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Hi, everyone! I am not in the business but am a solo practitioner looking to set up a DB + 401k paired plan. The annual fees can erode the returns quite a bit. I was wondering if anyone can recommend lower cost offerings? Idealluy, below $2k annually. Thanks for any recommendations!

I am the AP on a Separate Interest QDRO. The( ex-spouse)participant is 54years young, employed at Chrysler. According to the plan, I can start receiving my portion of the funds on the participant’s earliest retirement age. I was told, by the representatives at Benefits Express, I would receive a kit in the mail, with instructions so that I can commence payment. The next day I received a call saying I can not start receiving the funds until 01/15/2027, when the participant is 62 years young, Chrysler’s normal retirement age. The QDRO has the following: I am confused as to why I can’t start receiving my portion. Please help me understand what is going on.

Did the IRS issue some sort of guidance or notice in 2017 effective for 2018 that restricted what assumptions could be used in a beginning of year valuation? Specifically did they state that for a participant you must assume 2018 expected compensation and expected hours must be the actual 2017 compensation and hours?

I have a scenario that I need help with. My parents divorced back in 1996 and as a part of the Divorce Decree there was a Consent Order stating that my father in these exact terms quoted: "shall pay the legal fees for and cause to be drafted as part of the decree a QDRO directing the Federal Office of Personnel Management to pay to the wife, son the husbands retirement, one half of the marital portion of the Husbands net annuity and, further, in the event of the Husband's death, to pay to the Wife a survivor's annuity based on the marital portion of the Husband's annuity." It then goes on to give a formula for how the "marital portion" is to be calculated. In 2003 my mother died unexpectedly and I settled her estate. I never knew that there was a divorce decree until last month when I had to search for the file because my father tried to claim her retirement benefits from her previous employer and I had to send it in to show that they were divorced and at that time after receiving the divorce decree info I ended up also finding out that he also waived any right he had to her retirement benefits in the same divorce decree. After seeing this divorce decree and the Consent Order within it I have a few questions that I am hoping that someone here can give me some direction on: 1) How can I find out if a QDRO was ever completed? 2) Under these circumstances, would I, as my mothers only child and heir, inherit the benefits from the QDRO? 3) Based on the Wording in the Decree it was my fathers responsibility to get the QDRO completed and paid for. If he never did can it still be required of him to be done post my mothers death by her estate and how would I go about doing this? Other possible pertinent information: My father is a federal government employee He has not retired yet but may be doing so within the next few months The divorce and everything pertaining to it was done in Washington DC My mother died in North Carolina and my father is a Maryland Resident. If you have any additional questions that could be helpful to giving some direction please let me know. Any Direction that can be given here would be of great help. Thank you in advance.

Code Section 401(a)(20) permits a terminating defined benefit plan to distribute benefits to active employees "within one year" of the termination date. If the assets aren't distributed within a year, the plan isn't considered "terminated." If all trust assets are distributed (within a year) through the purchase of a deferred annuity contract, can that annuity contract retain the in-service distribution option, so that active employees can receive distributions beyond the one-year period? I can't find any guidance on this question. Cheers.

Company's DB Plan currently uses a traditional final-average-pay formula. Company is switching to a cash-balance formula for new hires and rehires only (i.e., no conversion of prior traditional accruals and no switch for continuously employed participants). Vested terminated employees with traditional benefits who are rehired after the switch will have a frozen traditional benefit and a new cash-balance benefit. Is there any need for the plan to provide that compensation from the period reemployment will be taken into account when calculating payment of the frozen traditional benefit? The regs suggest that this would be necessary if the traditional benefit were converted to an opening account balance, but I don't see any requirement that later comp be counted if you don't convert. Any thoughts appreciated. Cheers.