"It is my understanding that the QDIA is required for affected plans (that employ more than 10 employees) that use the required EACA feature under the SECURE 2.0. Is there a QDIA requirement for QACA plans also (assuming the plan employs more than 10 employees and must have an Automatic Contribution feature)?"

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"I have a client who was in the process of terminating their cash balance plan with their TPA. They got impatient and wanted to speed up the process. In 2024, they withdrew all the plan's funds from the plan's account and deposited the funds into their business bank account. They intended to distribute each participants' funds, in the proper amounts, from the operating account. Does anyone have experience correcting an error like this with the DOL and IRS? Could this be corrected under VFCP as a below-market interest rate loan to a party in interest? What do you think the proposed correction under VCP should look like? We have already advised them to transfer the funds back into a trust account for the plan."

"A few days ago, a question was asked on this board about issues that might be raised when the plan's investment advisor is approached by a participant for individual investment advice for the participant's personal (non-plan) portfolio. Looks like this could become a hot issue for plan sponsors as advisors seek to 'turn participants into lasting clients'. See this upcoming NAPA webcast ... What sorts of fiduciary issues does this raise for the plan sponsor -- and the investment advisor? What about contractual provisions that the plan sponsor should ensure are included in the advisor's service agreement?"

"If a plan makes haphazard profit sharing contributions to various people, relying on the 'each participant is a separate allocation group' method, must it pass the ratio percentage test for coverage due to the nondiscriminatory classification test in the Average Benefits Test?"

"100% owner died in 2017 at age 90 -- he was obviously in RMD status. His two sons (who became 50-50 owners of the business) were/are 50-50 beneficiaries of Dad's account. Dad's money is still in the plan (it's a pooled profit sharing only plan). The change in the SECURE rules is throwing me off. How do we determine the RMD factor for, say, 2025? It looks like the date of birth for the oldest son has been used, but I'm not sure that's correct."

"Schedule C income is, say, $2,000. Owner 'defers' and deposits $19,000 in December of 2024. Accountant tells her she has to distribute it, and Fidelity transfers it to one of her personal accounts, and tells her there are no tax implications whatsoever. Now, I don't see how this can be classified as anything other than a 415 excess, to be corrected under EPCRS. [See 2021-30, Section 6.06(2)] ... Normally, this distribution adjusted for earnings would be taxable. But, since it isn't deductible in the first place, is she only taxed on the earnings, if any?"