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  NICOLAUS                 Plans Quarterly
   

                                                                            Third Quarter 2008

 

RETIREMENT PLAN DISTRIBUTION PORTABILITY ENHANCED AND CLARIFIED

Two provisions of the Pension Protection Act of 2006 (PPA �06) greatly enhanced the portability of distributions from employer-sponsored retirement plans. First, retirement plan distributions can now be rolled directly to Roth IRAs, and, if the participant chooses, only the after-tax portion of the plan assets rolled to a Roth. Secondly, non-spouse beneficiaries now have the opportunity to roll inherited plan assets to inherited IRAs. The following information details both issues.

"Qualified rollover contributions" expanded

Prior to PPA �06, IRC Sec. 408A of the Code provided that only conversions to Roth IRAs were allowed from traditional, SEP, or SIMPLE IRAs, or "qualified rollover contributions" from designated Roth accounts described in IRC Sec. 402A (Roth 401K and 403(b) plans).

In PPA �06 the definition of "qualified rollover contribution" was expanded to additional plans listed under IRC Sec. 402(c)(8)(B), which include qualified trusts, IRAs (408(a) and 408(b)), annuity plans (403(a) and 403(b)), and eligible deferred compensation plans (457(b)).

After-tax dollars rolled to Roth IRAs

In PPA �06 it states, "Employee after-tax contributions may be rolled over from a tax-qualified retirement plan into another tax-qualified retirement plan, if the plan to which the rollover is made is a defined contribution plan, the rollover is accomplished through a direct rollover, and the plan to which the rollover is made provides for separate accounting for such contributions (and earnings thereon). After-tax contributions may also be rolled over to an IRA. If the rollover is to an IRA, the rollover need not be a direct rollover and the IRA owner has the responsibility to keep track of the amount of after-tax contributions."

Under this provision, it is conceivable that eligible individuals would now be allowed to:

1. Convert only those after-tax dollars from the plan directly into a Roth IRA, and

2. Roll the remaining pre-tax dollars to a traditional IRA.

This eliminates the complicated process of rolling all plan assets into a traditional IRA first and then converting to a Roth IRA.

Note that Roth conversions are only allowed if an individual�s (or married filing a joint return) adjusted gross income is less than $100,000.

 

      3rd Quarter 2008

Beneficiaries allowed rollovers to IRAs

In PPA �06, a provision now permits non-spouse beneficiaries of deceased plan participants the opportunity to directly roll their share of the plan�s assets into an inherited IRA beneficiary account, if the plan allows. In addition, in recently released IRS Notice 2008-30, this provision was enhanced to include direct rollovers to inherited Roth IRAs.

IRS Notice 2008-30 guidance

In Notice 2008-30, guidance is provided for certain distribution-related provisions of PPA �06. The following question and answer is in regards to beneficiaries converting inherited plan assets directly into Roth IRAs:

 

 

Q � 7. Can beneficiaries make qualified rollover contributions to Roth IRAs?

A � 7. Yes. In the case of a distribution from an eligible retirement plan other than a Roth IRA, the modified adjusted gross income and filing status of the beneficiary are used to determine eligibility to make a qualified rollover contribution to a Roth IRA. Pursuant to IRC Sec. 402(c)(11), a plan may, but is not required to, permit rollovers by non-spouse beneficiaries, and a rollover by a non-spouse beneficiary must be made by a direct trustee-to-trustee transfer. A surviving spouse who makes a rollover to a Roth IRA may elect either to treat the Roth IRA as his or her own or establish the Roth IRA in the name of the decedent with the surviving spouse as the beneficiary.

Conversion and rollover

Note that the action to move assets from a deceased participant�s retirement plan directly into an inherited Roth IRA is considered a conversion and direct rollover. Also,

1. The $100,000 AGI conversion restriction still applies for eligibility, and

2. Any pre-tax dollars converted to an inherited Roth IRA is reported as ordinary income.

Prior to PPA �06 and Notice 2008-30, beneficiaries of deceased participants in qualified retirement plans were offered a limited number of distribution options. The new regulations offer non-spouse beneficiaries flexibility to control their investments and the timing of their taxation by directly rolling QRP assets to inherited beneficiary traditional or Roth IRAs.

HEROES EARNINGS ASSISTANCE AND RELIEF TAX (HEART) ACT OF 2008

A military tax bill (HEART) containing a combination of tax benefits and incentives for military personnel was signed into law by President Bush on June 17, 2008.

HEART Act provisions

Included in the Act are provisions that will affect employer-sponsored retirement plans, IRAs, and Coverdell ESAs, such as:

The election to treat combat zone compensation as earned income � Tax-free combat zone pay is considered eligible compensation � for IRA contribution purposes. This temporary PPA �06 provision is now permanent.

