Art of the Qualified Plan Audit

Posted by Maria T. Hurd, CPA Where have you worked, for how long, and how much have you contributed to the 403(b) plan? These are all the questions that make up the puzzle pieces necessary to compute each participant’s available 403(b) catch-up. Participants in a 403(b) plan can make an additional contribution once they have … Continued

In Summary Expanding Access to Retirement Plans for Employers: The SECURE Act permits unrelated employers to participate in Pooled Employer Plans (PEPs), easing previous restrictions on Multiple Employer Plans (MEPs). This change, coupled with the elimination of the “One Bad Apple” rule and the requirement for only one Form 5500 and plan audit, aims to … Continued

In Summary Hardship Withdrawal Access Expanded: The Bipartisan Budget Act of 2018 significantly expanded participant access to retirement funds in hardship situations. Key changes include eliminating the mandatory six-month suspension of deferrals after a hardship withdrawal and permitting plans to remove the requirement to maximize plan loans first. These rules became mandatory for plan years … Continued

Posted By: Maria Hurd, CPA Why Ask Why? Why should the rules that determine how and how much a person can save for retirement be different depending on whether the person works for a government entity, a nonprofit, or a for-profit employer? People are people, and their retirement needs are not different based on what … Continued

In Summary New Audit Standard Introduced: SAS 136, effective for plan years ending on or after December 15, 2021, replaces the limited-scope audit with the ERISA Section 103(a)(3)(C) audit. This change mandates the auditor to provide an opinion on all financial information except for the carved-out certified investment data, which differs significantly from the former … Continued

In Summary High Cost of Exclusion Correction: Correcting the improper exclusion of eligible employees from making salary deferrals under the IRS’s EPCRS involves substantial employer contributions. This includes a Qualified Nonelective Contribution (QNEC) and 100% of the missed matching contribution, potentially leading to a perceived windfall for the affected participants who received their full paychecks … Continued

Posted By: Maria Hurd, CPA There is Always Room for Improvement: Proposed Revisions to Form 5500 On September 14, 2021, the U.S. Department of Labor (DOL), the Internal Revenue Service (IRS), and the Pension Benefit Guaranty Corporation (PBGC) (together “Agencies”) jointly announced a tri-agency notice of proposed forms revisions to the Form 5500 Annual Return/Report … Continued

Posted By: Saaib T. Uppal, CPA, QKA IRS Announces Increases on Benefits and Contributions Dollar Limitations for 2022 The IRS has announced cost-of-living adjustments that should be noted for retirement planning purposes.   Below is a chart that outlines employee benefit plan limits for 2022   Plan Limits   RETIREMENT & SOCIAL SECURITY 2022 Limit … Continued

In Summary Requirement for the Independent Audit: The Employee Retirement Income Security Act (ERISA) mandates that large retirement plans, generally those with 100 or more participants at the beginning of the plan year, must have their financial statements audited. These audited statements are required to be attached to the Schedule H of the annual Form … Continued

Is your auditor a Jack of all trades, but a master of none?