Gadgetfreak

I have a Plan who is undergoing a (non-random) audit. Plan withheld deferrals in 2009 from salary but never submitted them to the custodian/record keeper nor did they submit any required SHM contributions. Yes, I have it documented up the "wazoo" telling them that they needed to, etc. The company was in major financial trouble (NOT that that is an excuse). The DOL got involved and is making an arrangement for them to fund the Plan in 2010 with the missing deferrals (and, I assume, lost earnings, penalties, etc.) and possibly other SHM contributions. I have no idea when the DOL will make them pay this though I assume it will be in 2010. The 2009 census they submitted indicates deferrals but the recordkeeper and custodian have none. Should the 2009 5500 be completed showing 2009 deferrals or not? On the one hand the "Plan" never received it. On the other hand, as soon as it was segregated, it became a Plan asset. Also, should a 5330 be submitted as I don't even know when the contributions will be made? Thanks, in advance, for any assistance.

Yes. That is exactly the confusion. We have found one source that states all Employer contributions (assuming match is made on Plan Year) were due before the due date of the entity's tax return. If no extension filed, it would be due by 3/15/10 for a 2009 deduction. If an extension WAS filed, it would be due by 9/15/10 but would be a 2009 deduction if deposited before the actual filing or a 2010 deduction if deposited AFTER the filing but before the 9/15/10 deadline. Another source stated that contributions must be deposited no later than 12 months after the end of the year (so 12/31/10 in this case). Now there is further information that says the deposit must be made 30 days after the deadline for deductibility. Can anyone clarify please?

It seems we are seeing conflicting information in EBIA, ASPPA and on these boards. If someone would be so kind as to fill in the following blanks regarding the depositing of Employer contributions for Plan and fiscal year ending 12/31/09: 1) If you have NOT filed an extension for your entity's tax return, a discretionary match must be deposited before _________ for a 2009 or deduction or before _________ for a 2010 deduction. 2) If you HAVE filed an extension for your entity's tax return, a discretionary match must be deposited before _________ for a 2009 or deduction or before _________ for a 2010 deduction. And then the same two questions for: Safe Harbor Match SHNE Employer Discretionary (PS) QNEC Most of these I am sure are the same but I want to get this all straightened out once and for all. We have generally provided clients with more stringent deadlines but I would prefer to have the most accurate info. Thanks in advance.

We've received two of these questionaires on our clients. Just love the language that says you don't have to do it then threatens you with an audit if you don't complete. I did a search and didn't find another thread...can you help me out? http://benefitslink.com/boards/index.php?s...c=45853&hl=

I just posted something about this in another thread. Perhaps you can comment there on my questions?

I just saw this post and wanted to mention something else about the topic. So far, two of my clients have received this questionnaire and retained us to complete it on their behalf. The notice from the IRS estimated 8+ hours to complete. We do it in about 2-3 and bill accordingly (with prior client approval) as this is not part of our annual services. Question #1: How are others billing for this? I have noticed one GLARING problem with the system: The confirmation received at the end of the survey does not mention the client's name at all. How am I supposed to prove to my client (and ultimately the IRS) that this was completed? I have contacted the survey company, cvent, with my complaint and they said it is not their problem but included the IRS agent who is the liaison to this program on that response. An excerpt of my e-mail to them follows: "This is not a golf course survey asking if lunch should now serve chicken. This is an IRS questionnaire with a threat of penalties (or worse) if my client doesn't comply. I, and they, need some sort of documentation to confirm that the survey was completed. I can't imagine I am the only person to request this." They have not responded. Question #2: How are you retaining records to show that this was actually completed?

I did not receive any replies. You can look at Blaze as I believe their Pentak system does this but I am not fond of their user interface. I am continuing to use my customized database for now.

RPG Consultants provides daily recordkeeping services and trades with Schwab. They work with many TPAs and can provide recordkeeping-only services for other TPAs.

Did you look into Relius ASP? Everything is hosted on their side so no additional IT support is needed by the TPA for their system.

RPG Consultants (www.rpgny.com) in NY has a trading relationship with TD Ameritrade and uses Relius (though I am not sure why that is a requirement) for DV. They have clients in many states. They can be the TPA and recordkeeper but, if you want a local TPA, they also have relationships with other TPAs where RPG is only the recordkeeper.

