BG5150

The thing about HCE determination is that's it's a pretty simple calculation, and any record keeping system made after 1984 should be able to handle it. All you need is last year's compensation and ownership and family information.

Going back a few comments about the owner dying in a "solo" K: If the only participant dies, the plan will have to terminate, thus making the participant 100% vested. Or, the participant will forfeit some of his account. The forfeiture account can be reallocated. he forfeits some more. it gets reallocated again. And again and again, ad infinitum (or ad nasuem) until there is only a penny left and he gets the remainder anyway.

maybe I should have said "not necessarily." I'm not saying there HAS to be a vesting schedule. In fact, if you are designing a one-participant plan there probably should not be a vesting schedule. However, you could write a plan to have one in anticipation of hiring an employee who may become eligible for the plan. This way you don't have to remember to amend the plan later.

So what do you put in for the cost fo the entire report? Leave it blank? Or do you calculate it for each plan? I think this is becoming less and less relevant with all the forms on the DOL site now, but it has to be in there.

But I think a lot of the advice here boils down to this: You may think you are merely going down a small rabbit hole by record keeping the funds. But you may find yourself waist deep in a warren of rules and contingencies you weren't prepared for. Some tunnels are straight forward, but some are winding and complex and lead to further winding and complex tunnels.

Bottom line: can you track the contributions on a platform that doesn't separate them? Of course. It happens all the time with pooled plans. The plan document should tell you when and how to allocate the earnings. You can build a spreadsheet to calculate those earnings. You (someone) will need to furnish the participants with a statement at least annually with a breakdown by money type of their account.

My thoughts in bold.

A QRP has to do with DB Plans. It's a way to mitigate the tax on reversion of assets to the ER, by placing the extra assets in a DC plan. It has nothing to do with terminating a 401(k) plan.

If $300 is too much, how can they afford to put money into a 401(k) plan. Especially employer money. The plan document can be set up to allow for fees to come out of the plan. If these are self-employed individuals (non-C-corporation, non-S-corp.), they wouldn't (shouldn't (?)) be getting a "payroll" to deduct from, and thus would have no W2 to reference. Are you going to advise how much Employer Contribution can go into a plan when someone's Schedule C income is $35,000 and they choose to defer $10,000? An "off-the-shelf plan" can comfortably accommodate loans/hardships/after-tax transactions. If you go this route, which you seem hell-bent on, why can't you create two accounts, one for EE and one for ER money? I see it all the time.

There is a difference in record keeping assets and administering a plan. Could you easily record keep assets of a "one-man' plan? Probably. Administering it? That's a different story. As was mentioned before: who is going to make sure the plan is amended timely? Who is going to make sure the deferral and 415 limits are not violated? What about the deductibility (25% of comp) limit? Are hardships going to be available? Someone has to track contributions vs account balance. Who is going to track vesting? What if something goes amiss? Who is going to make sure it gets corrected properly? Regular paychecks on a W2--who is going to track timing of deposits?

My suggestion is to engage an attorney.

Final distribution of 401(k) money, no? If there was a trailing PS, it still goes back to the K money, doesn't it?

Good Doggie!

Actually, I was thinking it was failure to follow the terms of the plan and eligible to self-correct. We would allocate it using 2015 comp. Can you tell me where in the EOB they discuss it? (to save me the time to try to wade through it)

We have a plan for a company that went out of business in 2015. Plan terminated, and final distributions were done in 2016. However, the forfeiture account was never liquidated. There are no more fees to be paid. How do I reallocate the forfeiture account now, being that the date for which annual additions for 2015 has passed on 10/15. I obviously have no comp for 2016. Do I just reallocate it on 2015 comp and move on?

...or when they hire an employee and don't tell you.

Even for the SF's? Pretty steep for 3 pages...

What charges, if any, do you put in the SAR for copies of the paper 5500 for the per page and full copy items? I usually put $0.25/page and $0.75/$3.00 for full copies of SF/5500, respectively. What you you put in your SARs?

I can't find it right now, but there Was a FAB a couple years ago that addressed it. Basically, you don't need it for SDBs, however, it may not be considered prudent to have solely SDBs with no DIAs in the plan at all.

For participant directed plans, certain disclosures are required to participants under 404(a)5. Certain disclosures are to to plan sponsors under 408(b)2. The 404(a)5 notice includes comparing the plan's investment options to industry benchmarks. here is your cite: https://www.law.cornell.edu/cfr/text/29/2550.404a-5 If a plan is conforming to 404©, the plan's fiduciaries are given some protection against participant claims of investment performance and choice. Where 404(a)5 notice shows investment performance and fees, it does not provide the same protections as 404©, as 404© requires other actions to be taken or allowed by the plan sponsor (provide quarterly statements, allow inter-investment exchanges at least once per month...)

If you need to take them out (I am not saying they have to, only IF), you can use the "Additional Test Amounts" under "Compliance" in Census. Use negatives. They will pull out of your testing.

^ true. of all the culpability, i hold the sponsor lowest in this situation

But who is going to pay the penalty, now that's a different matter. Lots of blame to throw around here. I blame the CPA for not having a process (or following it) to see that all audits get through partner review or otherwise finalized. I blame the TPA for not having a process (or following it) to see that the 5500, indeed, was filed. I blame the sponsor/administrator for not having a process (or following it) to see that the 5500, indeed, was filed. Maybe $500 apiece?

Why u mad, bro?

John, where in the 5500 instructions do you see that? The only place I see anything about signing things is in the Electronic Filing section. And further down: The only other signatures the instructions mention are for actuary-related things. But for the 8955-SSA, are we out of luck? The signatures still seem to require both (only one if they are the same)