11g Amendment

[PensionPro]

Plan failed 401a4 last year so a number of young NHCEs were made eligible. Plan fails 401a4 again this year and would like to make some young NHCEs eligible. Plan will probably fail next year, and so on. Maybe it is a design issue, but the question is ...

How likely is the IRS to consider this "part of a pattern of amendments being used to correct repeated failures with respect to a particular benefit, right, or feature" and disallow the amendment? Appreciate your sharing your comments and experiences!

[Bill Presson]

Plan failed 401a4 last year so a number of young NHCEs were made eligible. Plan fails 401a4 again this year and would like to make some young NHCEs eligible. Plan will probably fail next year, and so on. Maybe it is a design issue, but the question is ...

How likely is the IRS to consider this "part of a pattern of amendments being used to correct repeated failures with respect to a particular benefit, right, or feature" and disallow the amendment? Appreciate your sharing your comments and experiences!

Do an -11g and then amend the plan to put every participant in their own group. Then you never have to do an -11g amendment again.

[PensionPro]

The folks we are bringing in are ineligible employees, they have not met the plan's eligibility conditions.

[PensionPro]

Any comments on this topic are appreciated ...

[Bird]

If it's being done repeatedly and is likely to continue then I think you have reason to be concerned. There's the "pattern of amendments" language buried in the regs and the Gold memo from 2004 (not exactly the same scenario but they left it open to other "abuses").