5500 for Multiple Employer (other)

[Guest dbvail]

The instructions for filing 5500's for a plan covering unrelated employers seem to permit a general filing for the sponsoring Er (plan no 333), and abbreviated filings fo adopting employers. There is a final paragraph, however, and it seems to say that if the plan does not have commingled assets then each adopting employer is on their own for filing. For 401k's does this mean 5500C/R, fully completed, for each?

[Guest ESOPwizard]

If plan assets aren't commingled,

why do you think that you have a

multiple employer plan?

[Guest dbvail]

This subject is tough, but if we have one plan that is adopted by several unrelated employers (either a former controlled group that changed configuration or perhaps an employee leasing company) then although not a collective bargaining deal it is still multiple employers. If it is a 401k with allocated accounts and accounting maintained by use of divsions, then the assets may be considered not commingled. So, if it's not a Single Employer Plan, nor a plan covering a Controlled Group, and it's not a Multiple Employer Collectively Bargained Plan, what is it? I'm flexible. Thanks.

[Guest Lorne Dauenhauer]

If this is a daily valued DC Plan, I think each participating employer would file their own 5500 -- unless one employer's contributions would somehow be used to pay another employer's benefits. You'd basically ignore the fact that you have a multiple employer plan for reporting purposes. I don't think you'd file the Plan Number "333" filing.

If this were a DB Plan, where it was impossible to track whose contributions are paying for whose benefits, then you'd file as a multiple employer plan.

However, if this is a DC plan whose contributions are tracked on an individual level (i.e. a daily valued or otherwise unitized DC Plan), then a multiple employer filing doesn't really make sense, especially in light of the last sentence of the 5500 instructions under the heading "Multiple-Employer Plan (Other)".

My answer might change under the following "what if":

"What if" you had a multiple employer DC plan where a fee generated by employer A was paid out of the Plan assets -- and this fee was allocated across the participant accounts of all of the participating employers -- not just employer A's participants? (as one might find under a traditional "balance forward" DC Plan.) You might have to file as a multiple employer plan under this situation, as the contributions of one participating employer are being used for the benefit of another participating employer.

Lorne Dauenhauer

[Guest Wallyed]

For ADP/ACP testing, do you do the

test on just an individual employer

level or on a aggregate level?

[Guest dbvail]

In the spirit of multiple ER we test ADP/ACP, Top Heavy etc individually. The one test for all seems contrary to the intent of congress. The problem continues to be one of reporting. hanks for the interest.