Safe harbor match - document silent on calculation period

We took over the admin of a plan that uses a safe harbor enhanced match formula. However, the document does not state the calculation period for the safe harbor match formula. The SPD and safe harbor notice just say participants will receive a match of 100% of 4% of compensation.  I asked the document provider to point to the calculation period and they provided the following sentence from the plan doc:

The Employer may make ADP Test Safe Harbor Contributions at the same time as it contributes Elective Deferrals or at any other time as permitted by law and regulation.

The document provider is adamant that the calculation period is not required to be in the safe harbor notice, SPD or adoption agreement. They say this language provides the most flexibility so the plan administrator can  decide at any point if the calculation will be done per pay-period, quarter, annually. It is a pre-approved plan document.

I have never seen a document silent on the safe harbor calculation period. Is this common?

Is there something in the regular match section?

3 minutes ago, BG5150 said:

Is there something in the regular match section?

That section in the adoption agreement has the typical check boxes for discretionary and fixed formulas (all unchecked in this case). Under the discretionary section it says the match "... is at the complete and sole discretion of the Employer and may vary" 

The basic plan document has almost the identical sentence in the discretionary match section as the safe harbor section: 

The Employer may make Matching Contributions at the same time as it contributes Elective Deferrals or at any other time as permitted by law and regulation.

So I look at that language and it says when the Employer is allowed to make contributions, which to me means when they are allowed to deposit - and Employers can deposit on a payroll period basis and calculate/determine on a plan year basis and true-up after year-end, or they can calculate on a payroll period basis but not make the deposit until tax return due date, can they not?

The way plan provisions are spelled out here is important. Usually, the general reference is to the plan year, in which case I think you are bound to do a plan year calculation (so year-end true up) unless the document specifically calls for the determination/calculation on a payroll or other time period basis.

Again, deposit timing is not determination timing, in my opinion.

5 minutes ago, CuseFan said:

or they can calculate on a payroll period basis but not make the deposit until tax return due date, can they not?

ok, so I just saw in another thread that SH matches, if determined on payroll period basis, must also be deposited on an accelerated basis (end of next quarter I believe was what was noted) - but still, determination timing and deposit timing are different.

19 hours ago, CuseFan said:

The way plan provisions are spelled out here is important. Usually, the general reference is to the plan year, in which case I think you are bound to do a plan year calculation (so year-end true up) unless the document specifically calls for the determination/calculation on a payroll or other time period basis.

I agree.  I bet you will find that the formula for the safe harbor match includes a term for compensation that is defined in the document as being for the plan year.

As for the document provider, I don't think they understood your question.  Our VS document (ASC) lets you set the computation period for the SH match, but makes it clear that it can be deposited more frequently during the year at the discretion of the employer.  Their answer sounds like they thought you were asking about deposit timing.  At least, I hope the IRS didn't approve a document that allows employer discretion to change the SH match allocation formula at any point during the year.

We have a similar situation in which the employer deposits the safe harbor match each pay period.  The adoption agreement and the document provider state that the "true-up" of the safe harbor match is discretionary.  However, the safe harbor notice does not mention the timing (allocation period, e.g., payroll or plan year) for the safe harbor match, nor does the SPD.  Is this an issue that the employer is not communicating the period for which the match is calculated?