EMPLOYERS
REQUEST
WEBSITE
ACCESS
If you’ve forgotten your User ID or password, please contact us. Use the…
REQUEST WEBSITE ACCESS
If you’ve forgotten your User ID or password, please contact us. Use the Transaction & Information Access Authorization form to add or edit user access to the website or use the Website Access Authorization Form to add or edit access to the sponsor portal by individuals outside of your organization.
FORMS
Simply log in to your account to access all the forms you need to properly manage your program, including:
FORMS
Simply log in to your account to access all the forms you need to properly manage your program, including:
–Annual Information Report
–Census Instructions & Files
–Add Authorized User Access to Website
–Plan Design Change Request
–Company Change Notice
PLANNING TOOLS
We’re creating retirement planning tools…
PLANNING TOOLS
We’re creating retirement planning tools. Our interactive calculators let you experiment with different scenarios, and our printable resources teach retirement and savings concepts. Spanish language tools are also available.
PARTNER
WEBSITES
Our unbundled, open architecture format allows us to work with the companies you choose…
PARTNER WEBSITES
Our unbundled, open-architecture format allows us to work with the companies you choose, so you get the best possible combination of services.
Unbundled Service Providers
Charles Schwab
TD Ameritrade
Wilmington Trust
Semi-Bundled Service Providers
American Funds Plan Premier
American Funds Recordkeeper Direct
Hartford
ING
John Hancock
NextStep
Principal
GOVERNMENT &
FOUNDATION LINKS
The following sites may be helpful during the operation of your plan.
GOVERNMENT & FOUNDATION LINKS
INTERNAL REVENUE SERVICE
Get the latest edition of Employee Plan News, guidance, forms and publications. Plus, get tax information related to retirement plans. On the homepage, click Retirement Plans.
EFAST2
Submit your required 5500/5500-EZ form here.
FIRSTGOV
This site will help you do business with the government online, on the phone, by mail or in person.
PENSION BENEFIT GUARANTY CORPORATION
Here you’ll find participant services, including application and update forms, and administration help, including forms, interest rates and premium payment information.
SOCIAL SECURITY ADMINISTRATION
Sign up for eNews, learn how to qualify and apply for social security and calculate your benefits.
CHOOSE TO SAVE
This site has many tools, including the ballpark estimate tool that calculates how much you need to save for retirement, the financial plan calculator and the retirement personality profiler. You’ll also find savings and retirement tools for young adults as well as helpful brochures.
EMPLOYEE BENEFIT RESEARCH INSTITUTE
This site has an e-book about benefit fundamentals written in conversational language. You can also explore related news and links to other research and educational programs.
INTERNATIONAL FOUNDATION OF EMPLOYEE BENEFIT PLANS
Use their online library, INFOSOURCE database, applicable articles and glossary of terms.
CENSUS
FILE
REQUIREMENTS
Each year, we’ll need certain information to properly monitor your plan…
CENSUS FILE REQUIREMENTS
Each year, we’ll need certain information to properly monitor your plan. Find out exactly what information is required (and in what format) in this document. Read this year’s Census File Requirements here!
ADMINISTRATION &
COMPLIANCE REFERENCE
GUIDE
This reference guide outlines the annual tasks that are required in order to maintain your plan’s “qualified” status.
ADMINISTRATION & COMPLIANCE REFERENCE GUIDE
This reference guide outlines the annual tasks that are required in order to maintain your plan’s “qualified” status. We’ve also indicated who is responsible for performing each function. Find our Administration & Compliance Reference Guide here!
MEETING YOUR FIDUCIARY RESPONSIBILITIES
As an employer, the Department of Labor has strict rules that govern what you must do as a fiduciary…
MEETING YOUR FIDUCIARY RESPONSIBILITIES
As an employer, the Department of Labor has strict rules that govern what you must do as a fiduciary. View the most recent fiduciary rules here!
SUBMITTING FEDERAL TAX WITHHOLDINGS
We’ve created handy step-by-step instructions that will walk you through how to submit your federal tax withholding…
SUBMITTING FEDERAL TAX WITHHOLDINGS
We’ve created handy step-by-step instructions that will walk you through how to submit your federal tax withholding. Check it out here.
ACCESSING
DOCUMENTS
AND FORMS
Accessing important plan documents and forms has never been easier. View, download and print right from our website….