Penalty-free distributions from retirement plans for individuals called to active duty � The temporary provision in the PPA �06 allowing penalty-free withdrawals from employer-sponsored retirement plans and IRAs (qualified reservist distributions) is now permanent.

Contributions of military death gratuities can be deposited into Roth IRAs and ESAs � Survivors who receive military death benefits are now allowed to contribute all or part of the

death gratuity payments tax-free into the survivor�s Roth IRA or to an ESA. Annual limits do not apply.

Death benefits under the Uniformed Services Employment and Reemployment Right Act (USERRA) extended to military survivors � Tax-qualified pension plans are required to entitle survivors of plan participants who die while on active military duty to additional benefits and benefit accruals provided under such plans for participants who resume and then terminate employment due to death.

Note that these are highlights of a selected portion of the provisions contained in the HEART Act. For complete details, review The Library of Congress � Thomas at http://thomas.loc.gov/cgi-bin/bdquery/z?d110:h.r.06081:

SIMPLE IRAs � OCTOBER 1 DEADLINE

The SIMPLE IRA is an employer-sponsored plan that allows eligible employees to make pre-tax salary deferrals into an IRA account and requires the employer to make annual contributions into the IRA account of each eligible employee. SIMPLE IRA plans must be maintained on a calendar year basis (IRC Sec. 408(p)(6)(C)).

New plans

October 1 is an important date for all new SIMPLE plans. There is a requirement that within a 60-day period preceding the plan year, the employer must allow eligible employees to make deferral elections (IRC Sec. 408(p)(5)(C)). For the plan year 2008, the 60-day election period must begin by October 1 for new plans to include 2008 deferrals.

There is one exception to the October 1 establishment deadline. Newly established companies may open SIMPLE IRA plans as soon as administratively feasible to accept contributions immediately.

Existing plans

For existing plans, employers should furnish the 60-day election notice by November 1 each year. This notice allows newly eligible employees to make elections or existing employees to modify elections for the next year.

October 1 is quickly approaching, and employers wishing to establish a SIMPLE plan for 2008 should do so immediately. This important deadline should not be missed, as plans established after this date are effective for 2009.

IRA ASSETS REACH $4.8 TRILLION

Assets in U.S. retirement plan arrangements (defined benefit and defined contribution plans) totaled $17.8 trillion as of the third quarter of 2007. Of that total, 27% of the assets ($4.8 trillion) were held in IRAs, 25.2% ($4.5 trillion) in defined contribution plans, 24.7% ($4.4 trillion) in government pension plans, and the balance held in other plans.1

 

IRAs in households

In another Investment Company Institute report, it was cited that 40% of U.S. households (116 million) report having one or more traditional or Roth IRAs. However, only 14% of IRA owners contributed to an IRA in 2006. Of those who contributed, 45% of households owning one or more Roth IRAs made annual contributions in 2006, compared to 28% of households owning one or more traditional IRAs.2

Rollovers impact IRAs

To explain why IRAs hold the largest share of all of the retirement plan arrangements, the report revealed that 59% of households with traditional IRAs reported that some part of their IRA contained assets rolled over from an employer-sponsored retirement plan. Because accumulations in employer-sponsored retirement plans are often sizable amounts, rollovers have caused the overall total held in IRAs to increase.

Characteristics of households

In comparing households that have one or more traditional or Roth IRAs to those that do not, the average annual income for those with IRAs was $80,000 vs. $34,000 for households without IRAs. In addition, households with IRAs averaged $250,000 in total financial assets, compared to $40,000 for non-IRA households. Other characteristics of households owing IRAs found owners to be more likely to be married, attended college, and participate in an employer-sponsored retirement plan.

In 1990, there were $637 billion held in IRAs, and that figure has grown to $4.8 trillion. With increased contribution limits ($5,000 in 2008) and the continued growth of rollovers, IRAs certainly are, and will continue to be, a critical piece of Americans� retirement program.

1 Investment Company Institute (ICI), April 2008 report

2 ICI�s Fundamentals, Volume 17, Number 1t

FORM 5500 SCHEDULE C FEE DISCLOSURE GUIDANCE

The U.S. Department of Labor�s Employee Benefits Security Administration (EBSA) released additional guidance about new rules for reporting service provider fees and compensation on Schedule C of Form 5500. The effective date for new rules is for plan years beginning on or after January 1, 2009. The additional guidance is to help plan administrators and service providers comply with the new reporting requirements which will require the plan administrator to identify all persons receiving more than $5,000 in total compensation (whether "direct" from the plan or plan sponsor or "indirect" from any other source, including a subcontractor to plan service providers, whose compensation was not previously reportable) "in connection with" services provided to the plan or the person�s position with the plan. For fiduciaries and other Enumerated Service Providers (including brokers, consultants, custodians, insurance agents/brokers,

investment advisers, investment managers, recordkeepers, trustees, and appraisers) who received more than $1,000 in indirect compensation from one or more payors, filers would have to provide an additional level of information, including the identity of each payor, the amount of the compensation received, and the nature of the compensation.

