CMarkB

The answer to your question is with the applicable state's law. A pre-condition to a QDRO is a domestic relations order, judgement, or decree (including a property settlement) valid under the particular state's law. After that, the ERISA requirements are applied to determine if it is "qualified".

Consistent with what ESOP Guy wrote, see the below. "A spouse or former spouse who receives QDRO benefits from a retirement plan reports the payments received as if he or she were a plan participant." https://www.irs.gov/retirement-plans/plan-participant-employee/retirement-topics-qdro-qualified-domestic-relations-order

I may be missing something, but the question appeared to posit that the entire benefit was paid to the participant in 2008. If that is the case, it seems to me that the participant's beneficiary is irrelevant and the $1000 dividend would be properly payable to the participant's estate. Interesting question and it is interesting it took the insurance company 5 years to determine an additional amount was payable.

The regulation specifies that the investment return data be provided for the 1, 5, and 10 year "calendar year periods (or for the life of the alternative, if shorter) ending on the date of the most recently completed calendar year". DOL Reg. Section 2550.404a-5(d)(1)(ii). However, FAB 2012-2R provides that more recent return data may be provided in Q&A-23 and allows returns to be as of "the most recently completed calendar month or quarter." Hope this helps.

If the plan in question is hour counting and not using elapsed time and if there was not a break in service in 2015, I agree with the immediate entry upon rehire. See Treas. Reg. Section 1.410(a)-5(b)(1). And ultimately, as noted by Belgarath, you need to look at the plan document. Hope the cite is helpful.

More specifically, spousal consent for a distribution is required for a plan that is subject to the qualified joint and survivor annuity requirements and under which the participant desires to elect a form other than a qualified joint and survivor annuity. Additionally, for a plan not subject to the QJS requirements, spousal consent is required to designate a non-spouse beneficiary. Hope this is helpful.

Yes, the 7 day rule is indeed a safe harbor for plans with fewer than 100 participants at the start of the plan year. Depositing participant contributions or loan repayments by such a plan by the 7th business day after the day on which such amounts were received by the employer is deemed to be contributed or repaid on the earliest date such amounts can reasonably be segregated from the employer's general assets.

Agreed. See Treas. Reg. Section 1.401(a)(9)-5, Q&A-9(b)(6) providing P.S. 58 costs are not included for purposes of determining the RMD.

Such a petition could not force a distribution not otherwise allowed by the plan. Lou S.'s suggestion to reject the petition as failing to meet the standards of a valid QDRO is well made. With the notification of the rejection, send the plan's QDRO procedures and any model QDRO the plan may have. Best of luck and May the 4th Be With You. (Couldn't resist.)

You should consult the DOL abandoned plan rules and how to terminate an abandoned plan. 29 CFR 2578.1

Query: how long have these amounts been in this plan expense reserve account? One cannot keep unallocated funds in a plan beyond the end of the plan year.

You may want to check out PLR 201147038 - a prearranged retirement/rehire was not a legitimate retirement. Hopes this helps. Mark

My understanding is that, ordinarily, ERISA accounts are not "accounts" for purposes of applying the Customer Identification Program (CIP) requirements under the US Patriot Act at the participant level.