"I'm curious to know the names of third-party administrators or recordkeepers who provide service to and have access to a non-ERISA governmental plan document that is keyed to Tribally relevant tax code and regulatory matters? Any help would be appreciated. Google doesn't give me enough to work with."

"Before Vanguard exited its 'Individual 401(k)' business, Vanguard sent a customer a 'beneficiary verification' that included this information: Beneficiary To the person I am married to at the time of my death; Backup Beneficiary Benjamin Brother 50% / Roberta Relativebyaffinity 50%.

"Here's what I don't know: Could the lingo 'To the person I am married to at the time of my death' have resulted from Vanguard recording exactly what the participant typed in the website? Or had a participant tried to type in that phrase, would Vanguard's system have rejected the entry because it was too many characters or because it seemed not to be a name? Did Vanguard set up that lingo as a programmed choice a user could click on? Did Vanguard set up that lingo as a plug-in for a situation in which the participant declined to name a beneficiary and Vanguard's records about a participant showed the participant as having a spouse? In the circumstances I'm advising about, whether 'To the person I am married to at the time of my death' resulted from the participant's considered writing (which might be plausible because the participant had filed a divorce petition, and was lawyer-advised), or partly or wholly because of something Vanguard set up might matter in how the retirement plan's administrator interprets the participant's 'backup' or contingent beneficiary designation."

"One lifer DBP, slightly overfunded. Decides to rollover all the assets into an IRA with no paperwork for termination and distribution election form. Not married. Slightly overfunded as well. How can this be corrected, assuming the plan sponsor wants out help? It is over 2.5M in assets, may be 50k or so overfunded which should have been rolled over into the existing DC plan under QRP rules."

"Participant dies in 2026 before the 2026 RMD is processed. His stepsons are each 50% beneficiaries. Do they each need to be assigned 50% of the RMD or can all of the RMD be assigned one beneficiary. The reason I ask is one beneficiary wants a taxable cash withdrawal and the other wants to roll to Inherited IRA. If all of the RMD is assigned to the cash withdrawal then the remaining amount can all be rolled to the Inherited IRA. However, if all of the RMD is assigned to the cash distribution, that beneficiary would lose the ability to rollover those fund should they unexpected change their mind and decide to do a rollover within 60 days."

"I've never run into this before.. If an employee is repaying a 401(k) loan and they don't have a paycheck for that payroll period what do you do? This is for an employee who doesn't receive regular paychecks."

"We administer a Cash Balance Plan and a Safe Harbor 401(k) plan with 6 participants. For the 2025 year they are failing the 401(a)4 nondiscrimination Test. To pass the test they could ideally bring one of their new employees into the 401(k) plan. Since he was hired toward the end of 2025 he only had about $10k of compensation. The company really likes this employee and would be happy to provide him a 25% profit sharing contribution and make him 100% vested in that contribution. Question: if he becomes an eligible employee via the 11(g) amendment, would it then be required that he also receive a safe harbor non elective contribution of 3%? Under the plan all eligible non-key employees are entitled to a Safe harbor non elective contribution."

"A Section 401(a)-(k) plan's only participant dies without having begun a distribution, and before the plan, following Internal Revenue Code Section 401(a)(9), required a distribution. Assume the plan allows a beneficiary the widest possible choices about a distribution, with no more constraint than is necessary to meet Section 401(a)(9) rules. The participant had no spouse. The participant's beneficiary is not an eligible designated beneficiary. The participant's death was September 17, 2025. Assume all possibly relevant years are the calendar year. What is the latest date for the beneficiary to specify to the plan's administrator any choices the beneficiary might make regarding the form of a distribution and when it begins? What is the latest date a plan's administrator may wait until, absent the beneficiary's choice, one must impose the plan's default minimum distribution?"