If a person is employed by 2 seperate entities offering 403(b) plans (she has no ownership/control in either, nos is an HCE) and has negotiated nonelective employer contributions with both, is the 54,000 annual additions limit seperate for each plan or is it a combined limit?  

Quick question on SPD fulfillment to plan participants. I've had trouble finding specifics on timing of when these need to be provided to existing participants. I have seen the 'every 5 years' timeframe, as well as after a substantial plan modification. My question is, what is substantial? I have a plan that restated their document for PPA recently. Nothing major was updated in the plan when it was restated, so is a new SPD mailing required? The SPD is currently available via the TPA's website when participants access their individual accounts. 

Thanks!

We all know that 10% is required. Can anyone point to a cite which states whether it is based on BOY or EOY assets? Thanks.

A dentist had his dentist son working for him for two years as a 1099 independent contractor.  He had a retirement plan and the all of his employees were covered.  The son now wants to start his own plan and wants to have dad's employees wait until they satisfy the service requirement for him before entering his plan, however he wants to count the service as an independent contractor in order to participate in the plan.  It would seem that if he counts his service that he would have to count the service for dad's employees under either family attribution or possibly ASG.  Any thoughts on whether what he is trying to do is possible?

Does ERISA permit new plan loans to terminated participants who have remaining account balances?  Can you provide the code section if ERISA addresses this topic.

Hello everyone. I took a loan in Feb 2015 for $24000 (with interests $32,738.92) for my marriage and home expenses. I get $83.28 deducted from my paycheck bi-weekly. I will extinguish my loan in Feb 2030. Are there any types of option that would allow me to make partial payments so I can close this loan sooner? I have left $21,225.45 to left to pay off and I hate the idea that I can't make partial payments, especially when I know that the interest for this loan is $8,738.92 . If there are no options, I though about going to my bank (Global Credit Union) and ask for a loan for the amount required and try to see if I can eventually payback the new loan with bi-weekly or monthly deductions from my account or paycheck, and be able to make partial payments along the time frame. If this is possible, would this be a good a idea? I apologize for my way of expressing myself. I hope I made this case easy and simple to understand. Thank you

News to me:  Florida collects a "stamp tax" on 401(k) loans?  How do you apply this?  Is there a 1099 involved?  Or other tax form? 

Is the amount reduce from the loan proceeds, or taken on top of the loan, like a fee?

How is it remitted to the state?  Form and check?  Online?

Your thought are valuable and appreciated.

We started up an Open MEP recently and question the best way to collect fee's on it.

Before it was a MEP, the fee's had been paid out of plan assets. We had a base fee and then a per participant fee. A total fee was calculated and then taken based on account balance.

Not that it is split, we are now not 100% sure if there are certain fee structures that can't be used. Let's say we have the following company fee structure.

For simplicity, a $25 per participant fee.

20 people in company A and 80 in company B. - Total fee is then $2,500.

However, Company A has 50% of the assets and Company B has 50% of the assets.

Now it's created a situation where even though Company B has created $2,000 of the fee's, it only has to pay for 1,250 of it.

Does anyone have past experience with this or know if there is some sort of regulation on how we can charge the fee's then for this case? The company would not want to start paying the fee's - they like to have as much paid by the plan as possible.

Employer allows broker to promote "voluntary" insurance products (AFLAC type junk) to employees and accommodates payment of premiums via payroll deduction (no employer contribution).

Are these "employee welfare benefit plans" subject to ERISA and requiring filing of 5500s if large enough?

Does it matter whether the premiums are being deducted pre-tax pursuant to a cafeteria plan or after-tax?

Thanks

DB plan (takeover, data issues) requires QJSA notice given prior to NRD, and if election is not made or a written election to defer (no later than RBD) is not made, then benefits are required to commence in the normal form as of the 60th day of the year following the year in which NRD occurs.

Person's NRD was 7/1. Takeover data issues delayed calculation of benefit and delivery of QJSA forms until after 7/1. There is no RASD in the plan. Do we prepare QJSA for 9/1 ASD with two month actuarial increase or do a "corrective" QJSA back to 7/1? 

Suppose a plan allows for an unreduced early retirement benefit as early as age 55. Normal Retirement Date is age 65. The plan was frozen a couple of year's ago. A participant is currently working and is now eligible to receive an unreduced pension benefit, but the plan does not allow for in-service distributions. Assume that 415 limits don't apply to this person. If this participant waits until a later date (perhaps age 65) to commence their benefit then there has clearly been some benefit "left on the table", but has an impermissible forfeiture of benefits occurred? What if the plan offered in-service distributions? Does it make a difference if the participant is a former participant who consequently is not currently receiving a paycheck from the plan sponsor?

