We have a client that maintains a simple plan and has exceeded the 100 employees for several years while still contributing to the plan They have gone past the grace period so it looks like to me the only correction is through VCP filing. We have told them to cease contributions and deferrals.

I can't seem to find any information on if there are sanctions for this error. The fee for filing is 250.00. Does anyone know and have any experience with a situation like this.

We have a client who terminated their plan effective 10/31/2014. As of 12/31/2014, there were some participants who were still active employees of the employer who had not yet cashed out of the plan. Should they be counted as Active or as Separated participants for purposes of lines 6a(2) and 6b of the 5500?

The instructions say that Active Participants are "any individuals who are currently in employment covered by the plan and who are earning or retaining credited service under the plan."

I can see the argument that these people should be counted as Separated since they are not currently in employment "covered by the plan" and they are not earning credited service under the plan. However, I can also see the argument that they should be counted as Active since they are currently employed by the plan sponsor and the are retaining credited service under the plan.

I'm guessing that I'm missing something basic and obvious, but this one confused me today. Thanks in advance for any input.

Facts:

Small Law Firm (Owner Attorney and spouse and 2 NHCEs) established both a 401(k) plan and DB plan eff. 1/ 1/2009.

Decision made to terminate the DB plan 12/31/2013 (non-PBGC plan) and continue the 401(k) plan.

DB plan distributions completed in 2014 along with final 5500.

Attorney changed his mind and would like to continue a DB plan (i.e. establish a new DB) for 2015 (at a smaller contribution level, $50K). There are no changes to the employee group.

Footnote: I would assign PN: 003 to the new DB plan.

Question:

1. Are there any considerations (rules/regs.) which may prevent the owner from establishing a new DB plan given the above facts?

2. I believe the terminated DB plan's accrued benefit must reduce the 415 limit for each participant. Agree?

I appreciate any comments or other concerns I may have overlooked for this issue. Thank you.

Plan A is being merged into Plan B on or before Dec 31, 2015. Plan B will be timely restated for PPA. Does Plan A also need to be restated for PPA prior to the effective date of the merger?

Working on a presentation regarding RMD and I am looking for insight on two basic questions:

- When were RMD's first elected? It has to be before Tefra

- Why did they choose 70 1/2 as the age?

- Whey did they decide to use a mortality table vs just using a set percent?

Any IRC you can site would be helpful as well but not required. Thanks in advance

Employer established a 457(b) plan ( non governmental) in 2013.

The TPA who drafted the document did not prepare the exemption statement to be filed with the DOL.

Question:

Does the employer file under the DFVC for 2013 and 2014?

If so, do they pay $1,500 and then each each file the 5500?

I thought I read, that the employer could file the exemption know and pay $750. Therefore going forward no 5500s are required.

Thanks

We just started a 401(k) plan for a small employer. They did have a DB plan that recently terminated. The 100% owner rolled over her benefits to the 401(k) plan including a Life Insurance policy.

Would the 401(k) plan need to provide Life Insurance policies simply because the business owner rolled over her benefits that included a Life Insurance policy?

Thanks.

employee met eligibility and entered the plan. terminated in 2006. rehired 2015. enters the plan upon rehire date, correct?

I don't typically work on non-qualified plans, so I'm feeling somewhat like a fish out of water.

A client who has had a SERP for many years has decided to terminate it and pay out all of the participants. The record keeper has indicated that they can either pay the funds to the employer to distribute, after appropriate withholding, or they can handle the withholding and make the distributions directly to the participants.

A question has arisen about FICA and Medicare tax withholding. The record keeper is researching whether or not they can handle those. If they decide they can, the employer wants to know how the employer share is handled.

What is the typical solution to this issue?

Looking for guidance about what needs to be provided to meet the ERISA 404© disclosure requirements for white-label funds... can't seem to find anything that addresses white-label funds... does anyone have any suggestions?

I have a sole prop who has a 401k plan for several years. He turned 62 in 2015 and started to take social security. He still owns the business, works and maintains the plan (he is the only eligible participant in the plan). He is being told by others that since he took SS at 62, that he cannot fund his retirement plan anymore. I have not heard of this before and suspect something is being confused, but can anyone confirm whether taking SS prevents him from funding his 401k plan?

Thanks

In some of our DB & DC multi-employer, qualified plans, we have sent applications out to surviving spouses and beneficiaries (for J&S survivor benefits on DB or distribution options on DCs, for example) and not received responses (nor returned mail). By the way, this question is applicable to participants and beneficiaries that are all under 70 1/2.

