Small Corrections in EPCRS

I was trying to find something in EPCRS that says that in certain situations if impractical you can use the DOL Lost Interest Calculator to adjust a corrective allocation for gains).  I routinely see attorney drafted VCP apps take this approach and have never seen it questioned.

Can anyone shed some light on this for me?  IF we're depositing a $100 into someone's account, we don't want to charge the client $250 in fees.

I think you're looking for Sec. 6.02(5) which says:

Quote

(5) Special exceptions to full correction. In general, a failure must be fully corrected. Although the mere fact that correction is inconvenient or burdensome is not enough to relieve a Plan Sponsor of the need to make full correction, full correction may not be required in certain situations if it is unreasonable or not feasible. Even in these situations, the correction method adopted must be one that does not have significant adverse effects on participants and beneficiaries or the plan, and that does not discriminate significantly in favor of highly compensated employees. The exceptions described below specify those situations in which full correction is not required.

(a) Reasonable estimates. If either (i) it is possible to make a precise calculation but the probable difference between the approximate and the precise restoration of a participant's benefits is insignificant and the administrative cost of determining precise restoration would significantly exceed the probable difference or (ii) it is not possible to make a precise calculation (for example, where it is impossible to provide plan data), reasonable estimates may be used in calculating appropriate correction. If it is not feasible to make a reasonable estimate of what the actual investment results would have been, a reasonable interest rate may be used. For this purpose, the interest rate used by the Department of Labor’s Voluntary Fiduciary Correction Program Online Calculator is deemed to be a reasonable interest rate. The calculator can be found on the internet at http://www.dol.gov/ebsa/calculator.

You can use a reasonable estimate of the investment results, including the results of the DOL calculator, only if "it is not feasible to make a reasonable estimate of what the actual investment results would have been." In my opinion if you have the data it is feasible to calculate, even if it might be time consuming to do so. Check Appendix B section 3.01(3)(b) and (c) for simplifying assumptions which might make your life a little easier.

Of course, you can still rely on the DOL calculator if you correct under VFCP.

yup, thats it!