Plan to Plan transfer as of 1/1/2010 and 2009 5500

[Guest GPNPort]

Our company "demerged" from a company in 2008, however our plan participants remained in a multiple employer plan managed by the former company until the end of 2009. My question is as we set up a new 401k plan (new plan document under own tax id number) with board resolutions of effective date of 1/1/2010 plus plan document lists effective date of 1/1/2010 as a calendar year plan; however, the plan asset transfer for our group of participants was initiated on 12/31/2009 with an approximate 5 day period (technically 1-2 business days due to a holiday (1/1 and the weekend) in which the plan assets were "settled". This was a plan to plan transfer with the same recordkeeper & trustee (Fidelity). Based on the plan effective date, I have been assuming that we would not be filing a form 5500 until the 2010 plan year is due (7/2011) despite the fact that technically plan assets were transferred out of the former plan on 12/31 and eventually show as "credited" to the new plan on 12/31/2009.

Can anyone comment on whether this seems accurate? Our whole intention was to set up a new plan for 2010 going forward. The issue of the plan to plan transfer being initiated on 12/31 and eventually listing a transfer date of 12/31 seems to bring this into question or does it?

[Bird]

You say the plan was established as of 1/1/2010 but the transfer was credited on 12/31/2009, which is problematic. I'm not sure it's the end of the world though; if the first plan shows the assets leaving on 1/1/2010 for reporting purposes and the new plan shows them coming in on 1/1/2010, I might let it go at that. The effective date of the transfer of assets should have been coordinated better with the plan effective date...I guess I'd want to see the transfer instructions to see if they said "do this as of 12/31/09" (which would be wrong) or if they just said "do this" and Fidelity took it upon themselves to assign a 12/31 effective date. I'm not really sure how you would "fix" it anyway; you can't retroactively make the second plan effective in 2009...and really, you're just talking about dates that show up on a piece of paper; it seems that any physical transfers occurred in 2010.