ACCESSING DOCUMENTS AND FORMS
Accessing important plan documents and forms has never been easier. View, download and print right from our website. Simply follow our guide.
2024 PLAN LIMITS
The federal government has updated the dollar limits applicable to qualified retirement plans…
2024 PLAN LIMITS
The federal government has updated the dollar limits applicable to qualified retirement plans. Download our 2024 Plan Limits flyer to compare the dollar limits for 2023 and 2024.
TAX RETURN DATES HAVE CHANGED
The IRS has changed the due date for some business tax returns. While no changes were made to the deadline…
TAX RETURN DUE DATES HAVE CHANGED
The IRS has changed the due date for some business tax returns. While no changes were made to the deadline for the Form 5500, you may find the information helpful. In addition, annual employer contributions are due at the same time as the business return. Download details here.
iJOIN FOR EMPLOYERS
Learn how to integrate iJoin
iJOIN FOR EMPLOYERS
Need help understanding the iJoin platform?
See the extensive and detailed iJoin videos
BASIC PLAN DESIGN
What’s a 401(k) plan?
What’s a 403(b) plan?
What’s a 457 plan?
What’s a profit sharing plan?
What’s a new comparability plan?
What’s a money purchase plan?
What’s an employee stock ownership plan (ESOP)?
What’s a defined benefit plan?
What’s a DB(k) plan?
What’s a cash balance plan?
What’s a section 125 cafeteria plan?
What’s a vesting schedule?
What’s a qualified plan?
What’s an unbundled plan?
Can our 401(k) plan be designed so that owners who are covered by the plan receive large tax deductible plan allocation, while keeping staff funding costs at relatively low levels?
MANAGING EMPLOYEE
ISSUES
If my employees need help selecting their investments, who should they contact?
What’s automatic enrollment?
How can employees contribute to their plans?
What are catch-up and Roth contributions?
What happens if I can’t find a former employee who has a balance?
Can we charge the fee for a distribution directly to the participant?
What do we do if a participant dies and the beneficiary is a minor?
What do we do if a participant dies and there is no beneficiary form on file?
What are acceptable reasons for a hardship withdrawal according to the IRS?
PLAN OPERATIONS &
REPORTING
Our ownership/business structure is changing. Do I need to notify you of the changes?
Who is the plan administrator?
What are the plan limits for the year?
How long do I have to deposit the employee and employer contributions?
How do I know which employees are participants in the plan?
Can I deliver my required notices electronically?
How do I order new enrollment materials?
Do I need to report sick/vacation hours and compensation?
What are the responsibilities of a plan fiduciary?
We rehired an employee. Is he/she eligible?
When is my census information due to my consultant?
What information did we give you last year?
What should I do with the beneficiary forms?
What is revenue sharing? How does it offset my fees?
How do I file my Form 5500 electronically?
USING OUR WEBSITE
Employees choose to contribute a certain dollar amount (or percentage) to their retirement account. These contributions are made directly from pay before federal and state income taxes are imposed. These contributions earn a pre-tax investment income, and a discretionary matching or profit sharing employer contributions may be made. Forfeitures from terminated employees can be added to the employee accounts or can be used by the employer to help defray the administration costs. A 401(k) plan has a high degree of flexibility in its design and can also include hardship withdrawals and participant loans, among other options.
- The plan is nonqualified and not subject to the same federal legislation as qualified plans
- Not all employees need to be included in the plan, and independent contractors may be included
- Employee contribution limits are not combined with other plan contributions, allowing employees to contribute the maximum amount per year to BOTH a qualified plan and a 457 plan, doubling traditional contribution limits
- There is no 10% early withdrawal penalty for employees who retire from service before reaching age 59 1/2
Profit sharing contributions may be allocated to each participant in proportion to pay, integrated with the Social Security Wage Base, or weighted on age and/or service with the employer.
Plan administration is simplified: all plan assets are held in one trust; there is one plan document, one Summary Plan Description, one Form 5500 and one audit (if required at all); the plan is also not subject to nondiscrimination testing.
Key elements of this plan include:
-A 1% of final average pay for each year of service, up to 20 years
-An automatic enrollment feature with a 4% of pay employee contribution (unless the employee opts out)
-An employer match of at least 50% of employee deferrals, up to a maximum of 2% of pay
-This plan type is only available for employers with no more than 500 employees
In return, cash balance plans offer owners and partners significant tax reductions. Contributions to a cash balance plan can have the same financial impact as a deduction that reduces ordinary income dollar for dollar. Many businesses can benefit from a cash balance plan, and we recommend you speak with one of our plan design specialists to see if this plan type is right for you, especially if you:
- Are a partner or owner who wishes to contribute more than $45,000/year to retirement
- Are a partner or owner wanting to “catch up” or accelerate your retirement savings
- You already make 3% employee contributions
A vesting schedule can only apply to employer contributions and will never apply to safe harbor contributions.