The guidance, in Q&A format, clarifies such issues as the alternative reporting option for eligible indirect compensation, electronic disclosure of fee information by service providers, fee reporting for brokerage window options in participant directed plans, and reporting on gifts, entertainment, and other non-monetary compensation.

Service providers that furnish the plan administrator with a written statement indicating that the service provider made a good faith effort to make necessary recordkeeping and information system changes in a timely fashion and, despite such efforts, was unable to complete the changes will not be reported as failing to provide fee and compensation information for the 2009 plan year.

Complete guidance can be found on the DOL website: http://www.dol.gov/ebsa/faqs/faq_scheduleC.html

QUALIFIED PLAN PREMATURE DISTRIBUTION PENALTY: AGE 55 EXCEPTION

Most participants who retire before 59 � are not aware that they may be eligible to take distributions from their employer�s qualified plan without penalty. Many assume that they would be required to pay a 10% early withdrawal penalty on any premature distributions from their employer-sponsored plan account. But a little known exception to the 10% early withdrawal penalty is available for those that have separated from service after reaching age 55.

IRC Section 72(t)(2)(A)(v) specifies that participants separating from service after age 55 can receive payments from the plan without penalty. The IRS has interpreted the age 55 separation requirement to be satisfied if the participant separates from service during the calendar year in which the participant reaches age 55. The participant is not limited to substantially equal payments, but can withdraw funds in any manner (lump sum, partial distribution, etc.) that the plan document allows.

Participants may not separate from service in years prior to turning age 55 and expect to receive penalty-free distributions upon reaching age 55, unless a qualified exception applies (i.e., death, disability, etc.). If the participant separates from service prior to turning age 55 and doesn�t meet a qualified exception, he or she would need to satisfy the substantially equal periodic payment exception to receive penalty-free distributions.

Also, the age 55 exception is not available to IRAs. The funds must remain in the qualified plan of the employer with which the participant separated service after age

 

 

IT�S THAT TIME OF YEAR: 401K SAFE HARBOR NOTICES

Employers sponsoring 401K plans that use a "safe harbor method" of satisfying 401K non-discrimination tests must provide advance notice (the "Safe Harbor notice") to existing participants prior to the beginning of each plan year, or prior to the first day of eligibility with respect to new participants.

Timing

The timing requirement is satisfied if the notice is given at least 30 days, but not more than 90 days, before the beginning of each plan year. Thus, calendar year safe harbor plans must provide notice by December 1. In the case of newly eligible employees, the timing requirement is satisfied if the notice is provided no more than 90 days before the employee first becomes eligible.

Content

The Safe Harbor notice must be sufficiently accurate and comprehensive to inform the employee of their rights and obligation under the plan and must be written so that the average eligible employee will understand it. In addition, the notice must also provide contact information that allows employees to obtain additional information about the plan. At a minimum, the Safe Harbor notice must include the following:

1. The safe harbor matching or non-elective contribution formula used under the plan;

2. Any other contributions under the plan (including the potential for discretionary matching contributions) and the conditions under which such contributions are made;

 

 

3. The plan to which such safe harbor contributions will be made (if different than the plan containing the 401K);

4. The type and amount of compensation that may be deferred under the plan;

5. How to make cash or deferred elections, including any administrative requirements that apply to such elections;

6. The periods available under the plan for making cash or deferred elections; and

7. Withdrawal and vesting provisions applicable to contributions under the plan.

The Safe Harbor notice may cross-reference the relevant portions of the Summary Plan Description with respect to items 2, 3, 4, and 7 above.

Delivery

Plan sponsors may provide the Safe Harbor notice on a written paper document or electronically. If provided electronically, it must be in an electronic medium reasonably accessible to the employee, provided that such electronic medium meets the following conditions: (i) the system under which the electronic notice is provided is reasonably designed to provide the notice in a manner no less understandable to the employee than a written paper document; and (ii) under such system, at the time the notice is provided, the employee is advised that the employee may request and receive the notice on a written paper document at no charge, and, upon request, that the document is provided to the employee at no charge.

Safe Harbor 401K plans have gained popularity, and December 1 is another important date not to forget.

 

 

The information contained in this newsletter has been carefully compiled from sources believed to be reliable, but the accuracy of the information is not guaranteed. This newsletter is distributed with the understanding that the publisher is not engaging in any legal or accounting type of work such as practicing law or CPA services.

STIFEL, NICOLAUS & COMPANY, INCORPORATED

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