The BenefitsLink elves have been busy lately, cobbling together an improved version of our online directory of webcasts and conferences for employee benefits practitioners.

The directory shows upcoming webcasts and conferences from many different firms, and shows hundreds of recorded webcasts available for immediate viewing.

Find the directory at: https://benefitslink.com/events

By choosing various options on that page, you can drill down to view only those webcasts and conferences that match particular criteria.

Here's a link to one particularly useful view:

240 free recorded webcasts about health and other welfare benefit plans

We now have a total of more than 1,200 webcasts and conferences listed, for all kinds of benefit plans! (That number includes events for which a fee is required by the sponsoring firm, and those that are free.)

Enjoy!

Dave Baker, Publisher
Lois Baker, President
BenefitsLink.com

The BenefitsLink elves have been busy lately, cobbling together an improved version of our online directory of webcasts and conferences for employee benefits practitioners.

The directory shows upcoming webcasts and conferences from many different firms, and shows hundreds of recorded webcasts available for immediate viewing.

Find the directory at: https://benefitslink.com/events

By choosing various options on that page, you can drill down to view only those webcasts and conferences that match particular criteria.

Here's a link to one particularly useful view:

295 free recorded webcasts on issues affecting retirement plans

We now have a total of more than 1,200 webcasts and conferences listed, for all kinds of benefit plans! (That number includes events for which a fee is required by the sponsoring firm, and those that are free.)

Enjoy!

Dave Baker, Publisher
Lois Baker, President
BenefitsLink.com

A participant retired in May of this year.  She is on Social Security.  She sent in a form for only a partial distribution.  The Plan document specifically say "lump sum" only and no annuities.  She is wanting to take a minimum out each month so that she does not mess up her SS....

What should the Plan Sponsor do?  Force her out/rollover to an IRA?  Her balance is around $1800.00

Would allowing her to take 4 partial distribution violate the plan terms?  Sounds like she is attempting to have her account annuitized.

Feedback please.  Thanks.

I know that the participant is issued the tax form when paying a QDRO for a child support order, but is that participant subject to the 10% tax penalty or are they exempt as is a spousal recipient?  Thanks in advance for your help!!

I have a client that maintains two plans, and had tax withholding due to distributions from each plan.  Should these be reported on one Form 945 (it's the same EIN number), or do we file two separate forms?

Thanks!

I have a prospect with two car dealerships. They have multiple employees who work at both locations, including two HCEs who work at both locations but only take a salary at one. This gives me two HCEs in the one company with zero pay and zero deferrals. One of the HCEs is the owner so I can’t really mark him as terminated in the plan where he does not have comp. What would you do in this situation? Do I leave them in the test?

My questions for them are:

1.  Are there two plans or one

2. Is this a controlled and/or affiliated service group, i.e., an employer with multiple entities ( to which all entities singed a participating employer agreement) and as a result all such entities participate in this single plan.

Anything else I should know?  I assume I can test combined or separately, as long as 410(b) passes separately

I was married a short time prior to receiving my first payment.  My wife (who is not a US citizen) left a few days after I received my first check.  I have since divorced.  Is there any way to replace her as beneficiary?  She may have gone back to her home country and would not even be able to receive it anyway.

Does anyone have a sense of the prevalence of hiring consultants to lead 401(k) recordkeeping RFPs? Some folks in my company are pushing pretty hard to do it internally mainly due to cost of the consultant, but I have a lot of reservations about doing it internally in terms of availability and expertise at hand.

If it helps, we're a "large" plan ($200M - $1B in assets) with approx. 5,000 participants, for reference. The plan is safe harbor and fairly vanilla otherwise.

I’ve helped put together this research explaining the Qualified Small Employer Health Reimbursement Arrangement (QSEHRA) and how it works for employees in various circumstances. Has anyone run into any other situation not included in this eBook that would be helpful to add?

I know that Government 457(b)  plans are subject to RMDs. I'm unsure if Non-governmental 457plans and non-qualified deferred comp plans are subject to these rules. I believe not but have not been involved in these plans for a long time. Can someone sort these out for me? 

Thanks

Anyone know how a CPA should be reporting Roth 401k on a k-1?  I am concerned that the partners are doing Roth 401k but there doesn't seem to be a w-2 like coding mechanism to clarify what was Roth and what was pre-tax.  

