Tinman

Can a sponsor "convert" their SEP from Form 5305 to a prototype document governed SEP?

I have a city that is considered a second-class city in Nebraska (doesn’t have a population of more than 5k). They currently have a City Employee plan, Police Officers plan and a Firefighters plan. In Nebraska second-class Cities are not required to have separate plans for these different types of employees. That being the case, they would like to combined these three plans into one plan, having all current and future employees in the City employee plan. For the Fire plan, there’s no longer full-time firefighters, it’s a voluntary department now so no new contributions in that one - only balance is for one retired firefighter. There are police officers employed but they are getting the same contributions and vesting as the City employee plan. I am newer to govenmental plans - are there any issues with merging these three plans I should be aware of? A provisional comparison shows very few differences and they have already determined they would go with all the most lenient of the differing provisions. What other issues should I be aware of, if any? Thanks!

Thank you both for your response - I am aware general testing applies, I guess I was wondering what else might need to be looked at, if anything.

Below is the allocation formula for a profit sharing only plan provided to us by a plan sponsor. The tiers are based on job classification. The Tiers range from Tier 1 = trainees to Tier 9 = those who report directly to the board of directors. What testing is required here - general testing?

2007

Detail: Traditional 401(k) plan that's been in effect since 2006. For the first year, the plan was filed using the correct EIN. The following year (and each year since) the plan was filed using an incorrect EIN (off by one number). They even received a delinquent filing notice from the IRS back in 2007 due to the incorrect EIN situation. What would be the correction here? Would the plan need to: 1) Amend all 5500s back to 2007? If yes, how would the 2017 filing be handled? Would they need to indicate a "change" in Q. 4 on the Form 5500, indicating a change in the name and/or EIN of the plan sponsor? (4 If the name and/or EIN of the plan sponsor or the plan name has changed since the last return/report filed for this plan, enter the plan sponsor’s name, EIN, the plan name and the plan number from the last return/report:) 2) Just indicate the "change" in Q. 4 and move forward, not amending any past filings? 3) Any reason to use DFVCP in this situation? Any other thoughts/suggestions would be greatly appreciated!!

I'm having difficulty finding any guidance on this - we have a 401(k) plan with an automatic enrollment provision (ACA) and the client did not provide the required notice for the past two years. They have been operating according to the provisions in the plan document, they just neglected to provide their employees with the notice. Is there a "correction" for this? Maybe anyone that was auto enrolled would need to be given the option to remove their funds?

Agreed! Great information provided - and appreciated!!!

Thanks, all!

We currently use our normal DC document and it is silent as to the specific rules regarding a one-person 401(k) plan. We have just discovered the owner's daughter works at the business on a part time basis but has never met the 1 year of service eligibility requirement. Does this throw the plan out of "solo-k" status, causing a 5500 filing, testing, etc.? Or because she is part-time/seasonal and never works more than 1000 hours during the plan year, is that solo-k status retained? Thanks!

There is not a separate trust document in this case.

Here's what the BPD states: 8.1 AMENDMENT (a) General rule on Employer amendment. The Employer shall have the right at any time to amend this Plan subject to the limitations of this Section. However, any amendment that affects the rights, duties or responsibilities of the Trustee (or Insurer) or Administrator may only be made with the Trustee's (or Insurer's) or Administrator's written consent. Any such amendment shall become effective as provided therein upon its execution. The Trustee (or Insurer) shall not be required to execute any such amendment unless the amendment affects the duties of the Trustee (or Insurer) hereunder. That leads me to believe that ALL trustees would need to sign (if the amendment is something that affects their duties) - would you say I'm interpreting that correctly?

Trying to find some concrete specifications on this - if a plan has three trustees and only one has signed the PPA document by April 30, 2016, is the plan considered executed? Or do all three have to sign before the document is considered compliant?

I will preface this post with stating I know very little about church plans and how they operate - however, I've received a question and hope someone out there can help. One of our advisors is trying to set up a church plan and was asked - if the pastors are receiving contributions in this plan, does it cause any issue with the "tax-free" status of their housing allowance? Thanks, in advance, for any guidance!

Thanks!