Fund Remittance - Employer Contribution

An employer sold to a new entity and shut down their business checking account prior to payment of final employer SHNE and PS contributions.  TPA was notified last month and has the plan terminating in 60 days.

I am not aware of how an employer contribution would be funded by anything other than the business account.  They want to use their personal account, but I am fairly certain this is not an option.  Any advice for remittance of the funds?

Thank You 

What you mean by “sold” matters. You might find guidance in a plan of disposition (sale agreement)/dissolution/liquidation. 

Yes, good question.  Business A sold all assets to business B, but business A (along with the plan) remained separate and did not change ownership.  Business A has shut down their bank account but is still responsible for funding the final employer contribution.

I'd be more worried about the participants being made whole than where the funds come from. That seems like a tax deduction matter the accountant can handle.

Is business A a corporation, partnership, sole-proprietor or other?

There should be a plan of dissolution/liquidation to guide how obligations of the business are to be discharged. Things can get murky and informal especially with sole proprietorships, where personal and business matter can get unfortunately or improperly blurred.

Are you asking what your responsibility is to trace/direct funds flow?

Assuming in the original post that the "employer" and the "they" who want to use a personal account are the same people, it also very likely is the "employer" is the Plan Sponsor and the responsible fiduciary for the plan.  This responsibility requires to act in the interest of the participants and to make sure that the participants receive their vested benefits when the plan is terminated (and everyone would fully vest upon plan termination.)

If the cash to cover the contributions was in the business checking account that was closed, it begs the question where is that cash now?  If it remains under the control of the business, then the business needs to work out how to get the contributions into the plan.  If it is outside the control of the business, then it is up to the plan fiduciaries to work out how to get the contributions into the plan.  If the cash is formally not under the control of the business but is under the control of the plan fiduciaries, then there should be a very-well-documented trail of how the contributions get into the plan. 

The plan should be reviewed by ERISA counsel to confirm that, to the extent possible, cash was not yet deemed a plan asset, and that the contribution could be considered as tax-deductible to the employer.  If this cannot be confirmed, then the plan fiduciaries should consider asking the IRS to bless the plan termination (including the contribution).

Whether the contribution ultimately gets deducted somewhere by someone, it will be, as @Lou S. notes, up to the employer's tax accountant, and, if the company is dissolving, as @QDROphile notes, up to the terms of the dissolution/liquidation.

The primary focus needs to be on keeping the participants whole, and having any adverse consequences fall on parties other than the non-fiduciary participants.