stephen

While there has been some discussion on this board regarding ESPP plans this is the ESOP Message board. You may be better served by posting your question elsewhere on these message boards. I believe Pax was involved in a ESPP plan perhaps he can help with this matter.

No problem with the amendment. Coverage could be a problem at the end of the year depending on the contribution provisions of the plan. ADP/ACP could also be an issue depending on the plan provisions.

I had an ESOP that had a building in the plan assets. Thus I imagine the only restrictions that apply to an ESOP regarding holding property as an asset are the same restrictions that apply to other qualified plans.

stevena, I get the impression that most large firms are compartmentaizing the positions as you discuss. An option woul dbe to stick with a smaller firm for example the job listed below from the Employee Benefits Jobs section of this website. Good luck to you in your job search! DC/401 (k) Plan Administrator for Benefit TechGroup, Inc. in NJ, PA Small Actuarial, Consulting and Administrative firm seeks entrepreneural type to help handle client contact and administer DC,401 (K) and some DB Plans. I am an enrolled actuary who has lost my right hand person to large firm. Person must be problem solver, self reliant and familiar with Relius administration. This is a career opportunity with partnership potential for right person. Must be creative, excellent communication skills and not afraid to help build a business. We are a small consulting firm which administers 125 and ESOP's. We are growing and need stong support person. We intend to move our offices to more central location. Serious Candidates should mail, fax or email a resume and letter to: Nathan S. Kolbes,President Benefit TechGroup, Inc. P.O. Box 1175 Southampton, PA 18966 Fax - (215) 947-7334 Email - nk@BTGinc.org

Yes an audit must be done for the 5500 and you need to file Schedule H instead of Schedule I with the 5500. There is an exception for plans who have no more than 120 participants allowing them to maintain small plan status that may apply to the plan.

and three-eyes as well...

There are several threads that have addressed this topic in January. I suggest you search for IRS 2005-5 on this website or perhaps someone will add links to those threads here. (pax?) Corbel posted additional information earlier this week. Perhaps the service will extend the deadline for making these amendments

A few ideas: Is a Safe Harbor 401(k) using the matching provision out of the question? My guess is yes with 98 participants it may not be worth the benefit? Put in a Non-qualified plan? If he owns at least 30% of the (c-corp ?) company they could consider setting up an ESOP and he could elect 1042 on his sale to the plan this deferring taxes on the sale of the company and giving him an exit strategy.

The maximum deferral amount is based on calendar years not a lifetimne maximum.

He should enter 7/1/04.

1) Yes, if the three employees you mention are Highly Compensated Employees (earned more than 90,000 in 2004 or owned more than 5% of the stock of the company (not including their ESOP account)) it would be discriminatory for the company to convert their balances to CD's without doing the same for others. 2) I do not know of any law that would give you access to what is happening to the accounts of others in the plan. I suggest you review your Summary Plan Description and request a current version of the Distribution Policy of your ESOP from the Human Resource Director (or other contact at the company) for more information regarding what will happen to your account.

Andy Reid has never lost after a bye week and I imagine Bellichek's record following a bye week is near perfect if not perfect as well. Something has to give. I am disappointed the NFL put two weeks between the conference championship games and the Super Bowl as this usually leads to a bad game. (Maybe that trend will be broken this year.) I wonder if PAX will chime in on what for him is a non-issue... since no team from Atlanta is still playing.

califlefty, Are you sure you were 100% vested in your ESOP account? It seems as if once you hit your 5th Break In Service that the nonvested portion of your account was forfeited which could be the -35% you are seeing leave your account. We would need more information to help you ascertain what happened to your account. You may be better served by reading your Summary Plan description or contacting the Human Resources director at your former company and having them explain what happened to your account. Perhaps you received a distribution packet along with your annual statement that includes additional information.

joeyd, as a more than 5% owner of a company you are considered highly compensated regarding the qualified plan rules regardless of your actual income.

Thank You KJohnson- Those links are helpful!

If an employer provides several different benefits, i.e. a self-funded dental benefit, insured group health and disability benefits, can they all be considered one health and welfare benefit plan and a consolidated 5500 filed for the "plan"? It would be helpful to have resource material cited if possible. The consolidation issue does not seem to be addressed in the 5500 instructions. (I posted this in Welfare Benefit Plans and did not get a response so I am trying here.)

If an employer provides several different benefits, i.e. a self-funded dental benefit, insured group health and disability benefits, can they all be considered one health and welfare benefit plan and a consolidated 5500 filed for the "plan"? It would be helpful to have resource material cited if possible. The consolidation issue does not seem to be addressed in the 5500 instructions.

Santa Claus?

My thought would be that you cannot include the owner with no compensation. This person cannot be eligble to defer since they have no salary. Thus, they cannot be included as a zero in the ADP test.

I think you can clearly offer additional times to diversify whether you use the age 45 or allow participants to diversify every 3-5 years depends on a number of factors including your employee base and the companies ability to fund the distributions among others. Whichever method is chosen I think you would want to take into account when running your repurchase obligation studies. I do not think adoptiing either of the less restrictive methods would relieve you of the statutorily required diversificaiton elections (age 55 and 10 years of participation).