To what extent must we pursue these situations? Send the app and just wait until the RMD rules kick in? Send a few regular reminders and then send a formal denial (based upon not submitting an app)? If this (under 70 1/2) pursuit is in the regs, can anyone give me the reference?

Thanks!

If a plan document limits deferrals to 50% of compensation, and a participant makes $36,000 but is catch-up eligible - and wants to contribute the max she can - would she be able to defer 18000 plus the 6000 for catch up or would she be

limited to just 18,000 for 2015?

Hi. Our school division uses Lincoln as the vendor for our 403(b) Plan. Lincoln has recently asked us to provide names, addresses, dates of birth, SS#s for all employees of the school division. Obviously, this is information Lincoln will have and need for those employees that have already elected to participate in the 403(b). But Lincoln is also asking for this information to be provided regarding employees that are not participants for purposes of education and marketing to them the benefits of participating in the 403(b) plan.

Are we permitted to share this information with Lincoln?

Thanks.

Here's the scenario:

Company 1- Owner A 50%

Owner B 50%

Assistant

Company 2 - Owner A 25%

Owner B 25%

Owner C 25%

Owner D 25%

Owners A & B want to start a separate 401k plan for each company. In company 2 they also want to do a profit sharing contribution to try to max out their contributions. They don't want to do a profit sharing contribution for Company 1 because they don't want to pay the 60 year old assistant a profit sharing contribution.

Is this possible? Can they have 2 plans with different provisions? I seem to think that what they do with one company, they have to do with the other.

Please advise.

I've got a plan where the match is 100% of the first 4% deferred (as a safe harbor match) + 0% on the next 4% deferred + 50% on deferrals from 8% - 15%. I know, it's weird; the plan initially had 50% on the first 15% but kept failing ADP, so someone converted it to a safe harbor, on the idea that "front-loading" the first 8% into 4% was beneficial to the NHCEs.

No surprise, the additional match formula is where I'm having the problems. Not only is it failing ACP, but I wonder if I might have a b/r/f problem as well. 2/2 HCEs defer enough to get this match, but only 2/14 NHCEs do as well (we had several new NHCEs this year that really changed the demographics).

Is this a problem? And, if so, how can I fix 2014 (and presumably 2015)? Some kind of QMAC to bring more of the NHCE's up to 8%+ deferred?

Thanks.

I’m interested in learning more about how Plans account for fee disclosure change notices during their transition to a new provider/recordkeeper. As transitions can take a few months to work through Plan details, determine new fees (plan level and individual fees), and finalize how the investments will transfer; it seems having the change notice to participants 30 days prior to their first opportunity to choose investments could be tough.

Does anyone have experience with these notices and how you've handled it in the past, specifically when the assets are “mapping” to new investments and the blackout begins about a week prior to the effective date. In this scenario participants wouldn’t have access to their accounts until after the blackout ended.

Have a plan that calculates their match on a per pay basis. Paid Monthly

Lets assume Joe Employee makes $84,000 per month and defers 401k of $1250.

Their Match formula is 100% up to 3%. My calculation shows Joe would get $1250 in match per month.

My question is do we have to cap his match to $7,950.00 (265000*.03) or does he get the full $15,000.00? More specifically with respect to tres reg 1.401(a)(17)-1(b)(3)(iii)(B)

We are a governmental agency and have a defined benefit plan whereby employees are required to contribute a % of pay.

We have a temporary employee who inadvertantly had the pension amount withheld from her paycheck for 2 tax years (2014 & 2015)

She has terminated employment and is asking for a refund of those employee contributions.

I mentioned to payroll that thye would have to refund the contributions withhled from her paycheck

They said they could not due to being 2 tax years

We do refund those who terminate non-vested their employee contributions plus 4% annualized interest. We do not have an account established for each employee.

Our attorney is saying she cannot be refunded through the pension plan and get a Form 1099 distribution

But Payroll Mgr isn't budging

Any alternatives?

thanks

Lexy

1.)the 5500 instructions describe who is a participant. for active employees the phrase earning or retaining credited service is used. In the EZ instructions we read that it must cover only and owner and spouse (or partners) and provide benefits only for them. Does earning and retaining credited service equate to covering? Suppose a historically one person profit sharing plan now has a common law employee for 2014 but no contribution is made for 2014. Can an EZ be filed for 2014? The newly eligible ee is not retaining or crediting service and has no benefit.

separate question..

2.)an IRS notice is received by plan sponsor querying the absence of a 2013 5500 filing..in reality a 2012 return was also not filed but no corresponding notice has been received. Is it likely that a 2012 notice will come at a later date or was the 2012 unfiled return not picked up...any guesses or thoughts?