Dave Baker

Please take advantage of educational opportunities on BenefitsLink that would be useful to a person learning the ropes in retirement plan administration: Free online recorded webcasts: https://benefitslink.com/cgi-bin/events/index.cgi?num_per_page=25&kind_of_plan=is_retirement&kind_of_plan=is_exec&continuing_ed_credit_status=yes_or_no&fee_status=free&rm=recorded News items (official guidance, guidance overview, general news items): https://benefitslink.com/news/index.cgi?num_per_page=25;kind=ret;type=official;type=overview;type=general Similar, but grouped by subject: https://benefitslink.com/subjects.html And let me know how any of these could be enhanced further! And, of course, these message boards are a treasure trove of practical information -- what issues are practitioners encountering? And what do other practitioners think is the answer?

These two (click) seem to be on point but they're over five years old. More links to articles about PTO are here (click) (250 matches, some as recent as last month).

Possibly dumb question: what's a TP?

Ed, you're one of the very most valuable contributors to our community -- 236 upvotes by your peers and 2,386 posts. Congratulations, and thank you! We are a community of many people so there are going to be differences in style that come across to the receiver as annoying or even rude. I once read that one out of 10 people can hardly to stand to be around us -- so I try to admire the 9 out of 10 with obviously good judgment and let go of trying to please the 10th one (though I wonder who you are!). I think of Larry (who also is one of the most prolific and valuable contributors on the message boards) as one of the long poles in the pension industry circus tent -- or maybe the grizzled chief petty officer on the navy's biggest carrier, who's seen pretty much everything and sometimes barks out orders but you give him wide berth because he's almost always right and he's not in the mood to chat. I've never seen a criticism that wasn't backed up by experience or citations -- so by getting to the point and lobbing in a comment he may be doing a tremendous service, especially if it turns out that some kind of liability-causing mistake is avoided, or some kind of money-making opportunity turns out to be the result. He's particularly willing to take his valuable time to get down into the weeds on a particular poster's factual situation, rather than contributing only some citation or general principle. I always give thanks for a griping customer, because he's probably giving me some valuable information that a dozen others are thinking but haven't written to me about. Anyway, I know there are passions (I actually have quite a problem with my own temper and sensitivity), and that it can take real effort to refrain from name-calling, and people might even be more sensitive to it nowadays given that one can turn on pretty much any national media and hear non-stop name calling and snarkiness. We also have visitors who aren't used to seeing the rigorous give-and-take that sometimes happens in a message thread, and we don't want to run off those who might be particularly conflict-avoidant. One such visitor and potential message board contributor wrote to me yesterday and politely complained. Because I believe it's important that a community regulate itself and not have some political correctness censor hanging overhead, I edit messages only rarely, where there is a name called or some kind of profanity -- everything else is fair game, including being frank and critical. But everybody must remember the public is watching, reputations are important, people are a whole lot more tender than generally assumed, and the point of everybody being here is to exchange questions and answers so that the plan participants get what they're supposed to and our employer-customers get the best and most accurate service. There are going to be sparks and loud squeaks as the big wheels turn, but we're all on the same train heading in the same direction. <End of sermon> Thanks again, Ed, Larry, and everybody!

Cross-tested plan design seems to bring it on.

What the heck is a soda? They're not sold here in the South, I 'spose.

Lo, the mountain moves -- https://benefitslink.com/newsletters/2018/2018_11_01_retirement_bulletin.html

https://www.chronicle.com/blogs/linguafranca/files/2017/11/25a174525ecf302846db803c84b4dfb8.jpg

Some good articles on this topic: Results of BenefitsLink Search (click)

We have quite a few Q&As that have been written by Derrin, which make for great reading -- https://benefitslink.com/cgi-bin/qa.cgi?db=qa_who_is_employer

Here is an online application that works for corporate plan sponsors, which calculates the best integration level (sometimes it's less than the taxable wage base), from the perspective of the one or more employee-participants who are shareholders. It's useful when designing a plan (e.g., specifying the integration level in the adoption agreement of a new profit sharing plan). https://benefitslink.com/m/integ.cgi It allows the user to specify which of the participants are "favored" (i.e., the partners, in your situation), even though one or more of them doesn't have compensation that exceeds the integration level. I'm not sure I understand your question, but maybe the online app will be helpful in some respect.

