Eligibility

[cdavis25]

Is it acceptable to have a definition for eligibility of 6 consecutive months with 500 hours. Notwithstanding the foregoing, an employee who has completed one YoS shall be eligible?

I thought this was ok, but a colleague said something was said about not allowing consecutive months at ASPPA.

[Tom Poje]

I've never heard anything against that.

more usual would be something like 600 hours in 6 months, with the 1 yr.

that way if somone worked 550 hors in the first 6 months and 550 in the second 6 months he would fail the first condition, but because he worked 1000 hours in a 12 month period he would still enter.

[ETA Consulting LLC]

I agree with Poge, but to answer the original question; I'd say yes. You could not get to 1000 hours during a 12 month period without first working at least 500 during a 6 month period. So, all you are doing is making it, literally, half of the requirement. When you do this, you should ensure you maintain accurate records of the computation periods being measured.

This is where Poje's response becomes relevant. Many documents would include language to say "X" number of hours during the 1st "Y" number of months. When you miss that requirement, then the only entry is that you work 1000 hours during 12 months; as they do not give you a second computation period.

So, you can do it, but the plan's language is important.

Good Luck!

[John Feldt ERPA CPC QPA]

If the plan is written to allow the employee to enter on an entry date on/after working 500 hours of service within the first six months of employment, then the plan would also need to allow the employee to enter using some additional requirement that is not more stringent than 1 YOS with 1,000 hours.

Thus, if the employee did not have 500 hours in their first six months, they do at least have to be able to enter once they have a 12 month eligibility computation period with 1000 or more hours.