Merging VS Plan into a MEP mid-year

[jgoodwin]

I have a client who was the sponsor of a VS 401k plan.  They elected to to join a MEP available through their HR services company.  The original 401k plan was amended to suspend all contributions effective 4/30/2018 and the adoption of the MEP was effective 5/1/2018.  The MEP was setup to mirror the existing plan (basic 401k subject to ADP); to the employees it was essentially only a change in where their assets are being invested.  All participant accounts will be merged from the old investments to the new.  

With regards to compliance testing, we're getting push back from the  MEP administrator RE one set of compliance tests vs. two.  I don't see any reason why the plans would be tested separately since it is one employer who is the sponsor of both plans.  A separate filing for the original plan will be required until the assets are fully merged to the new but is there a logical reason (one that I am missing) as to why separate testing would be performed?  I have looked through regs RE mergers but most of them deal with asset/stock sales which this is not.

[Mike Preston]

You have to follow the plan Docs. If the MEP provides for separate testing then by golly you have separate testing. Somebody has to make sure the original plan doesn't conflict. Happy reconciling!

[PensionPro]

These are two separate plans.  Just curious ... is there a statutory basis to perform one test?

[Mike Preston]

44 minutes ago, PensionPro said:

These are two separate plans.  Just curious ... is there a statutory basis to perform one test?

The concept is called permissive aggregation.

[Purplemandinga]

To be conservative I would test each plan separately. Its cleaner and allows for easier preparation of the 5500 participant counts depending on which software you are using.

[PensionPro]

41 minutes ago, Mike Preston said:

The concept is called permissive aggregation.

One of the conditions for permissive aggregation is that plans must have the same plan year so I am curious if that would apply in this situation.

[Mike Preston]

59 minutes ago, PensionPro said:

One of the conditions for permissive aggregation is that plans must have the same plan year so I am curious if that would apply in this situation.

It would unless there's something you didn't tell us!