choice in adopting EGTRRA amendments?

[eilano]

An employer does not want to adopt the EGTRRA amendments. For 2002, they want to continue using a compensation limit of $170,000, the 15% deduction limit and still count elective deferrals as employer contributions for section 404 deduction limits. It is my understanding that all plan sponsors need to adopt the EGTRRA amendments. Can a plan sponsor continue to use the old rules (pre EGTRRA) for plan years starting in 2002?

[Guest stryan]

Regarding the restriction of compensation to $170,000, I believe you could do that for allocations, but not for discrimination testing.

Regarding the deductibility of contributions, that is not a plan document issue; it is determined by IRC. Nonetheless, since your client choses to use more restrictive parameters for calculating the deductible contribution, they will likely not run afoul of the actual limits. Still, incorrect methodology will ultimately yield incorrect decisions.