stephen

That has been my experience as well.

Perhaps I missed something but, with 117 participants at the end of 2003 and entry on 4/1 wouldn't MCarey1 need to calculate who enters on 4/1/03 add to 3/31/03 count and subtract anyone paid in full on 4/1/03 (usually none) to determine the participant count for the beginning of the 3/31/04 plan year. (Assuming I have the correct plan year end...) Thus if 3 or more participants enter the plan 4/1/03 and no one is paid in full on 4/1/03 a full 5500 with audit will need to be filed for the plan year ending 3/31/04.

It is my understanding that the California law only prohibits SSNO's from being printed on the participant statements or other documents being mailed to the participants. Thus, they can still be used for tracking purposes in the plan, on the census, summary of accounts, etc.

My mistake: The windows for the multiple choice exams are May 1-30, August 1-31 and November 1- December 15. I am sorry for any confusion I may have caused.

ASPA offers an entire series of exams for pension designations. PA1-3 cover the basics and daily administration. These three are take home exams. DC 1-2 cover more basics and 401(k) plans. They are multiple choice exams you take at a Prometric Testing site. Upon successful completion of these 5 exams you qualify for the Qualified 401(k) Administrator (QKA) designation. DC-3 Advanced plan issues and C2-DB Defined benefit plans exams are also multiple choice exams. Successful completion of these exams along with the previous 5 exams qualifies you for the Qualified Plan Administrator (QPA) designation. C-3 short answer and essay exam on Fiduciary Issues and Distributions and C-4 essay exam on Consulting along with the previous exams qualifies you for the Certified Pension Consultant (CPC) designation. For more informaiton see: ASPA.org ASPA

Note, the DC-1, DC-2, and DC-3, C2-(DB) exam window for the fall is November 1-30. C-3 and C-4 are still in early December. The review classes at the ASPA Summer Conference are scheduled for the Sunday before the conference begins (4 75 minutes sessions each 8:30-2:45). For $155 you can attend these review sessions if you are not attending the entire conference. My guess is this schedule will be similar for the Annual Conference in October.

rcline46: Thank you for your frankness. $995 / year seems reasonble for what you get (I worked through a demo yesterday.). How easy is it to import the census information into Pension online? Am I correct in interpreting your statement about using the five groups provided by Pension ONline that they can be used as needed and you are not limited to two HCE groups? With regards to the SSNO's couldn't you just use dummy numbers for the import as they really do not matter for proposal purposes. Note to all: I am surprised that Relius proposal is not integrated with their administration software as that would help them considering their foothold in the administration marketplace. Are there any other proposal packages I should evaluate?

Pension Online

PAX: FundeK is correct the former spouse is deceased thus is not an eligble beneficiary. mbozek Posted on Jun 30 2004, 12:35 PM Thus, if the participant wants the kids to be the beneficary he needs to get his spouse to sign the consent form. He does not want the current spouse to be the beneficary due to tax issues. mbozek Posted on Jun 30 2004, 12:35 PM mbozek: Do you happen to know the law for Montana regarding the IRA beneficiaries?

I am evaluating proposal software for my new firm and am checking into Relius (as that is our Admin Software) and Pension Online. Should I be evaluating others as well? I am not sure of the cost of Relius or if it is integrated into their administration software. I am printing the information to read through and have requested for a representative to call me to view a demo. The Pension Online proposal software costs $995 per year. However, there are some flexibility issues per their website. For example, you cannot enter family relationships (you have to code everyone as 100% owner), deferral % have to be entered (not dollar amounts), matching amounts are calculated not entered, at a maximum you can designate two HCE rate groups for cross testing (the system default is one group for all HCE's - if you want an additional group you have to code each person in the census, you cannot allow an HCE to waive participation, ... Thanks for your input, Stephen

Participant with ESOP, 401(k), and IRS accounts. Deceased former spouse is named as the beneficary with children as contingent beneficiaries. 3 years ago the participant remarried a non-resident alien. The participant hinks that the children are protected as beneficaries as the former spouse is not eligible for the distribution the benefits of each go to the contingent beneficiaries. I think the participant needs to get the spouse to sign a consent form for the children to be named beneficaires. Please advise.

try Accurint.com A client of ours has had great success with this site. The first use is free and subsequent uses are 25 cents per search.

This is not a problem. We have many clients who have incorporated various break points in their distribution policy.

Generally, 1/5 of the stock is sold at the current fair market value for the first distribution, 1/4 of the remaining stock is sold after the end of the second year at the then current fair market value, etc.

The problem Hallmark may see in this ploy by Pax is there are not enough actuaries to warrant production of the cards. Thus, no holiday.

Note, you may have an issue if, for example, the plan has a 20 (or longer) year loan and you try to delay distributions until the loan is paid in full. If you make participants wait 20 or more years to recieve a distirbution are they receievng a benefit from participating in the plan?

The son and mother are both 5% owners by attribution. The dad is as well but since he is not employed it does not affect the plan.

Situation: Allen and Barbara are each 50% owners of Company A&B. Barbara's daughter Claire works for the company as well. In 1990 Allen and Barbara each sell 15% to the ESOP and elect 1042 on their sale. Since Allen and Barbara (and Claire by attribution) were 25% shareholders at the time of the transaction they can never share in the allocation of shares from loan #1. In 2001 Barbara retires and sells her remaining 35% to the ESOP (Loan #2). She does not make a 1042 election this time. Thus, Allen and Claire can share in the allocation of these shares. In 2005 Allen is planning on selling his remaining 35% and electing 1042 (loan #3). As was the case with Loan #1 Allen is a 25% shareholder and will never be allowed to share in the allocation of these shares. Question: Can Claire share in the allocation of the shares from Loan #3?

It is my understanding that CEBS is an overall employee benefits designation a small part of which includes qualified plans. NIPA is probably better known on the West coast as that is where they are based. ASPA has restructured their program beginning this year to more closely resemble how a new employee would be trained. Starting with basics in DC! and adding more complicated materials in DC2 and DC3. Check it out at ASPA

Could it be that now the TPA is adding the 2% allowable (greater of 2x not to exceed +2, or 1.25x) thus the ADP for the NHCE's of 4% plus 2% allowed = 6%? Therefore they pass.

Company A started the plan in 2001 thus no one will vest until 2005. The annual contributions have been quite large so many of the account balances are substantial. Company A wants to vest everyone in the plan especially the affected participants who are being terminated (with no benefit from the plan), however the parent corporation wants to wait until at least 12/31/05 before vesting. My thought is why not vest at least the affected participants so if during the course of the next two years more locations are closed there is not even the possibility of having to go back to reinstate and then pay the affected participants their account balance. Pax: By the way, I did search for a discussion before making this post and did not see this particular issue addressed. Thank you for the suggestion.

Company A is a fully owned subsidary of a large corporation. Company A sponsors a plan with approximately 2,000 participants. One entire location of 100 participants is being closed. Of the 100 participants less than 10 are being offered a position at another locaiton. Does this qualify as a partial termination for the 90+ participants that are being terminated without an opportunity to complete their vesting?

The distributions were to participants who retired and now live in NC. The employer has offices in several states but no office in NC that I am aware of.

A client based outside of North Carolina withheld federal tax but not state tax for North Carolina distributions. When told they should have withheld state taxes, their response was that they are not liscensed to withhold taxes in North Carolina so they did not. They assumed the participant would pay any required taxes when they filed their state income taxes. Is there a penalty for not withholding? If yes, what is the penalty? How could they withhold for distributions in the future?

Does anyone have an updated link for the above listing? This one is no longer working.