Pam Shoup

I guess the questions to ask would include the following: 1. Have these participants received all required enrollment notices (safe harbor, auto enrollment, QDIA, 404a-5, one time notice, etc.)? 2. Have the participants been given an effective opportunity to enroll in the plan (enrollment materials, forms, access to website, etc.) and to make investment allocation changes? The question comes down to who is responsible and liable for the above? If you don't have that responsibility/liability and the recordkeeper is just copying you on the email, then you don't need to do anything with them. If the recordkeeper is sending to you and and not the responsible party, you should forward the information to that party. On the other hand, if you do take on those responsibilities/liabilities, you should contact the employer to make sure that the affected employees receive the necessary information.

Actually, a hardship withdrawal for tuition usually can be projected out for the next 12 months. Talk with your financial aid officer and see if they can provide you with an estimate, based on your remaining classes, of the amount that would be due. Also, check to deteremine if the plan allows for more than one hardship per year. Many plans allow for two. If that is the case, you could take a hardship for now and then do another one later. You may also want to discuss with the Plan Administrator about your options as the plan may have different options in the near future than it does now due to the current regulatory environment surrounding hardships.

I am not sure which system the recordkeeper uses. However, if it is Relius, there are Crystal Reports that will provide them with a detail of every transaction in the plan, by participant, by source, by date. Maybe you could ask them to just generate a report and you can do the review from there.

Based on the plan language from above, If the participant worked at least 1,000 hours from 4/18/16 to 12/31/16 - credit one year of service. If the participant worked at least 1,000 hours for calender 2017 - credit one year of service. If the particpant worked at least 1,000 hours for calendar 2018 - credit one year of service If the participant has three years of service credited, they are 100% vested with a 3 year cliff vesting schedule.

Ask for the copy of the trust. Without seeing it, there is no way to tell what the terms and conditions are and if the terms and condtions can be accomodated by the plan. You can also look at the definition of who would meet the criteria of being a child. (Legal children, step-children, etc.) If you have that cleared up, the executor/court could determine meets the definition.

Send the distribution package out to the participant. If s/he does not respond by the date specified, you can cut them a check for the gross amount minus withholding. The key is that you must give them an opportunity to select a distribution option (where there is an option) prior to the auto cash out/auto rollover.

@BG5150 Yes, there are still questions on the exam that get thrown out for grading purposes. I volunteer with the Retirement Plan Academy of ASPPA and they put out a call for questions for the exam that are throwaway questions. I have also helped to edit some of the chapters for the exams so ASPPA really does try to make sure that everything is clear and up to date in the material. @Tina H., is there anyone else in your office that you can talk to about the exam materials? Maybe you need to sit down with someone and have them review a chapter. Also, reading and digesting the study guide answers can be quite helpful, in addition to reading the materials, outlining them and doing the practice exams.

I agree with RBG above. When I read my study materials, I outline them, in a notebook, by hand. I then answer the questions in the study guide, and find that my hand written notes usually have covered all of the study guide answers. (If not, then I missed something important that I need to go back over.) Before I take my exams, I read and re-read my hand written notes, go through the sample questions and then do the sample tests. It really does make a difference to write it all down!

What I do with my staff is have them identify those things that always seem to trip them up. I then have them write down tips on those things on a sheet of paper, usually in a grid format. For example QACA, EACA, ACA across the top and things like vesting, auto esclation, etc. down the side. I have them do that writeup over and over again until they can do it from memory. On the day of the exam, the testing center will give you blank paper and a pencil. Before they start the exam, the candidate writes up their tips/grid on the blank paper. Then when you get to those questions, you have something in writing to look at to help keep things clear in your mind. Do the practice exams over and over again, as some of the questions from those will appear on the final exam. Also, is there anyone else in your office that you can sit down with? For example, I have my ERPAs do training sessions with my QKA candidates on things they needed some additional guidance on.

It depends on how the money was distributed. If the money was rolled over to an IRA/another QP, then you can write a letter to them to explain that the money was not eligible for a rollover and ask for the money back. If the money was paid to the participant directly, you should write a letter and ask for it back. Once the money is returned, the 1099R will need to be updated. If the money is not returned by the rollover company/participant, the money is still due back to the plan as forfeiture. The Plan Administrator or other fiduciary will need to make the plan whole.

