Is it possible to find Q&A sessions from previous ASPA conferences?

[Guest smhjr]

Specifically I am looking for an IRS response in a general session to Q&A- 30 from 1997.

[Harwood]

The format of the web addresses changes from year-to-year.

I was only able to find 99,00,01

http://www.aspa.org/archivepages/conferenc...nes/01irsqa.htm

http://www.aspa.org/archivepages/gac/2000/irs_q&a.htm

http://www.aspa.org/archivepages/gac/1999/99irsq&a.htm

[Guest smhjr]

Thanks for looking Harwood, for some reason my browser freezes when I try to get to the archives on the ASPA site. I'm probably out of luck if it only goes back to 1999.

Thanks though, I appreciate it.

[Harwood]

My browser freezes, too. I only found the files through using Google.

I love this ASPA "no maintenance message:"

"Please note: Due to the nature of these pages, links will be out of date as files are moved or deleted off of this or other servers. No maintenance is done to maintain these, as the pages are posted for archival purposes only."

[E as in ERISA]

http://www.aspa.org/archivepages/conferenc...ines/irsqna.htm

for 2002

[david rigby]

Perhaps you can post the question.

[Guest ActuaryWannabe]

30.  Assume a new defined contribution plan.  If a plan document defines the limitation year as the plan year and the initial plan year is a short plan year, is the document defective because it is not permissible to have a "short limitation year"?  If this is a defect, would such a drafting defect be sufficient to jeopardize the plan's qualified status?

As a practical matter, this is most likely not a problem.  We are not aware of ever saying that you cannot ever have a short limitation year.

A second question is if it is permissible to have a plan's effective date precede the existence of the plan sponsor or a predecessor entity of the plan sponsor.  Thus, if we have a  brand new entity set up on 3/1/97 with a calendar year fiscal year, can we establish a PS plan with an effective date of 1/1/97, have a full 12 month plan year, and use all compensation paid during that 12 month period (which would be limited by the fact that there is no payroll prior to 3/1), and not need to pro-rate any of the regular limits?

It seems reasonable that with proper attention to the details of the plan design (including effective dates and plan years as outlined above), the issues that are of concern in this question can be avoided.  We know of nothing that prohibits provisions such as outlined above.

This question will be further addressed from the podium.

[Harwood]

Sal Tripodi refers to this Q&A 30 four times in the 2004 ERISA Outline Book.

[Guest smhjr]

Thanks AW, I figured the answer wouldn't be very conclusive, but at least I can show the advisor the response.

The situation is that an advisor has come to me with a company that is 100% based in another country. There are no US employees. The principal is a US citizen that lives 50% of the time in the US and 50% out of the country. He does file US income taxes on the individual level. The advisor has asked me to look into setting up a U.S. entity that he can report some income and then set up a pension plan there.

The problem is that the entity does not exist right now. So we need to decide to set it up as a fiscal year end, a short plan year, wait and have it effective for 2005, or have the effective date of the plan predate the formation of the company. I was just trying to get all my facts straight before I gave them their options.