Fixing Common Plan Mistakes
Articles from the Retirement News for Employers that present common mistakes that happen in retirement plans, how to use the IRS’s correction programs to correct the mistake and how to reduce the probability of it happening again.
Introduction to EPCRS
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Another Way to Spell "Relief": E-P-C-R-S
A general sense of which direction you need to go and what you'll need to do in order to get your plan back into the fold of compliance using the Employee Plans Compliance Resolution System (EPCRS).
ADP/ACP
- Not Correcting ADP/ACP Mistakes Timely
How to fix a 401(k) plan's failure to timely satisfy ADP or ACP tests.
Amendments
- Failure to Timely Adopt Interim Amendments
How to fix a failure to timely adopt interim amendments.
- Help! I Missed the April 30 Deadline for Signing My Defined Contribution Plan
How to fix the failure to timely adopt an EGTRRA plan (for adopters of pre-approved defined contribution plans).
- Help! I Missed the April 30 Deadline for Signing My Defined Benefit Plan
How to fix the failure to timely adopt an EGTRRA plan (for adopters of pre-approved defined benefit plans).
Automatic enrollment
- Failure to Implement the Plan’s Automatic Enrollment Provisions
How to fix a failure to begin deferrals from an eligible employee’s compensation as required under an automatic enrollment provision.
Compensation
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Compensation Errors in Defined Contribution Plans
How to fix contributions based on incorrect compensation amounts.
Contributions/Elective Deferrals
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Failure to Implement Employee Deferral Elections
How to fix a failure to implement an employee's election to defer amounts to a 401(k) plan.
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Failure to Limit Contributions for a Participant
How to fix a failure to limit contributions for a participant.
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Exclusion of Employees from Making Elective Contributions or After-Tax Employee Contributions
How to fix a failure to allow eligible employees to make elective or after-tax employee contributions.
Distributions
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Failure to Timely Start Minimum Distributions
How to fix a failure to timely start minimum distributions.
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Hardship Distributions in a 401(k) Plan
How to fix hardship distributions from a 401(k) plan that do not satisfy the plan provisions.
Forfeitures
- Retaining Forfeitures in a Suspense Account
How to fix improper forfeiture suspense accounts.
Loans
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Participant Loans in 401(k) Plans
How to fix problems associated with participant loans in 401(k) plans.
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Plan Loan Failures and Deemed Distributions
How to fix the problems associated with plan loan failures and deemed distributions.
Safe Harbor 401(k) Plans
- Failure to Provide a Safe Harbor 401(k) Plan Notice
How to fix the problem of failure to provide a safe harbor 401(k) plan notice.
Self Correction
- Using a Plan Amendment for Correction in the Self-Correction Program
When can a plan amendment be used to correct a mistake in the operation of the plan under the Self-Correction Program?
SIMPLE IRA Plans
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SIMPLE IRA Sponsor with a Related Business
How to fix related business problems found with SIMPLE IRA-based plans.
- "Simple" Retirement Arrangements - SEPs, SARSEPs and SIMPLE IRA Plans
How to fix the common problems found with SIMPLE IRA-based plans.
Spousal consent
- Failure to Obtain Spousal Consent
How to fix a failure to obtain spousal consent when a distribution is made to a participant in the form other than the required Qualified Joint and Survivor Annuity.
Terminating Plans
- Using EPCRS to Terminate an Orphan Plan
How to use EPCRS to terminate an orphan plan.
Top-Heavy
- Top-Heavy Errors in Defined Contribution Plans
How to fix top-heavy errors in defined contribution plans.
Vesting
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Vesting Errors in Defined Contribution Plans
How to fix vesting errors in defined contribution plans.
Page Last Reviewed or Updated: 2013-03-08
