"We've had several client receive letters from the IRS approving the 5500 & 8955-SSA extensions through 8/15/23. The 5558 was submitted for calendar year plans Ending 12/31/22, but the approval letter states the Tax Period as 'October 31, 2022' and 'File your return by AUG. 15, 2023'. Has anyone else seen this? Is this another IRS computer error?"

"Client sponsors a cash balance plan and is solely owned by a Parent entity. All employees are employees of the Client and receive W-2s from the Client. Prior to August 1, the Parent was neither the plan sponsor nor a participating employer in the pension plan. On August 1st, the Parent sold 100% of the stock of the Client to a third party Buyer. Following the closing, Client and Parent are no longer part of a controlled group. Immediately prior to the sale, the Client and Parent both signed resolutions that, effective August 1, transferred sponsorship of the plan from Client to Parent, and removed Client as a participating employer in the plan. Parent is now taking steps to terminate the plan. Clearly, all compensation and accruals for January 1 through August 1 for employment with Client should be counted under the plan. However, no 204(h) notice was provided to employees giving them notice of the August 1 change in plan sponsorship. Does the Parent still have to include post-August 1 compensation until a 204(h) notice is given and its timing runs out? Or, are they just treated as having terminated employment because their employer no longer participates in the plan? There was no amendment to freeze or change benefits, although the change in plan sponsor has that effect because none of the employees work for the Parent and all employees remained Employees of client.... The change in sponsorship is not a PBGC reportable event because the plan is fully funded, and the parties will treat the transaction as a partial plan termination and fully vest all participants."

"If a SH plan has a missed deferral opportunity and requires a corrective QNEC -- does that then remove the top heavy exemption? I'm curious and can't really find anything that says yes or no on this. I'm leaning towards YES because regs state that it's top heavy if it consists of anything besides deferral and the safe harbor contribution; BUT would it really cause a failure if you correct your plan? I can't wrap my head around this."

"Has any big recordkeeper yet made available (if a plan-administrator customer asks for it) a form for relying on a participant’s written statement that she has a hardship?"