GBurns

I must have missed it. What recent legislation changed eligibilty in such a manner?

Can you say when and where this was done?

What about the entertainment union plans that are in California?

I have asked the same question of large clients in related issues and the answer is always that they have always paid their Big 5 and other such consultants on either a flat fee or per hour basis. No one has ever evaluated the value or quality of the work done. It reminds me of mindless sheep.

The frequency of questions of this nature makes me curious. Are you a service provider to this plan? Are you one of the employers? Were there any filings for previous years? If this is a new plan, therefore no previous filings, what sort of due diligence or legal advice did you get before joining this plan? What is the benefit of being in this plan?

I suggest that you first go to the Q&A columns and visit: Who's the Employer? Advanced Plan Design? 401k Cafeteria Plans I might not have got the names of the Q&A columns right but you should easily find the ones related to the above 4. Second, find out what the larger PEOs have. They have spent a lot of resources and have had a lot of litigation that has caused them to provide their benefits in the manner that they do. Third, find out what the State Dept of Insurance in each state that your client will operate in has to say about PEOs offering benefits. You might be surprised at the restrictions. Look up NJ Small Employer Health Benefits Program Advisory Bulletin 00-SEH-02 issued July 28, 2000, this will give you a guide for those states that have similar restrictions hidden in their small group regulations. Also search MEWA regulations.

I would think that whatever authority you based the decision to tax non-natural ownership changes should be the same authority that would give the best answer. What authority was that?

Look in IRB 2001-1 it should be under Revenue Procedure (rev. Proc.) 2001-1 to 2001-4. You might want to check the PLRs and Rev. Rulings already issued for one that meets your needs. I am sure that the IRS has already issued either a Rev. Ruling or other general counsel Advice on the matter. Maybe you should post the question on that IRA Board.

Although I agree with pax, I must say that you seem to need a company policy regarding termination and exit interviews. It is ver dangerous to have misc. "managers" handle terminations. This is a job that should be handled by a trained and legally aware persom. It is easy to give a litigatable reason for termination and easy to make promises regarding post-termination benefits that can bind the company. I would say that you urgently need a written and controlled company policy, immediately. I cannot give you a cite, but a quick anonymous call to the EEOC and PWBA should get you some cites.

Where does it say in the IRC or Treas. Regs. that a company sponsored benefit cannot be individually issued plans and/or must be group plans?

How can I find out more about these plans? In what state are they being marketed? Is it only 1 marketing group? Who is marketing these plans?

Watch out for retroactive plan amendments. Look for anything that allows the correction of administrative errors, this might give you the best way out.

I remember such an old DOL advisory but I could not find it for use as a cite. My advice is to give it ALMOST the same confidentiality that you give to medical records. However, if this manager has the power to unilaterally and arbitrarily hire or fire this individual, then this manager should be deemed to have the right to look at payroll and personal data. Does he have full unrestricted access to the personal data in the personnel files? If he does then he should have the right to the retirement plan info, but only if there is a valid reason, such as planning redundancy or a companywide early retirement offer and not just curiousity. Targeting 1 employee seems suspicious. If you have to do it I suggest that you refer the matter to your superiors and have them either do it or get a release from the employee, much in the same way an insurance agent gets a release of medical info, so that he can talk to the doctors of clients.

To sum up what everyone seems to be saying: 1. Tell the client to get a competent ERISA lawyer. 2. Keep yourself out of rendering advice. 3. Attach a notice and disclaimer to every thing related to this employers "plan". And I add my own thought.. Do you need this account and its potential problems etc????

Why did you not file a complaint with the state under the Prompt Payment Rules or the equivalent?

It is more than laughable that someone would compare the speaking of a language with an advanced degree. The "skill" of speaking another language is no different from the skill of being able to speed read. Would you pay an employee who does an equal job different from another because they could read faster and therfore could process customers faster? The rule is equal pay for equal job. If the employer makes it a special job then he could get away with it. Look at job ads. Why do you think that most of the time they state bi-lingual preferred and not required?

How about Great West, Anthem (BCBS) and Medical Mutual?

Is it required that a Form 5500 be filed for a medical FSA that is funded by the employer only? Whether Yes or No, what is the reason?

Why would you assume that the question pertains to health benefits?

Better question. How does he plan to get away with it? Legally, ethically etc etc.???

Does anyone know of an easy access link to the Proposed Regs. 1.125-1 and 1.125-2 ?

A notice with time for review followed by an adequate form for the employee to sign should be sufficient.

Is there a possible medical reason for the storage, such as rare blood type, or is it just arbitrary vanity?

There are a lot of 80/20 and 50/50 plans out there. It seems the smaller the employer, the larger the employee share until it is subject to either state law or insurance contract mandatoey employer percentage contribution.

COBRA is required for ALL covered persons (with a few exceptions). If he was the dependent of am employee (such as a child) who reached the age limit, would you not have a COBRA event even though the child was never an employee? Why do you say that he was "an ineligible individual"? Doesn't your plan cover former employees, such as retirees? If he was really an inleligible individual, I would never mention it even on a board such as this. The fact that you knowingly allowed a party to make claims and collect benefits through a falsehood constitutes insurance fraud. The consequences can be horrible.