There are several key advantages in utilizing an unbundled administrator, including:
- More flexibility. The sponsoring employer and participating employees may choose among any and all prudent investments when an unbundled approach is selected. Plan provisions may be individually designed to meet specific client objectives.
- Greater expertise and familiarity with IRS and DOL rules. Randall & Hurley is the only firm in the Inland Northwest to employ an ERISA attorney and several actuaries in-house.
- Lower, ascertainable costs. Unbundled third party administrative fees are determined separately from asset-based charges. Our fees are easy to understand and future charges may be projected with a high degree of certainty. This is different from “bundled” charges, where as plan assets grow, plan charges similarly increase and materially lower participant investment returns and fund accumulations over time.
- No conflicts of interest. Unbundled third party administrators remain independent of products and services (e.g., investments, insurance, internal audits) that may not be in the best interest to the client.
The IRS allows automatic enrollment if employees are sufficiently notified. Automatic enrollment can apply to current and future participants. This notice must include certain elements, be distributed annually and is best prepared by a TPA, like Randall & Hurley.
Automatic enrollment can increase participation levels and help employees save for retirement.
Pre-Tax Contributions. Pre-tax contributions are made before income taxes are deducted. Participants defer the payment of taxes until retirement (or until the account is withdrawn). Amounts are deposited within 5 business days and accumulate interest over time. The contribution limit changes each year and is updated in our What’s New content area.
Catch Up Contributions. If a participant will be age 50 or older, he/she may make an additional pre-tax contribution, called a catch up contribution. (This provision became effective January 1, 2002 by way of the Economic Growth and Tax Relief Reconciliation Act of 2001, or EGTRRA). The catch up limit changes each year and is updated in our What’s New content area.
After-Tax Contributions. Many plans allow employees to contribute to their plan accounts on an after-tax basis. These contributions have already been subject to federal income tax, and accrued earnings and are treated as part of your plan balance. When withdrawn, income taxes are not deducted from the amount (since the taxes were paid before the money entered the plan). After tax contributions are also called voluntary contributions.
Roth Contributions. Roth contributions allow participants to contribute money to the plan after it has been taxed, where contributions and earnings grow tax free. No taxes will be due at retirement, provided certain requirements are met: The distribution must be made after the 5 year period that starts with the first year a Roth contribution was made AND the participant is: (1) aged 59½ or older, (2) disabled, or (3) deceased.
If the assets are required to be distributed, as is the case in a plan termination, distributions can still be made without the participant’s consent, even when his or her vested balance is over $5,000, so long as the plan doesn’t offer an annuity option as a form of payout, the plan is not a money purchase or target benefit plan, there is no other employer plan, and there is no other plan among any employer of a controlled group to which the employer belongs.
If every effort has been made to locate the participant and the above criteria are met, the plan sponsor has the ability to distribute the participant’s account. In this case, every effort should be made to protect the participant’s benefit. This might mean withholding 100% of the distributable amount as federal income taxes, establishing an IRA in the participant’s name at a reputable financial institution, or forwarding the benefit amount to your state’s Unclaimed Property Department.
- The participant’s surviving spouse
- The participant’s children, including adopted children, per stirpes
- The participant’s surviving parents, in equal share
- The participant’s estate
Here are the six permitted events, along with our suggestions of appropriate supporting documentation for each item:
- Medical Expenses for Participant or Dependent. The participant should provide a copy of bill, along with an insurance company benefit statement denying coverage for at least the amount being requested. If the expense has not yet been incurred, you could require a signed letter from a doctor or other health care provider verifying the need for treatment and the approximate cost.
- Purchase of Principal Residence. The participant should provide a copy of the signed purchase agreement.
- Twelve Months Tuition and Related Costs. The participant should provide a bill or letter from the educational institution, verifying enrollment of the participant or his/her dependent and the estimated costs of tuition, room, board and related expenses.