See also DOL Secretary Acosta's article, in today's Retirement Plans Bulletin: https://benefitslink.com/newsletters/2018/2018_08_31_retirement_bulletin.html (Folks are invited to subscribe to the free daily BenefitsLink Retirement Plans newsletter, including bulletins, use this URL:) https://benefitslink.com/cgi-bin/secure/sub.cgi?l=9 News items from previous newsletters, about multiple employer plans (MEPs) or pooled employer plans (PEPs): https://benefitslink.com/search/results.php?textQuery=%22multiple+employer+plans%22+OR+MEP+OR+MEPs+OR+%22Pooled+Employer+Plans%22+OR+PEP+OR+PEPs&datasource=MYDB&sort=2

This seems to provide good news -- it's a determination letter that binds the IRS only with respect to the particular taxpayer who requested it, but it contains an explanation of the law and the facts in the taxpayer's situation, and they seem to be the same as in your situation: https://www.irs.gov/pub/irs-wd/201430025.pdf

Anything relevant here? https://hrdailyadvisor.blr.com/2018/06/28/cash-balance-plans-get-irs-guidance-interest-crediting-rates/ ("Cash Balance Plans Get More IRS Guidance on Interest Crediting RatesCash Balance Plans Get More IRS Guidance on Interest Crediting RatesCash Balance Plans Get More IRS Guidance on Interest Crediting Rates" -- will be in today's Retirement Plans Newsletter)

The links that are embedded in the text of older messages are now working. No more manual fiddling needed. (I made a change in a configuration file on the server, so that certain links are automatically "rewritten" behind the scenes, telling your browser how to get to the right page). Thanks, Tom!

If you'd like to use your real name (which is a good idea for many reasons), please do. And feel free to include the name of your company in your "signature" (which is automatically appended to messages you post). By posting interesting questions and helpful answers, you're enhancing your reputation at the same time that you're helping your industry colleagues. But if you'd like to use a pseudonym (which sometimes is a good idea for many reasons), please do that, too. Create a second account by (1) logging out, and then (2) registering as if you're an entirely different person. Enter whatever display name you'd like to use (stand back -- "Benefiticus" is entering the forums), and enter an email address that's different than the one you used with your "real name" account. (Each registered account must have a unique email address.) The email address for your pseudonym account could be a gmail.com email address (they're free), or outlook.com, hotmail.com, etc. -- but it should be a working email address that you check from time to time, so that emails sent by the message board software don't bounce -- e.g. automatic emails that notify you about a new reply that's been posted to a topic you started using your pseudonym account. So you could have two accounts -- an account that displays your real name for ordinary use, and an account that displays a pseudonym for those unusual times when you'd like to post a question or add a reply anonymously. You might want to ask colleagues for advice as to what to do when you discover that your dog ate the client's only signed plan document, or that you are concerned that an employer-client may be putting nonexistent names on the employee census, or that you have serious concerns about industry leaders sometimes balking about tax reform just because it cuts into business ... not gossip, but stuff that is true, needs attention, bothers you, or otherwise "needs to be said" for the good of the realm. Let me know if you'd like details or screen shots. Thanks!

Do you mean that posting a question as a message here is something other than asking "other plan administrators"? Not intending to be snarky; I'm not sure what you're asking.

(You meant "the wrong" participant accounts rather than the "proper" participant accounts, yes?)

This seems very important, so I'm reprinting it here -- it's a press release that was sent to me about ten minutes ago (Thursday, 3:10 p.m. ET): BALTIMORE – February 22, 2018 Transamerica Expands Commitment to TPAs and Small Retirement Plan Market Transamerica today announced that the services of a third party administrator specializing in retirement plans are required for new retirement plan business with less than $3 million in assets. “Our experience is that smaller companies benefit significantly from the expertise of a third party administrator who can have deep conversations about their client’s business and goals,” said Joe Boan, senior vice president and executive director, individual and workplace distribution for Transamerica. “With this announcement, we are firmly stating that working with a retirement-focused third party administrator is a best practice for small retirement plans.” Transamerica is demonstrating its commitment to third party administrators by raising the underwriting minimums for in-house administrative services. TPAs will have access to Transamerica’s streamlined retirement platform to help their clients. “Transamerica values its alliance with third party administrators. We listen to TPAs’ needs and seek out their feedback about our retirement plan program, and we take action. We agree that small retirement plans benefit greatly from the direct guidance that retirement third party administrators offer,” said Boan. “We believe every company needs to have access to a quality retirement plan, and we are delighted for the opportunity to help more people pursue their financial goals for a secure retirement.” There are many reasons small companies will want to consider using third party administrators for their retirement plans, including: * flexible plan design support customized to meet the specific needs of both the business and their employees * high levels of compliance and technical expertise on issues like loans and distributions * enhanced consultative services * the assumption of time-intensive responsibilities. Transamerica believes that the future of financial wellness is the connection between wealth and health for a better quality of life. For decades, Transamerica has helped people pursue a lifetime of financial security. To learn more about Transamerica’s workplace solutions, please visit www.transamerica.com. About Transamerica Retirement Solutions, LLC Transamerica Retirement Solutions, LLC (Transamerica) is a leading provider of customized retirement plan solutions for mega- large-, mid-, and small-market organizations. Transamerica Retirement Solutions partners with financial advisors, third party administrators, and consultants to cover the entire spectrum of defined benefit and defined contribution plans, including: 401(k) and 403(b) (Traditional and Roth); 457; profit sharing; money purchase; cash balance; Taft-Hartley; multiple employer plans; nonqualified deferred compensation; and rollover and Roth IRAs. Transamerica Retirement Solutions helps more than 5.4 million retirement plan participants save for a lifetime of financial security. For more information, visit www.transamerica.com.