You can report the plan to the DOL as an abandoned plan. Without a PA to certify the distributions, I doubt that you will be able to get the plan paid out. The DOL can assign a fiduciary to take over the plan assets and arrange for the distributions. The new fiduciary will get to take care of the headache of the distribution to the owner's beneficiary.

We provide 3(16) services and we use a firm called lifestatus360 to find missing participants. They have an ad hoc service that is less than $2.00 per participant that we use for address searches. We usually get results back in minutes and we have found them to be very accurate. We do missing participant searches on a regular basis (but no more than once per year for any participant). There is a fee for the service that we charge directly to that participant's account. The fees are disclosed in things like the 404a-5 notice and the SPD. We do this search after we have mailed the distribution package and have it returned as undeliverable and before we would do an auto rollover (if applicable). If we do an auto rollover, we use M2 Trust (formerly Colorado National Bank) who then also uses a similar process as Millenium to try to find people for payout. Since we also use their (lifestatus360) death audit database, we can also search the death records for missing participants, at no additional charge. From there, we can usually locate an obituary, which may list a spouse and children, etc. If we need to order a death certificate, they will quote us a fee for that service. For our DB plans and death audit searches, we submit a participant list to them every year and they check daily to see if they have been reported as deceased either via Social Security, a state database or an obituary. I get a daily report if anyone shows up on any list. It is an annual fee for that service, paid by the employer or the plan.

What type of entity sponsors the plan? 501(c)3, steeple church, school, etc.?

If the PEP rules get finalized, a PEP will be viable option for those employers who want to get rid of most of their responsibilities, and will provide the economies of scale that you refer to. Let the employers choose what is best for them and their work force. Based upon my clients (mostly small to medium sized companies), I can't see them wanting to go to a government run plan.

I agree with Bird. If they are eligible participants with account balances, you can't do anything about it. Maybe it is a good time to approach them about making deferrals into the plan? If they are terminated, then you can process the way you normally process small balance terminees.

I would start with the Board Resolution to close the plan. In our experience, the board resolution usually lists who is responsible for the plan closing, which would include the responsibility for filing the final 5500 form.

Does the plan's loan policy allow for re-financing of the loan and for payroll deduction? If so, you could do a re-finance, extend the loan to 5 years and set it up for payroll deduction. Keep in mind that if you extend the loan for another five years, then both the old loan and the new loan amount (which includes the old loan) must meet the requirements of the loan regs in determining the 50% and the $50,000 limitations. The loan regulations have a good example of how this works. Of course though, your plan document must allow the re-financing of loans and your recordkeeper should be able to assist you in the process. The interest rate on the new loan will be whatever rate that is specified by the methodology listed in your plan's loan policy. Loan Regulations.pdf

Unless the TPA/RK or the payroll vendor is a plan fiduciary, they have no liability or responsibility for doing anything other than what the Plan Administrator tells them to do.

Colonial Surety

We are going to continue defaulting to paper and let the participants opt in to estatements. We will let the big recordkeeper hash it out with the DOL. However, I am rooting for the recordkeeper to prevail on this one!

I doubt that there is going to be a blackout so a SOX notice would not be needed. However, a new 404a-5 notice should be issued with the new fund information, with a cover letter explaining that the fund company has closed xyz fund and the money will be automatically transfered to the abc fund, etc.

I have seen this happening for the last few years. Usually, it is a participant who rolls the money into a plan we manage who has failed to report the rollover on their tax return. We provide a copy of the rollover check and any other backup information to the participant and this usually clears it up for the IRS.

I guess that I read the question as "Is it worth me trying to get the ERPA designation?" A third of my staff has the ERPA so I fully understand their value. I only wish that I was able to get more of my people to have that certification. We pay for their education so we have QKAs, QPAs, etc. on staff and they really don't want to become an E.A. or a CPA as their expertise is limited to retirement plans.

It is a moot issue. You can no longer earn the ERPA designation.

I am just getting back from vacation and am going through some old messages and noticed this one. If you have not already done so, I recommend that you contact Relius directly. We have had good luck with their web chat feature.