TheBoxMan

I agree with Hojo. The PBGC Missing Participant program is the best option.

I assume this plan has over 100 participants to require 45 day timing, rather than the 15 day timing for plans with under 100 participants?

You can do another amendment to freeze the plan with a date that is 45 days after the 204(h) notice was mailed. You should definitely not terminate the plan until this is corrected. The PBGC will catch this in the audit and will make the plan calculate benefits through that 45 day date and make the plan pay out the difference.

As part of some due diligence work, I am reviewing the invoices for a qualified pension plan that is severely underfunded for the past several years. I am seeing billing for PBGC filings and actuarial valuation work that are normal parts of plan administration and can be paid from pension assets. However, I also see some payments for annual pension meetings to discuss valuation work. Hiring an actuarial firm is one thing, but would anyone consider paying travel expenses for the actuarial firm to attend a meeting a part of plan administration? My thought is that a travel expense should be paid from the company account and not plan assets. Looking for other opinions. Thanks!

FPGuy, I am a little late in adding to this thread...but, for a DB plan that is going through a standard termination, you cannot have any fees assessed against the participant's account. So, when PenChecks deducts the fee from the DB payment and the termination is audited by PBGC, it will end up being an enforcement and the plan will have to pay the participants the fees that were deducted, plus interest.

I am working with a frozen plan that is purchasing an annuity contract. The plan NRA is age 65. A participant who termed prior to age 65 is now age 67 and will be part of the contract. The plan wants to pay the same monthly life annuity that the participant would have received at age 65. Plan does not allow RASD. The plan document does have wording related to suspension of benefits notices, but no one can tell if the notices were mailed out. Plan document states that the deferred retirement benefit cannot be less than the benefit at NRD. Q1. Do suspension of benefits notices apply to term vested employees? I thought they were only for actively working employees. Q2. Without a RASD option to give the participant missed payments, plus interest, I think that the payment needs an actuarial increase. Otherwise, the annuity would be "less than the benefit at NRD" because it is being paid 2 years later. Does the annuity need an actuarial increase? This is my first post, so forgive me if I am missing any details that would help in answering the questions. Thanks!