The only thing I saw is that it seems to be that the tax preparer/tax software is supposed to be asking how much is Roth and how much is pre-tax, which seems pretty inefficient. What have others seen on the K-1s?

This is a new one... a plan received a letter from an attorney for a disgruntled ex-participant demanding the employer vest his match 100%.  The employer told him they must operate the plan in accordance with the plan document and provided him a copy of the SPD, but the attorney continues to ask for proof that they can't do it. Any ideas for other documentations? We can't find anything specifically citing that overriding vesting for 1 participant is prohibited.

A new one to me. Employer gives incorrect payroll data - essentially added back in deferrals twice, thus overstating comp for many participants. As it happens, this excess amount put one person over the top to be considered a HC. And this person, as incorrectly being considered HC, caused an ADP failure, resulting in refunds!

So, question is, can this be corrected as a valid self-correction under RP 2016-51, Section 6.06(4), by notifying the affected participants, and giving them the option to repay, or not, and for those who do, issuing corrected 1099-R's showing zero? Other solutions? Even if you went through VCP, I'm not sure what other reasonable solution could be proposed anyway?

This business is rarely dull.

P.S. - I just found this:

Profit sharing plan's year ends Dec. 31.  My boss wants to convert the plan to add deferrals and safe harbor non-elective 3%.  I know the regs. treat this as a new plan for ADP/ACP and notice purposes.  The issue I'm having is the deferrals are going to be effective as of August 1, but he wants the safe harbor provisions to be effective as of the beginning of the plan year on Jan. 1 so they can make the 3% contribution for this year, using it as an offset for the profit sharing piece.  I know the compensation computation period can exclude pre-participation comp., but something doesn't sit right with me on this.  Is there a reg. that precludes the safe harbor prior to August 1 as nobody can defer during this period.  And is the restatement date of Jan. 1 correct then, and there are no short plan year issues I'm missing?

Can an employer charge more than the premium amount for insurance like dental and vision?  I don't believe the employer is paying any portion of the premium.  It is all being paid by the employee.

Ok, so the company that originally set up the VEBA sold to another company several years later-2002, and amended the trust. In 2016, that company was acquired by another company. The VEBA has less than 100k all employer contributed, but there are no employee members and no way of finding out who was a member. Two questions, 1) can the new company transfer the assets to a charity without being subject to the tax benefit rule and 2) can the company amend the VEBA to include only the new company's medical plan and use the assets for current employee health coverage? 

Does anyone have a link to the text of DOL Advisory Opinion 81-78?

Thanks for any help given.

Company had a minority ESOP that they terminated over 2 years ago when new management came in to turn around the company.   They now want to start a new ESOP and sell 100% to the employees.  Can this be done?   Any successor plan rules to be concerned about (they seem to really apply to 401k plans).  Thanks.

ISSUES: Employer provides in its employee handbook "Employer will contribute 1% of employees bi-weekly pay to the employee as an incentive to participate"

QUESTION: Could this lead an IRS auditor to determine that the 403(b) plan is subject to ERISA?

BACKGROUND: Employer is under IRS audit of its 403(b) and 457 (b) plans. There are a number of compliance issues. Employer never maintained a 403(b) plan document, so we are hoping to use to "paper clip" approach, which would involve providing Employee Handbook with master annuity contract. 

Employer did not believe it was operating an ERISA plan, although vendors have some concerns about Employer's "discretionary authority." We are contemplating advising the Employer to apply for relief under DFCP for 5500s (which have never been prepared) before its too late.  The plan has been in existance since 1981...

DC plan not subject to J&S requirement.  Participant designated spouse and two children as equal 1/3rd beneficiaries of his plan account.  Spouse did not consent before participant dies, but spouse wants the designation to be honored.  Questions:

1.  Any authority to allow spouse to consent now, post-death, without a tax-qualification problem?

2.  Alternatively, because default beneficiaries under Plan terms are first the spouse, then children, can spouse disclaim 2/3rds and have those 2/3rds go to the two children, or if spouse disclaims must she disclaim 100%, not merely 2/3rds?

Not concerned by any Title I risks here, just qualification risks.