Government DC plan

[Car23]

Can a money purchase dc plan maintained by a municipality offer elective salary deferrals and matching contributions in addition to 457(b) plan?  Not eligible for 403(b) or 401(k), so I think not.  Am I missing something?

[Carol V. Calhoun]

Salary deferrals in a 401(a) plan can be provided only pursuant to Internal Revenue Code section 401(k), and governmental entities are not permitted to have 401(k) plans unless they had one back in 1986.  And even if they had one back then, it would have to be a profit-sharing plan unless it was a pre-ERISA money purchase plan.  So for the vast majority of governmental entities, salary deferrals would not be permitted in the kind of plan you describe.

However, matching contributions are permitted.  For example, in a 457(b) plan, any employer contributions directly to the plan would count against the maximum limit on contributions to a 457(b) plan ($19,500 in 2020).  What many governmental entities do is to have employee deferrals made to the 457(b) plan, but to have contributions matching those 457(b) deferrals made to a money purchase or profit sharing 401(a) plan.

[Car23]

Thank you, very helpful and much appreciated. 

[PeterN]

This is all great info!