General nondiscrimination tests. administrative

[Guest Dale C]

I am seeking information on general coverage testing where an employer may have a controlled group or eliminate coverage for employees in a separate line of business. Are these normally included in a full service program. If so what is the cost?

[Ervin Barham]

My experience has been that these are normally charged as "extra" services. Generally this is done on an hourly basis.

Of course, I'm in the consulting business so my experience may be a little biased...

[Dawn Hafner]

I agree. It is usually an extra fee for the general testing. I have found that even some recordkeeping services provided by mutual fund companies or banks do not include this service at all and leave it to the employer to make sure the plans pass coverage and nondiscrimination. An hourly charge normally applies due to the fact the level of time spent can vary so greatly depending on the employee group and the benefit structure provided.