Unpaid military intern

[pensionam]

Hello,

We have a plan sponsor who will be hiring an intern for 90 days who will be paid by the military through a military internship program. After the 90 day period, the intern will be paid by the plan sponsor. The plan has no eligibility requirements and no excluded classes so the question came up as to when the employee would be eligible to defer and what compensation would be used. There was a debate among coworkers if the employee could use military pay to defer by personally writing a check to the plan sponsor or needed to wait until he was paid by the plan sponsor.

Thanks.

[Larry Starr]

1 hour ago, pensionam said:

Hello,

We have a plan sponsor who will be hiring an intern for 90 days who will be paid by the military through a military internship program. After the 90 day period, the intern will be paid by the plan sponsor. The plan has no eligibility requirements and no excluded classes so the question came up as to when the employee would be eligible to defer and what compensation would be used. There was a debate among coworkers if the employee could use military pay to defer by personally writing a check to the plan sponsor or needed to wait until he was paid by the plan sponsor.

Thanks.

I've never heard of this program, but the answer is easy.  Since deferrals, by definition, HAVE TO BE deferrals, there is no way he can ever write a personal check for any deferral. Whether he is even eligible is a separate question, and I would tend to doubt it.  Sounds alot like a temp employee from an agency for that first 90 day period.