I'm trying to figure out the best way to word this arrangement. The underlying concept is pretty straightforward and I have seen it done many times: The employer has a COLI policy (which it owns, pays all premiums on, and is the beneficiary of) that accrues cash value. The employer enters a separate deferred compensation agreement with the employee saying if you work until age 65, the employer will pay the employee compensation equal to the cash value of the policy on the date the employee turns 65.

Generally the deferred compensation plan (like all plans) will say the employee has rights no greater than an unsecured creditor, the employer is not required to set aside any assets, etc. Obviously the language is in there to keep the plan unfunded for tax and ERISA purposes, but the deferred compensation plan never acknowledges what will happen if, for example, the employer defaults on premiums, surrenders the policy, draws down policy loans, etc. So the employee could reach age 65 and become entitled to benefits, but the employer could have let the policy lapse years before. There is nothing else stating the dollar amount of the benefit. (I know the agreement can set a fixed dollar amount projected to be covered by the cash value, but they want to pay the cash value, no more, no less.)

What's the solution here? Put a restriction on the policy saying the employer cannot surrender, withdraw cash value, or take loans? I think this would be fine as long as it didn't create any rights enforceable by the employee. What if the employer fails to pay premiums and the cash value cannot support the premiums, causing surrender of the policy? Draft the deferred compensation benefit to equal the cash value at age 65 plus any withdrawals or outstanding loans? That still doesn't solve surrender. Take the employer's word? Anything else enforceable by the employee or shielding the policy from the employer's creditors would upset the tax/ERISA status.

Thoughts?

The company puts 50% of the profit sharing contribution into the plan.   The other 50% the participant may take in cash or defer into the profit sharing plan.  Is the 50% that is deposited into the plan tested as a regular profit sharing contribution and would the additional amount that the participant elects puts into the plan treated as a pre-tax deferral?    If it is a pre-tax deferral, what year would it be applied to the limits?  The year it is for (2016) or the year it is deposited (2017)?   

I have run into a situation where the employee became a participant while unmarried, and selected his mother as his beneficiary (awww, how nice).  He has recently married.  We all know that this means that his spouse is now his primary beneficiary... but where is that stated in the law?  The mother is reluctant to no longer be the beneficiary, and the participant, who could choose to solve this by just completing a new form listing his wife, is not doing so.

This is a 403(b) plan - I don't think that matters, except that the document language isn't pre-approved and therefore maybe isn't as 'tight' as I'd like it to be.  It says that if there is no designation in effect, the spouse is the default beneficiary unless he/she waives that right.  But it doesn't specifically say that becoming the spouse supersedes other beneficiary forms in effect.  And it's not subject to QJ&SA for anything (which I think rules out IRC 411 and 417).  So where in the 

Thanks.

When seller is required to terminate its 401k plan prior to the close of a merger/acquisition (stock deal), what date is typically used for the termination date?  Is it typically the day immediately prior to close? Or a date further in advance of close?  I've been using the date immediately prior to close, as plan termination is generally subject to close, and this allows participants to continue their deferrals as long as possible. However, this seems to complicate the actual administration of the termination re: timing of last contributions, etc.

Any thoughts would be appreciated!

When seller is required to terminate its 401k plan prior to the close of a merger/acquisition (stock deal), what date is typically used for the termination date?  Is it typically the day immediately prior to close? Or a date further in advance of close?  I've been using the date immediately prior to close, as plan termination is generally subject to close, and this allows participants to continue their deferrals as long as possible. However, this seems to complicate the actual administration of the termination re: timing of last contributions, etc.

Any thoughts would be appreciated!

Welfare Plan, covering a division of larger employer, terminated on 12/31/16 and brought into the larger plan effective 1/1/17, according to the plan resolutions. 

So at 12/31/16 there were participants in the original plan but at 1/1/17 there were none.

Is this how to finalize the 5500 - For 2016 include all Schedule A's to show premiums, commissions, etc., but show zero participants? If they file a 2017 5500, the beg of yr count is zero.

I am unable to see the posts on the "Securities Law Aspects of Employee Benefit Plans" board.  When I click on it, I just get the heading but no posts.  The other boards seem to be working fine.  Is anyone else having this problem?

I'm working on a PYE 9/30/16 401(k) plan where the employer is just not giving us what we need to complete the ADP Test.  I know it's going to fail, but I can't even get in the ballpark of completing the test.

Since we're past 2.5 months after the end of the plan year, the 10% penalty will apply.  Now that the next plan year end is looming, I'm trying to scare the employer into getting us the data or else.  If we cross 9/30/17, then the correction is an EPCRS issue and the plan sponsor has to deposit a QNEC equal to the amount refunded.  But what about the 10% penalty - is that still applicable?  Or does that go away somehow?

Thanks.

What is the objective of a Wellcare 401(k) plan?