Newsletter Articles

Given the complex nature of administering qualified retirement plans in accordance with ever-changing pension law, mistakes are inevitable. When the IRS discovers plan mistakes through audit, the plan risks being disqualified which results in severe consequences to the plan sponsor and participants.

Are you a fiduciary of your company’s retirement plan? If you’re not sure, it’s time to find out because if you are a fiduciary, it is important to know exactly what your responsibilities are.

With the current economic conditions, many companies have been forced to downsize either by laying off a portion of the workforce or closing a plant or line of business. These layoffs can have an impact on a qualified plan. If enough employees are terminated, a partial plan termination can occur which requires that the affected workers become fully vested in their benefits.

Qualified retirement plans provide tax deductible benefits for employers and employees, as well as an opportunity for significant savings for the post-retirement years. But these plans require adherence to numerous governmental regulations, and there are costs involved in the establishment and ongoing maintenance of the plan.

Each year the U.S. government adjusts the limits for qualified plans and social security to reflect cost of living adjustments and changes in the law. Many of these limits are based on the “plan year.” The elective deferral and catch-up limits are always based on the calendar year. Here are the 2009 limits as well as the three prior years for comparative purposes.

The Department of Labor (DOL) has finally provided much anticipated guidance for the timely deposit of elective deferrals in qualified 401(k) plans. The proposed regulation keeps the same basic framework for determining if contributions are timely deposited but adds a safe harbor rule that many plans can utilize.

One of the more frustrating aspects for the small business maintaining a 401(k) plan is satisfying the special nondiscrimination requirements. The tests require adequate participation by “non-highly compensated employees” (NHCEs) in order for the “highly compensated employees” (HCEs) to maximize their own salary deferrals. Failure to satisfy the tests requires a correction which often means the painful process of returning salary deferrals to the HCEs.

Retirement plans have been subject to “top heavy” rules for about 25 years. By now you’d think that their application would be fairly straightforward. But lately these provisions have affected some plans in unexpected ways, surprising plan sponsors who thought top heavy was a non-issue for their plan. This is due in part to regulations which exempt some plans from the top heavy requirements but only if certain conditions are met.

The 401(k) plan has emerged as the most popular form of retirement plan in the United States. This trend will likely continue for some time for a number of reasons. One is the cost savings to employers, since deferral contributions are paid by employees. Another is the fact that 401(k) plans are more easily understood than traditional retirement plans and consequently more appreciated by employees.

The increasing popularity of salary deferral plans has led to a rise in the number of retirement accounts that allow participants to self-direct their investments. Participants like it because it gives them control over their accounts which are at least partially funded by their own contributions. Employers like it because it reduces the investment responsibilities of plan fiduciaries.