I may have posted this in the wrong forum and I couldn't find anything related with a search. What software are my fellow TPAs using for client/contact management? We currently use a customized web-based database but it is getting old and support has ceased. We need to keep track of our "clients" - the actual employers sponsoring the retirement plan(s) and all the associated data about that employer including contacts, FYE, EIN, etc. Then, we need to track the Plan(s) that each employer has including the tons of provisions, fees, investment advisor, custodian, recordkeeper, etc. Most off-the-shelf products I have looked at are really just for individual contacts. What are people using?

I am also a TPA and wanted to concur with the others here. Everything in our files is what we send to the clients and what they need if they were to move to another TPA. We tell them to keep their own records. When they leave and they want copies of everything (we already gave them) we charge a fee to compile that information. The fee is based on how much work is involved in collecting the documents. Do we need to go back to storage (either on-site or off-site)? Have the files already been scanned? Are they on archived backups or still on our server? Are we e-mailing or mailing? Clients who leave on good terms (i.e. they always paid their bills and were bought out or something), we will make concessions in terms of sending them info before payment. Deadbeat clients need to pay us the fee before we even start compiling the Documents.

I have read IRS Notice 2009-82 which included sample language for Plan amendments. The amendments speak about the RMD-eligible participant being able to choose whether s/he wants the distribution. Has anyone seen any sample language for that election form? Thanks.

Thank you. That is what I thought but I wanted confirmation.

I apologize if this has been posted but I haven't been able to find consistent information regarding all of my questions. I have a Plan with both a traditional and roth 401k feature. Participant Age 50 wants to move money into a Roth account (either 401k or IRA). 1) Can someone move money from Traditional 401k to Roth 401k in the same Plan? 2a) Can someone under age 59.5 (assuming the Doc allows for 59.5 withdrawal) transfer money to a Roth IRA? 2b) Is there any way to make an amendment to allow for the above? Thank you, in advance, for your assistance.

You are 100% correct. I was stating some overly simple facts for ease of explaining my situation. There are also HCEs. So what I am trying to ascertain is that if I didn't allow them to participate at the beginning of the year because the Document specifically excluded them but now I see that, with the exclusion, C&P is not satisfied, I have withheld from them the opportunity to defer. I guess I have to make a retroactive amendment to allow them to participate (is that just for one year), and then give them a QNEC equal to the average ADP for those NHCEs that deferred. But you don't think I then need to include them in ADP/ACP testing?

A Company has two divisions one with 80 employees and the other with 20. They include in their Document that the second division's employees are excluded from the Plan. Therefore, they are not given the option to do their own deferrals either. At the end of the year it is discovered that there were only 20 employees at the beginning of the year in each of the two companies (there are no HCEs in either). So we now discover that coverage and participation is NOT satisfied. We obviously need to include the 2nd division in ADP/ACP testing. But what about the fact that they were prohibited from deferring when, in reality, they needed to be included? I know there is a corrective method if you accidentally prohibit someone from participating. But here it was actually in the Document. Any advice? Thanks in advance.

I have done some research on the anti-cutback rules and, if I have to go that route, I understand (basically) what needs to be done. It is a pain to recordkeep that, however. I have a simpler idea from a recordkeeping standpoint. Existing vesting schedule is 2-6 year graded. On 1/1/09, there is an amendment to make it 3-year cliff. Depending on your years of service, some years are better with one schedule than the other. So one cannot make a blanket statement that the new schedule is better. Why can't I just create a new source of money called ER#2 with the new vesting schedule and any ER contributions made after 1/1/09 go to that new source? All existing balances will still have the old schedule? The only possible downside is that if I were a participant with 3 years of service, should all the ER contributions made to my account BEFORE 1/1/09 be 100% vested based on the NEW schedule. My idea seems to be the most fair and the easiest to implement. Is it allowed? Am I missing anything? Thanks in advance.

We use Relius

We use Blaze (www.blazessi.com)

We started Q4 2008, we are around 60% done. Mostly because clients aren't returning our calls to request meetings to "discuss".

I have used ExpertPlan in the past. They are good as a recordkeeper if you don't need any special "outside the box" setup. As I am a TPA, I have never used them or heard anything about them as a TPA. If you are looking for a TPA/Recordkeeper that offers more customization, look at www.rpgny.com.

Who do you use to outsource the printing and mailing? How do you make sure that every statement has exactly the same number of pages? If someone has more holdings/activity, doesn't that mess up the printing?

Thank you for the reply. I see something called SPD booklets. I don't think that is the same thing as the Newkirk enrollment education booklets.

Does anyone know of any other companies BESIDES Newkirk that produce either generic or customized 401k enrollment materials? Thanks in advance.