Bar Associations

[Guest dietpepsi]

It seems like I remember several years ago reading something about Bar Associations not being legal entities so they cannot have govermental plans. I ran across a governmental 457(b) plan for a Bar Association so I am wondering if my memory fails me. This sound familiar to anybody?

Thanks

[jpod]

A bar association can be a 501©(6) tax exempt trade association, in which case it would be subject to Section 457 (and might have a 457b plan).

[Guest dietpepsi]

The one I saw was specifically set up as a governmental 457(b) plan, not a tax exempt. What do you think? Does that work in any circumstances?

[Peter Gulia]

In some States, whether a lawyer is or isn't a member of a bar association is a choice of voluntary association. In other States, there is an "integrated" or "unified" State Bar, in which membership is mandatory if one wants to be a licensed lawyer. A "unified" State Bar often has some governmental powers, and sometimes is recognized as an instrumentality of the State. If a State Bar is an instrumentality of a State, it's an eligible employer under IRC 457(e)(1)(A).

Although a 501©(6) business league (which a voluntary bar association might be) also is an eligible employer (under IRC 457(e)(1)(B)), the governmental-or-not distinction matters for some important differences:

A nongovernmental employer's plan is unfunded (see IRC 457(b)(6)); a governmental employer's plan must use an exclusive-benefit trust, custodial account, or annuity contract (see IRC 457(g)).

A nongovernmental employer's plan that's not a church plan must limit participation to a "select group" so that ERISA Part 4's funding requirement won't apply.