Would a surviving spouse be eligible for the same tax exemption as the disability retiree? I see all kinds of documentation referring to federal tax exemption to the disability retiree but nothing referring me to how taxation works for the person picking up the pension after the death of the disability retiree. I was given a copy of PLR 200437028: "...the benefits received by the surviving spouse or dependent minor children of a recipient who was receiving service incurred benefits are also excludable from gross income...." https://www.irs.gov/pub/irs-wd/0437028.pdf

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Review considerations for structuring a 401(k) plan. Topics include salary deferral limits and catch-up contributions, matching and profit-sharing contributions, nondiscrimination testing and safe harbors.

Is the clergy housing allowance included for contributions? For the HCE determination?

For participants who don't respond to distribution election notices (because you can either buy annuities or pay to the PBGC), does the under-$5,000 lump sum option exist such that the $1,000 balances can be rolled to IRAs?

I have a client with a company that sponsors a 401(k) plan, The company also sponsors a Supplemental Retirement Plan for owners and select HCEs and managers. One of the owners is turning age 70-1/2 and must take an RMD from the qualified plan. Is there any requirement for RMDs from the SRP?

Client is selling his dental practice. He said the sale is an asset purchase sale not a practice sale. Would the new owner be able to continue the current retirement plan? Or do they have to terminate the current plan and start a new one with the new owner?

We administer a safe harbor 401K with Roth-only deferrals. W-2, boxes 1 & 5 are the same dollar amount, employee deferred $5,000. Wouldn't the deferral (whether Roth or not) be added to box 5 for the calculation of the safe harbor match?

The set of individuals considered affected participants upon a plan termination/partial termination seems rather more extensive for defined benefit plans than for defined contribution plans. To provide some perhaps helpful context:

https://www.irs.gov/retirement-plans/improper-forfeiture-by-defined-benefit-plans

Most defined benefit (DB) plans cannot forfeit a participant's benefit after 5 consecutive 1-year breaks-in-service. However, some DB plans include language providing for a forfeiture of a participant's non-vested accrued benefit either when a participant terminates employment or after the participant incurs 5 consecutive 1-year breaks-in-service. If the plan language forfeits the non-vested benefit upon termination, the plan document must also provide that the plan will restore the forfeited amount if a forfeited participant returns to service prior to incurring 5 consecutive 1-year breaks-in-service. In other words, for IRC Section 411(a)(6)(C), because a nonvested or partially vested participant who has a 5 consecutive 1-year breaks-in-service cannot increase his or her vested percentage in the pre-break-accrued benefit, the plan can forfeit the non-vested accrued benefit that accrued prior to the 5 consecutive 1-year breaks-in-service. However, IRC Section 411(a)(6)(C) only applies to DC or fully insured DB plans.

https://www.irs.gov/pub/irs-tege/2014cpe_plan_terminations.pdf

A defined benefit plan cannot use the 5-year break in service rule to forfeit nonvested benefits unless it is a fully-insured plan. See IRC Section 411(a)(6)(C). Therefore, all employees and former employees with accrued benefits under the plan are "affected employees" for plan termination purposes, without regard to whether they have incurred a 5-year break in service before the plan's termination date.

https://www.irs.gov/pub/irs-tege/2014cpe_plan_terminations.pdf#page=57

(C) 5 consecutive 1-year breaks in service under defined contribution plan For purposes of paragraph (4), in the case of any participant in a defined contribution plan, or an insured defined benefit plan which satisfies the requirements of subsection (b)(1)(F), who has 5 consecutive 1-year breaks in service, years of service after such 5-year period shall not be required to be taken into account for purposes of determining the nonforfeitable percentage of his accrued benefit derived from employer contributions which accrued before such 5-year period. For DB plans which contain cash-out forfeiture provisions, any former employee whose vested benefit is cashed-out will forfeit the nonvested benefit at that time. A subsequent plan termination would then not result in any additional vesting for the former employee.

http://uscode.house.gov

For helpful context perhaps, defined benefit plans feature the following vesting: (ii) 5-year vesting A plan satisfies the requirements of this clause if an employee who has completed at least 5 years of service has a nonforfeitable right to 100 percent of the employee's accrued benefit derived from employer contributions. (iii) 3 to 7 year vesting A plan satisfies the requirements of this clause if an employee has a nonforfeitable right to a percentage of the employee's accrued benefit derived from employer contributions determined under the following table:

Years of service: 3 -- 20% 4 -- 40% 5 -- 60% 6 -- 80% 7 or more -- 100%

So, perhaps the set of individuals considered comprising part of the set of affected participants would seem to exclude only those logged as having/having had accounts who had severed employment prior to the plan termination/partial termination and had not attained 5 years of service (per Schedule I) or 2 years of service (per Schedule II).

I think I remember that, regarding disclosures, it is the participant's responsibility to keep their address up to date. If a lost participant is found, I think I remember that we do not have to send past notices, SAR, 404, etc. -- is that correct?