In five days I will be eligible to withdraw money from my 401(k) without incurring an early distribution penalty. Where does the time go? Be on the lookout for a 36-year-old red-headed man who started BenefitsLink. Individual was last seen 23 years ago. May have dyed hair and beard gray since last sighting.

Nice, Mike! I will take a look. I had stumbled onto a Windows application called Everything, which does the same thing (I think). I use it all the time! Great suggestion.

What software do you use that you wouldn't give up unless they pried your cold, dead fingers from the keyboard? Mine: ClipMate (for Windows). Records every copied item, so I can copy (contol-C) multiple text items in sequence and then go back to fetch any one or more of them (for purposes of pasting into a new text document, for example). The standard Windows clipboard (control-C) only holds one copied item at a time, and overwrites any earlier-copied item. I can even paste the earlier-copied items one by one into an ordered list in a new text document, by hitting control-V repeatedly.

We switched to TeamViewer a few years back and thought it to be better than LogMeIn, but I haven't looked at LogMeIn in quite some time to see whether its features are comparable now. File transfers are especially easy with TeamViewer. We like Egnyte for file sharing.

https://benefitslink.com/boards/index.php?/topic/59563-divorce-account-frozen/

If you have an existing account on the Message Boards (i.e., you've registered), you have a user name that appears next to any message you post. Your user name might be your real name (which generally is a very good idea for reputation and hence marketing purposes). But you also might want to set up a second account on the Message Boards so that you can post a message (i.e., start a topic or post a reply to an existing topic) without revealing any information about yourself. Think of a second account as an "anonymous" account. For example, the "profile" for your existing account might already show your real name, the name of your firm, your interests, and so forth. This is a Good Thing, because it helps people know how to contact you offline, which is a Good Thing because they might be potential customers or clients as a result of having seen the wise and helpful things you've said in your posted messages (each of which shows your user name next to the body of the message). Perhaps you've also taken the time to enter a "signature block" into your profile, so that each message you've posted has a block beneath it that shows your name, your firm name, your web site, your telephone number, etc. (To edit your profile, select Profile from the drop-down menu that appears when you click the arrow next to your user name, toward the top right corner of any page on the message boards.) But perhaps, from time to time, you'd like to be able to start a topic or post a reply message under an existing topic without revealing any identifying information. Maybe you ... * want to talk about something that's controversial ("Most of our clients just aren't providing enough benefits for the rank-and-file employees; should we tell them?") * want to help without anyone misinterpreting it as advice upon which they can rely and come after you in the event you're wrong ("In your situation, you probably don't need a Required Minimum Distribution this year because... "). * want to say something without any chance of compromising your customers or clients ("An IRS agent says she can force us to provide her with a list of our clients -- has anybody else had this happen?") * want to ask or comment on something and, for whatever personal reason, you'd be more comfortable with saying it anonymously You'll need an email address that's different than the one you're using with your primary account. It might be a different username (or "alias," in tech-speak) at your existing firm, if that's easy for you to set up -- "jack@pensionpowered.com" in addition to your existing "john@pensionpowered.com". Or, you could set up a free email account with any of the many companies that will provide one for you, such as gmail.com from Google. Here's a list of the places that offer a free email account: https://www.thebalance.com/best-free-email-accounts-1356641 Once you have such a "secondary" email address, sign out of your primary account if you see your user name displayed toward the top right part of any page on the message boards. (To sign out, use the drop-down arrow next to your user name and select Sign Out. The web page then refreshes itself.) Click the black "Sign Up" button you'll see toward the top right part of any page on the message boards. Assign a user name that's different from your primary user name. Enter your secondary email address (not the email address used with your primary account). You'll need to be able to pick up email at your secondary email address at least once, because an automatic email is sent by the message boards software that has a link on which you must click, in order for you to use the secondary account (i.e., confirming your sign-up). Once you've confirmed your secondary account, you can sign in using the user name you've assigned to it (or by entering the secondary email address; the message board software allows a sign-in using either way). Now, whenever you post a message while signed in with your secondary user name or email address, the secondary user name will appear next to such a message (rather than your primary user name). Messages you've posted under your primary user name won't change at all. It's as if a completely different person has registered to use the message boards, so there is no effect on your existing messages. By refraining from entering any identifying information in the profile associated with your new account, you basically have created an anonymous account for yourself. * Nobody will see your email address (which already is the case for all accounts) * Nobody will see the IP address from which you're posting a message (which already is the case for all accounts), except the message boards administrators (meaning yours truly, and two other people who work at BenefitsLink, as is already the case for all accounts), who would need to see the IP address only for some kind of temporary diagnostic purpose (e.g. you ask for help signing in) When you want to return to your primary account, just sign out of the secondary account and then sign in using your primary account's user name or email address. Questions? Post a reply message in this topic, or email me at davebaker@benefitslink.com