Rehire into new DB plan late in year

[Dalai Pookah]

DB plan established in 2017.  Employee worked for employer 2007-2015.  Employee rehired 9/1/18.  Therefore, enters plan 9/1/18.

Since employee won't have 1000 hours in 2018, is that employee treated as benefiting under the plan?  If not, then is an 11(g) amendment required to bring in employee to meet 410(b) [currently, 4 HCE-1 excluded, and two NHCE-counting the rehire)?  Here, 410(b) would be 50%/75%=67%.

I don't see any relief from Reg. §410(b)-3.  I don't think that an 11(g) amendment could be made to merely apply the 1-year holdout rule, which would make the rehire wait until one Year of Service has been met (which, then avoids the dilemma.

Am I missing something here?  

[CuseFan]

Employee is/is not benefiting based on plan terms - if 1000 hours is required for an accrual, then not benefiting. 

Even with the holdout rule (which you can't 11g in) at 9/1/19 they come in retro to 9/1/18 and you still have a 2018 issue.

So this RH is not a statutory exclusion and so your NHCE coverage is 50%. You say there are 4 HCEs with 1 excluded - but is that a statutory exclusion, a plan exclusion or otherwise just not benefiting? Because if statutory exclusion (including term <500 hours not benefiting) then your HCE coverage is 100%, not 75%.

If your coverage is 67% then you can see if plan passes coverage using average benefits, possibly aggregate with a DC plan if plausible, or 11g an accrual to the rehire.

[C. B. Zeller]

May not be eligible to use average benefits test - if the excluded HCE is excluded by name it would not be a reasonable classification.