Retirement News for Employers - Fall 2011 - Mark Your Calendar
Operating a retirement plan can be a time-consuming job. To help you, we’ve listed some important dates in the upcoming months. Please note that these deadlines are for calendar-year plans (non-calendar-year plans must adjust the dates):
December 2:
- Give 2012 plan year notice to eligible employees for safe harbor 401(k) plans and plans containing an eligible automatic contribution arrangement.
- Give Qualified Default Investment Alternative notice to participants/beneficiaries in self-directed defined contribution plans whose contributions defaulted to the QDIA.
December 31:
- Distribute 2010 401(k) excess contributions (including income or losses for 2010) and excess aggregate contributions without jeopardizing the plan’s tax-qualified status.
- Revoke a single-employer defined benefit plan sponsor’s previous election to use a funding balance to offset minimum required contributions for the 2011 plan year, to the extent the election exceeded the full minimum required contribution for the year (only for plans with valuation dates on the first day of the plan year).
- Elect to reduce January 1, 2011, funding balances to avoid or lift benefit restrictions under IRC section 436 for a single-employer DB plan.
January 15: Make the 2011 fourth quarter contributions for DB plans.
January 17: File Form 8955-SSA for both the 2009 and 2010 plan years by the later of (1) January 17, 2012 or (2) the due date that generally applies for filing the Form 8955-SSA for 2010.
January 31:
- File Form 945, Annual Return of Withheld Federal Income Tax. If you made deposits timely in full payment of the taxes for 2011, you may file Form 945 by February 10, 2012.
- Trustees and custodians must issue Form 1099-R, Distributions From Pensions, Annuities, Retirement or Profit-Sharing Plans, IRAs, Insurance Contracts, etc., to recipients of 2011 retirement plan distributions.
- Amend for recent law changes and submit the plan for a determination letter, if desired, for an individually designed plan with an EIN ending in 1 or 6.
Visit the Retirement Plans Community Web page for a complete list of upcoming Employee Plans Educational Events/Conferences.
Page Last Reviewed or Updated: 13-Nov-2012
