just wanted to know what the plan provides, and if there is an argument that the 2007 document qualifies as a good faith written document as of 2009 under guidance issued by the IRS.   

I'm reviewing a deferred compensation program that has the pay-out based upon the value of the service recipient's stock.  There are several 409A permissible payment triggering events (separation from service, disability, change in control).  In the payout section, it says that upon a triggering event, 1/3 of the deferred comp will be paid out over each of the next three years.  Then, there is a provision that says in the case of a Change in Control,  if the terms of the payout for the shareholders under the CIC are more favorable than the standard payout above, then the payout will occur in accordance with the terms applicable to the shareholders in general.

1.409A-3(i)(5)(iv) says: "Payments of compensation related to a change in control event...that occur because...the service recipient or a third party purchases a stock right held by a service provider, or that are calculated by reference to the value of stock of the service recipient (collectively, transaction-based compensation), may be treated as paid at a designated date or pursuant to a payment schedule that complies with the requirements of section 409A if the transaction-based compensation is paid on the same schedule and under the same terms and conditions as apply to payments to shareholders generally with respect to stock of the service recipient pursuant to a change in control event...."

I don't see this as an impermissible toggle - there is only one payout schedule in the case of a CIC- in accordance with the terms of the general shareholders agreement if they are more favorable than the standard terms; otherwise the standard terms apply. 

Does that interpretation seem reasonable, or am I way off base?

A lot of recordkeepers are starting to talk about Student Loan repayment programs.  Anyone have any articles they've read about what these things are?

Clients seem to get really excited about these things but I can't seem to figure out what they do/how they work.  

From what I gather employers can do payroll deductions/matches (the latter of which is taxable) and then faciliate payments to lending institutions?  Very curious to know what you guys know!