david rigby

Does it matter that this is a defined benefit plan?

Brings new meaning to the chicken-or-egg debate.

Maybe he did mean that.

415 401(a)(4) 416 etc.

Also, consider some type of unit accrual formula, prospectively.

... appropriate solution? Defined Benefit plans offer annuities more efficiently than insurance companies!

I'm not sure if that is what the questioner asked. Does "funding deficiency" refer to the use of that term in the IRC 412 sense? something else?

Recordkeeper? Isn't the trustee responsible for providing a trust statement?

Taking legal advice from an insurance agent?

Does this conform to the plan document?

http://www.irs.gov/pub/irs-drop/rp-08-50.pdf

Your facts imply a mistake by the trustee. Is that correct? Is the bank the plan sponsor or the trustee? If the bank is the trustee (and not also the sponsor), does it have the same rights as the the plan or the plan administrator? Perhaps the PA has standing to adjust/recoup future payments to correct its mistake, but does the trustee have the same standing? (I don't know, just asking.)

Was the participant a VT before you took over as TPA? - If no, then you would have found (or not found) a distribution in the assets, thus confirming the current status. - If yes, then this sounds like a data question for the plan sponsor to answer. Just a guess.

Really, you! The comments by AtA and SoCal are exactly on point. Averaging removes some volatility but adds some complexity. You decide which is best for you (which is characteristic of more than one design decision). In my experience, using a one-year stability period is very common. A one-month lookback is probably not enough, but the sponsor has reasonable flexibility in choosing that definition.

True, but that's not the only way to become an HCE.

Duplicate post, with a response. http://benefitslink.com/boards/index.php?showtopic=39718

Sounds like the right answer, but another possibility is that your account simply lost money in the general market decline.

Yep.

Yep, and it happens even without controlled group issues: perhaps identical plans for location A and location B.

You may have answered your own questions. The amounts withheld from pay should be defined by the plan document and/or the CBA. It is unlikely pre-tax amounts would be defined for a defined benefit plan. (Is this a defined benefit plan?) However, it may be prudent that someone investigate how the payroll function worked in practice. Assuming after-tax, yes these amounts would later be distrbuted on an after-tax basis. But check the plan document (and IRC 72) for the coordination between after-tax and pre-tax amounts.

You are hereby charged with renting, and watching, the movie "2001, A Space Odyssey".

I don't have any specific cites, but SoCal's summary is consistent with my previous review of this topic.

A reference some of these young whippersnappers may not get.

Depends on state statute. Governmental plans are exempt from IRC 411, to the extent it meets certain requirements as in effect 09/01/1974.

... within the contraints of the plan document, local statute, and (most commonly) state statute.