The Timeless Gift By Harrison Kelly Shopping for a Christmas gift can be the most nerve-wracking event of the year. Shopping for my wife can be a special challenge. Vacuum cleaners are too impersonal, football tickets are too impractical, and kitchen gadgets are downright impossible. I was at a loss, with Christmas fast approaching. In desperation, I asked my secretary, Sally, to help me pick out a present. We walked side by side in a fast-paced walk, two blocks to the jewelry store. Working in the downtown business district had its advantages; being close to a lot of shopping places was one of them. However, there were disadvantages as well. On the way, our path crossed a couple of homeless men, huddled together by a vent from one of the nearby buildings. I started to cross the street to avoid them, but traffic was too thick. Just before we approached, I switched sides with Sally to keep them from confronting her. They were surely going to beg for money, pretending to buy food, but any donation would surely end up as beer or wine. As we got closer, I could see that one was probably in his mid-thirties and the other was a boy of school age - around thirteen or fourteen. Both were dressed shabbily, the older with a too-tight sport coat ripped at the sleeve, while the boy was without a coat at all, only a tattered shirt separating him from the blowing wind. A quarter or two and they'll leave us alone, I thought. "I'll handle this," I said with my best male bravado. But Sally seemed undisturbed by the sight of the two beggars. In fact, she seemed comfortable in their presence. Before they asked, she offered. "Is there anything I can do for you?" she directed her question to the two homeless men. I was in shock, waiting to pull Sally away from a dangerous situation, but she stood firm. The two men looked at her with surprise until the older one spoke up. "Yes, ma'am. We do need something." Here it comes - the hook, the gouge, I thought. The two panhandlers are looking for a handout, an easy mark. As I watched, I could tell the younger boy was shivering in the winter breeze, but what could I do? "Could you tell us the time?" asked the older man. Sally glanced at her watch and replied, "Twelve-fifteen." He nodded his thanks and didn't say another word. We continued on our way to the jewelry store, and I had to ask Sally about the encounter. "Why did you ask if you could help that man?" "He was cold and in need, that's why," she replied in a matter-of-fact tone. "But he's a bum. He could have tried to rob you or something." "I take care of myself. But sometimes you have to take a chance on someone." We arrived at the jewelry store, and Sally quickly found the perfect gift for my wife - a pair of diamond earrings. While she was there, she bought a man's watch, not an expensive one, but she was always thrifty. Probably a gift for her husband, I thought. As we walked back to our building, the two vagabonds were still hovering around the sidewalk grate. Once again, I tried to come between Sally and the two, but she wouldn't let me. To my surprise, when we got next to them, she pulled the watch out of the bag and handed it to the older man. "Here, I'm sure you know how to use it." He was as shocked as I was. "Thank you, much obliged, ma'am," he said, trying the watch on his wrist. As we walked away, Sally had a gleam in her eyes, proud of what she had done. "Why on Earth did you do that?" Sally shrugged and said, "God has been so good to me, and I decided to do something good for him." "But he didn't deserve it." "Even the poor want something special, and besides, God's done things for me that I don't deserve - but He did them anyway." "He's probably going to buy beer with that watch." Sally just smiled at me and said, "Well, so what if he does? That's not my concern. I did something for good and that's all that matters. What he does with the watch is his challenge." We arrived back at our building and went into our separate offices. I wondered about the encounter, and I thought about the two men. Surely they were at the pawnshop, getting ready for a hot time at Sally's expense. The next day, I was going to lunch alone at a hamburger stand outside our building. As I walked down the street, I noticed the same two men that Sally and I had encountered. They were both still hovering around the heater vent. The older man recognized me and said, "Excuse me, sir. Could you give me the time?" Aha! I had caught him. Sally's watch was nowhere to be found. Exactly what I thought. "Where is the watch my secretary gave you yesterday?" I asked, hoping to stir his heart. He hung his head down and admitted his guilt. "Sir, I'm sorry but I had to do something." It was then I noticed the new parka around the shoulders of his young companion. "Wouldn't you do something for one of your own?" Speechless, I handed him a quarter and continued on my way. As I walked, I started thinking about the incident. He had sold the watch all right, but he bought a coat, not beer, with the money. Sally's act of kindness did have meaning. So did her words: The challenge was answered. As I arrived at the hamburger stand, I suddenly lost my appetite. I turned around and headed back to the office. The two men were still by the grate. I tapped the older man on the shoulder and he looked up at me, obviously freezing. I took my long, gray overcoat off and draped it over his shoulders without saying a word. As I walked away, I knew that my own challenge had been met. The few steps back to my office made my teeth chatter. But, you know...it was one of the warmest trips I have ever made in my life.

Many compaines consider the SPD as meeting the notification requirement. That said, we provided a list of particpants eligble to diversify as part of our allocation report so the client could notify the participants as soon as administratively feasible following the completion fo the allocation. I am not sure of the IRS position on this particular issue, perhaps Becky Miller or RLL have experience with this.

How many years of missed top heavy contributions? If it is just one or two I believe you can self correct? If more than two perhaps you put in writing your suggestion to use voluntary correction with the IRS and let the client make the decision to correct contributions and earnings and take their chances with an audit. That way the plan is corrected, you as the new TPA are covered, and perhaps if the company can show that it would be a huge hardship to use voluntary correction and should the plan be audited the IRS would not "drop the book on them". Perhaps it's a small company and the voluntary correction fees would be detrimental to the company.

perhaps trucks1 will clarify their request as I thought it was a TPA asking for information...

A few options: 1) Retire the shares- i.e. let the company buy them 2) Use dividends to allocate cash in the plan. 3) Take out a new loan and fund the distributions in this manner.