C. B. Zeller

The 2019 AFTAP had to have been certified by 9/30/2019. It would have been based on the funding results for the 12/31/2018 valuation. You do not have to re-certify merely because of a change in the funding method to use the first day of the year as the valuation date, unless the AFTAP measured as of 1/1/2019 would be materially different from the already-certified AFTAP. Rev. Proc. 2017-56 provides automatic approval for a change in the valuation date to the first day of the year. Check section 6 for restrictions on its applicability.

Yes.

Certainly. Consider a plan with a brokerage window or self-directed brokerage accounts. Whenever a participant selects investment alternatives outside the plan's investment menu, they are going to end up using plan assets to pay advisory fees on those investments.

No. From Notice 2020-50: Loan relief is limited to the delay of repayments and extension of amortization period permitted under CARES sec. 2202(b) and Notice 2020-51. However, if the participant terminated employment and received a total distribution, including a loan offset, that would be an actual distribution, which would be eligible to be treated as a coronavirus-related distribution.

I'll repeat ratherbereading's question and ask why? What's your goal? If we know more about what you're trying to accomplish it will help us point you in the right direction. Are you trying to break into the industry? Move into a different role at your company? Impress people at parties with your encyclopedic knowledge of qualified plans? ASPPA's Retirement Plan Fundamentals is a great place to start. Everyone at our company (a TPA) completes this within their first few months. ASC did a 5-part webcast series earlier this year on the fundamentals of qualified retirement plans. I didn't attend personally but I head it was good. Off the top of my head, if I were to come up with a list of things you need to know in order to have a solid grasp of the fundamentals, it would include: eligibility coverage non-discrimination including ADP/ACP top-heavy safe harbor plans distributions, including QJSA and rollovers taxation including sec. 72(t) RMDs annual additions/maximum benefit limits elective deferral limits compensation limit vesting and forfeiture deduction limits participant loans form 5500 prohibited transactions and fiduciary issues

(For those readers not familiar with the bizarre world of 90s professional wrestling, the one in shirt and suspenders was known as "Irwin R. Shyster" or "IRS." His gimmick was that he was a tax collector and would go after other wrestlers who he accused of being tax cheats.)

I think you are making this more confusing than it needs to be. Why are you looking at the reg for DC plans? It has no application to a DB plan. Benefits need to commence as soon as he becomes vested after the 4/1/2018 RBD. From what you said that would be at the latest, by 6/30/2022, or more likely, at some point in the middle of the 7/1/2021-6/30/2022 plan year when he completes 1000 hours of service. The amount that gets paid out is whatever is payable under his elected form of benefit on the benefit commencement date. One other thing to ask, since the plan started after this RBD, is did the business actually exist during 2017? And if so was he a 5% owner during 2017?

DOB August 1950: after July 1, 1949 so SECURE Act applies. attains age 72 in August 2022. RBD is 4/1/2023. DOB January 1947: before July 1, 1949 so pre-SECURE Act rules apply. attained age 70-1/2 in July 2017. RBD was 4/1/2018. If participant is not vested as of their RBD, then that does not affect their RBD; however obviously no benefit can actually be distributed at that date. Benefits must commence as soon as they become vested. If the plan defines the plan year as the vesting computation period then I would say benefits should begin no later than the end of the first plan year during which they become vested.

1. By any reasonable administrative procedure. How does the plan designate a distribution as a hardship distribution? Presumably the plan administrator knows because the participant checked a box for "hardship" on their request form, and provided some substantiation. The same reasoning should apply for a CRD. If the employee checks the box for CRD on their form and attests that they are qualified then the plan administrator can treat it as a CRD. 2. No, the plan has to be amended. Otherwise the plan document will require that the plan provide a rollover notice and withhold 20%. 3. Yes.

