Plan Termination and Employer Contributions

Company was sold and plan was terminated as of 10/31/2018.  None of the participants have been paid out yet.    Plan has a calendar plan year.     Eligibility to receive an employer non-elective contribution is 1,000 hours and employed on PYE.    During 2018, Employer put money into a suspense account for allocation at year end.   

Since the plan terminated at 10/31/2018,  would I allocated to the employees still employed on 10/31/2018?   That was my first thought, but technically the PYE is still 12/31 but the employer did not exist at 12/31 and had no employees.  

If the ER ceased to exist, would that automatically create a plan termination and a PYE?

Perhaps this will help

from the 2010 ASPPA Conference Q and A

DC plan is top heavy and has a plan year ending 12/31. The plan terminates on September 15, 2010. Normally, TH minimums are provided only if the employee is employed on the last day of the plan year. (Assume that there are salary deferrals during the year so that, if a top heavy minimum is required, it needs to be made.)

Questions:

(1) For the 2010 plan year, is 9/15/2010 treated as if it were the last day of the plan year, so that only non-key employees who are employed on that date are entitled to a TH minimum?

(2) If (1) is Yes, is the 3% minimum calculated for compensation from 1/1/2010-9/15/2010?

(3) If (1) is No, is there NO top heavy minimum for the 2010 plan year because the plan terminates before the end of the year (similar to the

concept that there is no money purchase plan funding if the plan terminates before the end of the year and there is a last day employment requirement), or does the plan have to wait to see who is employed on 12/31/2010 to determine who is entitled to the TH minimum, even though the plan has terminated before that date?

(4) Is the answer to any of the above affected by whether the employer continues in existence through the end of 2010?

(1) Of course, if there is no employer contribution, there would not be an obligation to provide top heavy minimum contribution. But, if there were contributions to keys during the year, including elective deferrals, there is a top heavy minimum based on compensation and employment through 9/15/10. Plan must liquidate within a reasonable time under Rev. Rul. 89-87 or else 9/15 date may not be reasonable. There is effectively a short plan year for top heavy purposes.

(2) yes

(3) n/a

(4) no change