Employee Plan News 2015

 
The job market is highly competitive in Northeast Florida and employers desire to hire and retain the most qualified employees. In today’s market place, not only is a competitive salary a minimum, employers must also offer a competitive fringe benefit package to recruit and retain the best. One of the more important fringe benefits is offering a qualified retirement plan that the employee can contribute. Qualified retirement plans also benefit the employer, since contributions made on behalf of the employee are tax deductible. 
Qualified retirement plans must comply with regulatory requirements issued by the IRS and the DOL and the regulatory requirements can be difficult to implement and maintain. An area that has challenged many plan sponsors is participant loans and hardship distributions, including who is responsible for maintaining the required information. Qualified retirement plans are subject to audit by the regulatory agencies and the IRS recently issued a letter which is set out below on their audit findings.
Smoak, Davis & Nixon LLP provides attestation services for qualified retirement plans, which includes audits of their employee benefit plans. We fully understand the importance for the need of the plan sponsor to understand their responsibilities for their plans, in order to ensure the plan continues to remain in compliance with regulatory requirements. If you have any question on the following IRS letter, please contact us by using the Contact Us section of our website.
IRS Employee Plans News Letter Issue No. 2015-4, April 1, 2015 www.irs.gov
It’s Up to Plan Sponsors to Track Loans, Hardship Distributions
Even if you use a third party administrator (TPA) to handle participant transactions, you’re still ultimately responsible for the proper administration of your retirement plan. Make sure you’re keeping up with the recordkeeping requirements.
Keep documentation for hardship distributions
The plan sponsor must obtain and keep  hardship distribution records. Failure to have these records available for examination is a qualification failure that should be corrected using the Employee Plans Compliance Resolution System (EPCRS).
The plan sponsor should retain these records in paper or electronic format:
1.  Documentation of the hardship request, review and approval;
2.   Financial information and documentation that substantiates the employee’s  immediate and heavy financial need;
3.  Documentation to support that the hardship distribution was properly made in accordance with the applicable plan provisions and the Internal Revenue Code; and
4.  Proof of the actual distribution made and related Forms 1099-R.
It’s not sufficient for plan participants to keep their own records of hardship distributions. Participants may leave employment or fail to keep copies of hardship documentation, making their records inaccessible in an IRS audit.
Also, electronic self-certification is not sufficient documentation of the nature of a participant’s hardship. IRS audits show that some TPAs allow participants to electronically self-certify that they satisfy the criteria to receive a hardship distribution. While self-certification is permitted to show that a distribution was the sole way to alleviate a hardship, self-certification is not allowed to show the nature of a hardship. (See Treasury Regulation Sections 1.401(k)-1(d)(3)(iv)(C) and (D)). You must request and retain additional documentation to show the nature of the hardship.
Keep documentation on plan loans
A plan sponsor should retain these records, in paper or electronic format, for each  plan loan granted to a participant:
1.  Evidence of the loan application, review and approval process;
2.  An executed plan loan note;
3.   If applicable, documentation verifying that the loan proceeds were used to purchase or construct a primary residence;
4.  Evidence of loan repayments; and
5.  Evidence of collection activities associated with loans in default and the related Forms 1099-R, if applicable.
If a participant requests a loan with a repayment period in excess of five years for the purpose of purchasing or constructing a primary residence, the plan sponsor must obtain documentation of the home purchase before the loan is approved. IRS audits have found that some plan administrators impermissibly allowed participants to self- certify their eligibility for these loans.