Flyboyjohn

If you're looking for "what others do" we take the position these plans are not required to have an audit. Perhaps another way to look at it: The auditor has to have something to audit. If it's an unfunded, general assets plan (no trust) there are no plan assets, no plan transactions, no Schedule H and no audit. That being said I have seen 5500 filings and audits where the IQPA tried to audit the separate bank account that the employer ran plan transactions through but disagree with that position.

Respectfully disagree. The 2009 403b document requirement only required a "good faith effort" and there was and is no way to ever obtain an IRS determination letter on the "good faith effort" document and any subsequent amendments. The IRS is getting ready to approve prototype 403b documents and will provide a window (probably 2 years) to bring all 403b plans onto a pre-approved prototype document retroactively effective back to 2009 at which point the "good faith" documents disappear. I think the VCP program is for 403b plans that haven't adopted the good faith document.

Yes

No exemption, if you file an Annual Report (5500) you have to distribute a Summary Annual Report to participants

Employer offers a group health plan which renews 7/1 each year. For first half of 2016 employer pays 100% of employee-only coverage, obviously affordable. Effective 7/1/2016 employer reduces it's contribution to only 50% of self-only premium rendering the offer unaffordable for a significant number of employees. Does this create a Special Enrollment Period allowing employees to apply for Marketplace coverage and subsidies? SEP rules and calls to Marketplace indicate NO because the employer is still offering coverage although unaffordable. SEP rules seem to permit access to Marketplace coverage only if employer terminates plan or completely terminates all employer contributions. Doesn't seem right, particularly when you realize that if no employee can get a Marketplace subsidy the employer will also sidestep the employer shared responsibility penalty.

Our firm's practice is to include corrective contributions for a prior year in the current year 5500 and not amend the prior year 5500. But if it's an audited plan you might want to bounce it off the auditor for their position.

That's correct Katieinny, a cafeteria plan can't reimburse premiums for INDIVIDUAL health insurance policies, only employer sponsored GROUP policies

No problem with filing an amended return and claiming the deduction. You're probably thinking about the problem of when the contribution has to be made in order to be deductible on the prior year tax return which arises when the return is filed but the contribution is not made before the initial/unextended deadline.

An undercurrent of many provisions and consequences of the ACA is the gov't/IRS effort to cut back on the "tax expenditure" resulting from the tax free nature of employer provided group health insurance. Since the tax law hadn't changed the IRS figured out a clever way to effectively eliminate employer tax free reimbursement of employee individual health insurance premiums by claiming ACA reform violations and invoking the draconian $100/day/person penalty. Same thing is going to happen with the excise tax on "Cadillac" coverage, just an indirect way to reduce the tax expenditure. It's all about the lost tax dollars.

I was originally concerned that the IRS might take the position that the plan didn't exist and had they asked we had evidence that a plan document was created and either wasn't signed or a signed copy could not be located but they didn't even ask, just accepted our retroactive documents back to TRA '86.

Agree with ETA, I file non-adopters same as late amender

Since the DOL didn't take over 5500 processing from IRS until 1999 I don't believe they'll even accept pre-1999 returns under EFAST & DFVCP. I suspect that at this late date IRS doesn't give a rip about pre-1999 5500s either.

I take the conservative position and provide it to all participants and beneficiaries. However, in late deposit situations my clients usually decide to file the 5330s rather than rile up the participants with the notice.

No can do, while the beneficiary of an IRA can be a Trust the owner of an IRA can only be an individual.

No can do without violating the non-increasing match rule. Sounds like you're trying to get an extra 1% to those who defer at least 6% so closest I can come is a discretionary formula of 16.67% of the first 6% deferred.

If you believe there was a Trust EIN at one time but now can't find it is there a way to ask IRS for it?

I would argue the initial plan year doesn't begin until you have eligible participants, otherwise why wouldn't you always use this as a loophole to avoid initial year audits, even for very large companies with possibly thousands of employees?

No such thing as having zero participants at the beginning of the year. Until you have at least 1 participant you don't have an employee benefit plan subject to ERISA & 5500s. Need to determine number of folks eligible on the inception date to determine if an audit is needed form 2015.

No, doesn't seem to fit any of the VFCP boxes. Hate to sound like a broken record but this client needs the proverbial good ERISA attorney.

Supporting what Ryan said, the monthly measurement method is never an appropriate method of determining who is eligible for coverage, it's only use is in determining who has to be reported as a FT employee on the 1095-C. Accordingly, it should only be employed where the employer is sure no employee who is not being offered coverage can possibly work 130 hours in any calendar month (or is willing to risk a penalty for the limited/rare instances where it might occur).

No, if you're under 100 at BOY you don't file anything for initial year (assuming it's an unfunded or fully insured welfare plan). Since you didn't file anything for initial year if your welfare plan participant count is 100 or more at beginning of next year you have to file a full 5500 (can't use 80-120 rule)

Agree that you can always do more than the statutory minimums, had an extreme case where employer wanted to provide 8% to contributors and nothing to non-contributors so SH match formula was 400% of first 2% deferred

In the absence of a fail-safe coverage failure correction in the document wouldn't this be the classic case for an -11(g) retroactive amendment?

If you're just looking for opinions mine would be to contact the employee and try to correct the problem before receiving an IRS penalty notice.

My understanding is DOL wants you to file all the way back to the year they took over from IRS (1998 or 1999, can't remember) but that would be 2000 in your case. But, they only insist on 3 "perfect" returns (presumably the most recent 3 years) and the rest can be estimates/guesses (just to show that something was filed). Since it's a flat fee I'd recommend filing "something" for all years.