As far as I know, the only electronic signature that the DOL will accept is using EFAST credentials. I know at least one frequent poster on this forum has his own particular interpretation of what that means. Here is what the 5500 instructions say about service provider signatures (emphasis added):

What is the participant's date of birth and are they a 5% owner? Impossible to answer without that info.

https://www.dol.gov/sites/dolgov/files/EBSA/about-ebsa/our-activities/resource-center/faqs/dfvcp.pdf Q6. Is participation under the DFVCP available to all Form 5500 Series filers? No. The relief under the DFVCP is available only to the extent that a Form 5500 is required to be filed under Title I of ERISA. If annual reporting for a plan is only required under the Internal Revenue Code, it is not eligible for penalty relief under DFVCP. However, IRS penalties may still apply. For example, plans covering only self-employed individuals, sole owners (and their spouses) or partners (and their spouses) are not subject to Title I of ERISA. Such plans electing to file Form 5500-SF with EFAST2 instead of filing the Form 5500-EZ with the IRS are not eligible to participate in the DFVCP program. Plan administrators may call 202-693-8360 if they have questions about whether the program applies to their filings.

It's one possible method, although there are certainly others. As another example, in a cash balance plan, you might prorate the contribution in proportion to the hypothetical pay credits. I'm having some trouble understanding your claim that sec. 412 is not related to the individual benefit calculations. 412 says that for a single employer plan, the minimum funding standard is determined under sec. 430. 430 says that the minimum required contribution is equal to the target normal cost (plus a shortfall and/or waiver amortization charge, or minus the amount of excess funding). The target normal cost is equal to the present value of the increase in accrued benefits for the year, plan-related expenses and mandatory employee contributions notwithstanding.

What the referenced section says is that you can disregard the safe harbor matching contributions and perform the ACP test on only the discretionary match. If only NHCE received any discretionary match then the test will pass automatically.

Plan termination is not an exception to the 10% penalty on early withdrawals. If a participant takes a cash distribution upon plan termination and they do not meet any of the exceptions under 72(t) then the tax will apply. If they want to avoid the penalty then can roll over their distributions. For COVID distributions, whether or not the 10% penalty is waived is determined on an individual basis. When the individual files their 2020 tax return, they will determine whether or not they were a qualified individual, and if they were, they would be able to waive the 10% excise tax. This is true regardless of whether the plan is amended to provide COVID distributions. See Notice 2020-50.

Any reasonable method should be acceptable. One way you might do it, would be to prorate the total contribution in proportion to the actuarial present value of the increase in accrued benefit for the year. If this is in regard to a specific plan, you should ask your actuary.

I think you could get away with it, if you apply the fee first, before processing the distribution.

Does the plan provide for the calendar year data election?

No - because the amount payable to the participant is <$1000 after the fee. The fee is not considered part of the distribution. However, if the account is daily-valued, I wouldn't risk playing the market that close to the line. You process it as a cash payment today, but if it turns out after the market closes the investments went up 5%, and whoops, now it's over $1,000 even after the fee.

Do the owners have earned income (LLC/parternship) or are they W-2 employees (corporation)? If it is a corporation, find their pay stubs and confirm if the amounts were actually withheld from their pay. If they were withheld, deposit the amounts now, with lost earnings, and pay the excise tax. If they were not withheld, amend the returns. If it is a partnership/LLC, so there are no W-2s to refer to, then you have to look at the partners' elections (the partners do make a written deferral election before the end of the year, right?). Then, same logic as before. If they elected to defer the amount but it was never deposited, deposit it now; if they did not elect to defer that amount, then amend the returns.

Based on this I would agree with your interpretation. DFVCP is probably not required and an amended filing should suffice.

You can enter the amount on line 4g of the schedule I if it has not been appraised.

If the plan was not eligible to file SF for those years, because it contained non-eligible assets, then I think the DOL would not recognize those filings.

Why risk it? Just file the past years' 5500s now under DFVCP. Much cheaper than being assessed penalties by the DOL.

If the asset does not have a readily determinable market value, then it must be valued by an independent third party appraiser.