Everett Moreland

You may continue to use the April 2011 version of Form 5300. See the following, especially the last sentence, from the 6/24/13 IRS Employee Plan News: Form 5300 -Use April 2011 Version Plan sponsors can continue using the April 2011 version of Form 5300, Application for Determination for Employee Benefit Plan, and its instructions until we announce the release of the final updated version later this year. We released draft revisions to Form 5300 and its instructions in February 2013. When we release the final version, you may continue to use the April 2011 version for six months after its publishing date.

I agree with Kevin C. I've submitted several nonamenders and nothing occurred that made me wish I'd filed anonymously.

A governmental 401(a) plan can exclude a participant's service while the refused or failed to contribute to the plan. Pick-up contributions cannot be elective by the employee.

The answer to your question depends on facts you have not described. Most likely the answer is that it is a governmental plan. For a start on answering your question, see: ERISA section 3(32): "The term "governmental plan" means a plan established or maintained for its employees by the Government of the United States, by the government of any State or political subdivision thereof, or by any agency or instrumentality of any of the foregoing. . . . ." IRC section 414(d): "For purposes of this part, the term "governmental plan" means a plan established and maintained for its employees by the Government of the United States, by the government of any State or political subdivision thereof, or by any agency or instrumentality of any of the foregoing. . . . ." Proposed Treasury Regulation section 1.414(d)-1 and the discussion in the preamble, at 76 Federal Register 69172 (11/8/11) and 76 Federal Register 76633 (12/8/11), dealing with pension plans.

From 2012 Instructions for Form 5500: "Do Not File a Form 5500 for a Welfare Benefit Plan That Is Any of the Following: "* * * * "3. A governmental plan."

Maybe the quality assurance bulletin here will help: http://www.irs.gov/pub/irs-tege/qab_102411.pdf

see the prior discussion here: http://benefitslink.com/boards/index.php?/topic/18034-health-ins-vs-403b/

See DaimlerChrysler Corp. v Cox, 6th Circuit, 5/23/06

"The Court finds, for the reasons discussed herein, that the plan’s accrued benefit is the annual benefit commencing at normal retirement age for annuitants. That benefit includes COLAs under the terms of the Arkema Plan, and, under ERISA, where a defined benefit plan chooses to offer a lump sum one-time distribution, pensioners who opt for lump sums must be given the actuarial equivalent of that benefit. In this case, that means lump sums must include the actuarial equivalent of the COLAs that are promised and provided to annuitants." Lightfoot v Arkema, Inc. Retirement Benefits Plan (D. N.J. 6/27/13), available here: http://docs.justia.com/cases/federal/district-courts/new-jersey/njdce/1:2012cv00773/270293/56/0.pdf?ts=1372423130

As to "Why not mention insurance contracts here? see: http://www.annuity-insurers.org/pdfs/4.11.11.attach.pdf http://www.annuity-insurers.org/pdfs/4.16.12.attach.pdf http://www.annuity-insurers.org/pdfs/5.1.12.attach.pdf

1.415©-1(b)(6)(ii)(A): (ii) Special timing rules—(A) Corrective contributions. For purposes of this section, if, in a particular limitation year, an employer allocates an amount to a participant’s account because of an erroneous forfeiture in a prior limitation year, or because of an erroneous failure to allocate amounts in a prior limitation year, the corrective allocation will not be considered an annual addition with respect to the participant for that particular limitation year, but will be considered an annual addition for the prior limitation year to which it relates. An example of a situation in which an employer contribution might occur under the circumstances described in the preceding sentence is a retroactive crediting of service for an employee under 29 CFR 2530.200b–2(a)(3) in accordance with an award of back pay. For purposes of this paragraph (b)(6)(ii), if the amount so contributed in the particular limitation year takes into account actual investment gains attributable to the period subsequent to the year to which the contribution relates, the portion of the total contribution that consists of such gains is not considered as an annual addition for any limitation year. 1.415©-2(g)(8): (8) Back pay. Payments awarded by an administrative agency or court or pursuant to a bona fide agreement by an employer to compensate an employee for lost wages are compensation within the meaning of section 415©(3) for the limitation year to which the back pay relates, but only to the extent such payments represent wages and compensation that would otherwise be included in compensation under this section.

See QAB 12-1 here: http://www.irs.gov/pub/irs-tege/qab_102411.pdf

See the following from the 2003 ABA JCEB IRS Q&A: 12. §401(a)(9) – Required Minimum Distributions Treas. Reg. 1.401(a)(9)-2, A-2(a) provides that except in the case of a 5%-owner, the "required beginning date" is April 1 of the calendar year following the later of the calendar year in which the employee attains age 70-1/2 or the calendar year in which the employee retires from employment with the employer maintaining the plan. Assume that the employee is age 73, is not a 5%-ower, and "retires" on December 31, 2003, as the term "retires" (and related term "retirement") is commonly used by the employer and under the terms of the employer’s qualified§401(k) plan. However, in fact what this means is that December 31, 2003, is the employee’s last day at work, and the last day for which he is paid or entitled to payment. January 1, 2004 is the first day he is not employed by his employer. When is the employee’s required beginning date? Proposed Response: For the purpose of Treas. Reg. 1.401(a)(9)-2, A-2(a) "the calendar year in which the employee retires from employment with the employer maintaining the plan" is 2004, not 2003, and therefore his required beginning date is April 1, 2005. Moreover, the employee’s first distribution calendar year (Treas. Reg. 1.401(a)(9)-5, A-1(b)) is calendar year 2004. IRS response: The IRS disagrees with the proposed answer. When an employee retires is a facts and circumstances determination, but generally an individual’s last day of work is when the employee retires. Other facts, such as the employee returning to work on a sporadic basis after the official date of retirement, could change the answer. But under the facts presented in this question, the last day of service, December 31, is the date of retirement.

As to the cut-back, see Carter v. Pension Plan of A. Finkl & Sons Company (7th Circuit 2011), available here: http://www.leagle.com/xmlresult.aspx?xmldo...LWAR3-2007-CURR

The IRC allows it. State wage payment laws might prohibit deduction of a plan contribution from an employee's wages unless the deduction is authorized by the employee or (if the employee is in a bargaining unit) the employee's union.