Compensation in its simplest form is pay in exchange for services rendered, although gross pay includes additional forms of compensation aside from the hourly rate paid to employees. In reference to 401(k) plans, the term “pay” becomes more complex. Under the statutory safe harbor regulations an employer is required to include additional forms of compensation …
Employee benefit plans are seeing increased regulation and disclosure of plan fees including new disclosures of compensation paid to covered service providers in July 2012 (https://www.hhcpa.com/blogs/employee-benefits-audit-services/fee-disclosure-regulations-for-covered-service-providers/). The result of the new fee disclosures and oversight by plan fiduciaries is that record-keepers are expanding their offering of expense accounts, typically known as an ERISA Account, to …
It is important to understand how your Plan works. Those responsible for the management and oversight of the retirement plan must follow certain rules for operating the Plan, handling the plan’s money, and overseeing the firms that manage the money. One area that is crucial to the operation of any Plan is knowing and following …
In today’s market the mergers and acquisitions of businesses are on the rise. If the company maintaining your 401(k) plan is purchased, or merges with another company, what issues should you be considering? There are risks associated with the accounting of plan transfers that the plan administrator should be aware of. Plan transfer risks include: …
Have you recently restated or amended your plan document? If yes, are you confident that your plan is being administered in accordance with the updated sections? A common fallacy of the plan administrator is the sole reliance on the third party administrator (“recordkeeper”) to ensure that the plan is being properly administered, subsequent to the …
One of the key reasons to hire an Employee Retirement Income Security Act (“ERISA”) attorney is to complete a plan document that will be in compliance with all ERISA regulations. The plan document should be reviewed every two years by your attorney for any amendments that need to be made in order to stay in …
Did you know that one of the most common errors found in a 401K audit is due to a lack of proper documentation of enrollment? When a company is required to have their 401K plan audited it is a good idea to make sure that there are proper procedures as well as documentation in place …
Open Enrollment Time Again – As a Plan Administrator what questions should you be asking yourself? • First and foremost you should ensure that the Plan Document and your Summary Plan Description (SPD) is up-to-date and supports the plan administrative practices that the Plan Administration has put into place. For example, if your Plan Document states …
The Voluntary Correction Program (VCP) allows a plan sponsor to pay a limited fee and receive the IRS’s approval of the correction while also remaining a qualified plan. The VCP program is not a program used by those who have already had an examination by the IRS and must correct the error, but for the …
The Employee Plans Compliance Unit (EPCU) – has recently completed a project on how benefit plan’s are treating leased employees in regards to qualified plan purposes. What is a leased employee you may ask? According to the IRS, a leased employee generally is an employee meeting each of the following attributes: 1) Agreement – agreement for …