Power of Attorney for Sick Participant

[JKW]

Hello. I have a plan participant who is undergoing treatment for cancer and wants to give her husband authority to sign off on any distributions they may need from her 401k if she because unable to sign. From what my document provider states, they can use a power of attorney. Anything else I should be concerned with?

[david rigby]

Sorry to be morbid, but it might be prudent for this EE to review all beneficiary designations (not just this plan).

Never assume that a Will is adequate to convey such information.

[JKW]

yes - he is updating those too.

[austin3515]

Another interesting question would be what about the 5500? I actually have a similar situation now but we are discussing the 5500. Can the POA sign the form? The trustee is not currently in a position to do so (business actually closed down, plan is being termed, etc.). Someone of course has POA to sign all of his other tax documents.

[Peter Gulia]

The Form 5500 Instructions suggest (on page 6) that if the plan's administrator is a non-natural person (for example, the corporation, company, or partnership that sponsors the plan), the signer can be a natural person who has authority to sign on behalf of the administrator.

But if the natural person who normally would sign requests a further agent to sign, how does such an agent satisfy herself that the Form 5500 report has been adopted as the administrator's true act?