david rigby

Yep. I have seen a formula which used 0.5% times service (max. 40 years), which is less than the 22.75% overall maximum.

You might try contacting one or more of these individuals, from the introduction to the 2006 Gary Book: The following representatives of the Enrolled Actuaries Program Committee attended the meeting: Bruce A. Cadenhead, Mercer Human Resource Consulting Curtis M. Cartolano, Hewitt Associates LLC Marjorie R. Martin, Aon Consulting John H. Moore, CCA Strategies LLC Jay P. Rosenberg, Buck Consultants LLC Donald J. Segal, CCA Strategies LLC Kenneth A. Steiner, Watson Wyatt Worldwide James Stinchcomb, Towers Perrin

... and there is no requirement that plans "co-ordinate" eligbility provisions. (Perhaps it was not a question after all, but just venting? If so, perhaps you may wish to direct your comments to your employer.)

See page 2 of the form/instructions: http://www.irs.gov/pub/irs-pdf/f5558.pdf “Form 5500 or Form 5500-EZ is filed on or before the return/report’s normal due date on a properly completed and signed Form 5558, you will automatically be granted one extension of not more than 21⁄2 months.”

Duplicate posting! http://benefitslink.com/boards/index.php?showtopic=32083&hl=

Is this comment targeted at the IRS "dislike" of a negative unfunded? If so, that is a stream no one wants to paddle against. While it may be mathematically possible, it appears the IRS considers it unreasonable, and therefore would violate the requirement for a reasonable funding method. Not worth the struggle.

Not sure if this came up at the EA meeting. I asked Jim Holland about this a few days ago. He confirmed that, although the 404 section had no expiration date, the cross referenced 412 sections did expire for plan years beginning in 2006. Thus, 404 CL rate = 412 CL rate (which is not required to = the gateway rate). Pending pension reform legislation may revert to the 2004/2005 rules, and appears to amend the expired sections by a one-year extension. But nothing is official until its official.

ditto

I think Mike is correct. I recall some statement (probably from the IRS) that you cannot make a contribution for a plan year prior to that plan year, and therefore, all contributions during a PY must be shown on the Sch. B (or accrued on a prior B). Perhaps the IRS is saying OK not to amend unless there is a deficiency. My preference would be otherwise: amend it, etiher way.

Does the plan permit distributions to any participant who is over NRA, even if still employed?

Interesting. Can anyone confirm, or clarify the context, that IRS statement?

The link provided by vebaguru is the online Actuarial Directory. You do not need an "identity" to use it. Just click "Search the Directory".

Are you talking about full funding, and a non-zero credit balance? The balance equation should include the credit balance and the accumulated reconciliation account. Also, remember that the actual UAL should not be less than zero, but there is no such restriction (at least not in regulatory statement from the IRS) on the expected UAL.

I'll wait until Tom posts a similar message in 2106.

Perhaps you can convince your employer to offer more options in the plan.

I suggest caution here. The Gray Book is not a formal response. For example, at the bottom of every page is this:

... and other phase-in arrangements are possible.

If you are looking for the Gray Book on an IRS website, remember that the IRS does not own it. (It is possible that they have permission to publish it, but ownership belongs to the Enrolled Actuaries Meeting.)

March 31, 2006 MOODY'S DAILY LONG-TERM CORPORATE BOND YIELD AVERAGES Utilities Industrial Corporate Aaa NA* 5.67 5.67 Aa 5.87 5.81 5.84 A 6.14 6.13 6.14 Baa 6.40 6.70 6.55 Avg 6.14 6.08 6.11 MOODY'S DAILY TREASURY YIELD AVERAGES Short-Term (3-5 yrs): 4.80 Medium-Term (5-10 yrs): 4.86 Long-Term (10+ yrs): 5.04 MOODY'S DAILY PUBLIC UTILITY COMMON STOCK YIELD AVERAGES Price: 277.5 Yield: 3.82 New Dividend: 10.60

You can purchase it at the CCA link given by Effen. I'm not aware of any link that will allow you to read the Q&As. These messge boards contain more than a few references, including a few quotes. Try searching, but you will be more successful using "gray" than "grey". (The former is the correct spelling.)

You could amend the plan to change NRA to age 62, and permit in-service distributions only to those beyond NRA. Yes, this provision must apply to all participants. A variation might be to amend the NRA to be the earlier of age 65, or age 62 with 25 years of service.

Don't forget to check the 415 limit.

My experience is that the callback from the JBEA will be somewhere between 1 and 30 days.

I believe the IRS opinion has been consistent. A plan must have a sponsor. When a sponsor ceases to exist, and there is no successor sponsor, the plan is deemed to terminate. A terminated plan may not continue to exist indefinitely as a wasting trust. Generally, it should not take more than 12 months to pay out the benefits; more than that looks like the wasting trust. BTW, are you the sponsor's legal counsel? Sponsor should have ERISA counsel to answer these Qs, especially possible remedy(ies) and whether CAP is the next step.

Sorry, I did not attend that session. Does this refer to 404(a)(7)? BTW. Harlan Weller ---> non-answer. I'm shocked, shocked!