- Payments to Prevent Eviction or Foreclosure. The participant should provide a copy of the formal legal document giving notice of the eviction or foreclosure. This notice typically states when the overdue rent or mortgage payment is in order to prevent eviction or foreclosure.
- Burial or Funeral Expenses. The participant should provide copies of the death certificate and the bill from the funeral home showing costs of the burial or funeral.
- Repair to Employee’s Principal Residence That Qualifies as a Casualty Deduction. The participant should provide evidence of the casualty (a description or photograph), a copy of the repair bill, and proof that insurance proceeds did not cover the amount of the casualty expense claimed as a hardship.
It is especially important to involve us when there is a merger or acquisition involving your business. We will need to work with you and your counsel to discuss options for your existing retirement plan. You may notify us of these changes by contacting your plan consultant.
- have the ability to access documents furnished in electronic format at any location where the employee is reasonably expected to perform his/her duties, and
- are expected to have access to the employer’s electronic information system as an integral part of those duties.
Beneficiaries and other plan participants can consent to receive disclosures electronically, but the plan administrator must obtain written consent prior to electronically delivering ERISA disclosures to beneficiaries and other plan participants who do not have work-related access to a computer. The consent may be received in either electronic or paper form.
- each hour an employee is compensated or entitled to compensation by the employer for the performance of duties during the plan year
- each hour for which an employee is compensated for reasons other than performance of duties (called non-performance hours), such as vacation, holidays, sickness, incapacity (including disability), jury duty, lay-off, military duty or leave of absence
When reporting compensation you should review your plan document. Most plan documents, but not all, define compensation as W-2 compensation with the following adjustments: (1) add back in any salary deferrals (401(k), 125, 132(f), 403(b), SEP, 414(h) pickup and 457); and (2) exclude reimbursements or other expense allowances, fringe benefits, moving expenses, deferred compensation and welfare benefits. If you have employees who became eligible in the current plan year and your plan document excludes compensation prior to becoming eligible to participate in the plan, your plan consultant may ask you for partial year compensation for these participants.
The brochure is a good overview of the responsibilities of plan fiduciaries, including their duties to:
- Prudently select and monitor service providers
- Carefully evaluate the fees being charged to ensure that they are reasonable relative to the particular services and investments
- Inform participants of various aspects of the plan; for example, via the Summary Plan Description (SPD)
While the brochure is too basic for an experienced fiduciary, it provides a good starting point for new plan sponsors or retirement committee members to learn about the responsibilities of their job. In fact, in the brochure the Department of Labor notes that, “An employer… when using [a] committee, should educate committee members on their roles and responsibilities.” If your company does not have such a program in place, it should develop a fiduciary education program for its committee.
If you would like additional assistance or clarification regarding your role as a fiduciary, ask your plan consultant for assistance or contact a member of our Legal Department.
That being said, your retirement plan’s IRS Form 5500 is due on the last day of the seventh month following the end of the plan year, and that deadline can be extended for an additional two and one-half months. For plans ending on 12/31, this means your signed forms are due to the IRS no later than October 15th. In order for us to accurately complete your plan administration and prepare your return in a timely manner, your completed census information must be returned to your plan consultant no later than 9 months following the plan’s year end. For plan years ending on 12/31, your deadline is September 30th.
Investment platforms also structure their fees based on the services they may need to provide. When a TPA firm (like Randall & Hurley) performs those recordkeeping functions, they are reimbursed for those services. This is called sub-transfer agency fees (sub-TA fees).
If Randall & Hurley receives revenue sharing or sub-transfer agency fees on behalf of your plan, we credit your account dollar-for-dollar (after an annual monitoring fee). These amounts are applied to your account as credits and offset our fees. In some cases, this can account to significant fee reductions for our services.
The understanding and disclosure of fees is an important topic for plan fiduciaries. Please contact us for more information.
The Department of Labor now requires that all Form 5500s be filed electronically. You have two options available:
File the Form Electronically. You will need to obtain signing credentials in order to electronically sign the Form 5500 or Form 5500-SF by registering on the EFAST2 website. Once your Form 5500 has been prepared, you will receive an electronic notification from our system. Then, you will log in to your plan account, electronically sign the form with your credentials and electronically submit the Form 5500 to the IRS.
Authorize Randall & Hurley to Submit the Form. In order to use this option, we must have specific, written authorization from the plan sponsor that authorizes us to submit the Form 5500. (Log in to your account to access the Form 5500 Authorization.) You must also manually sign a paper copy of the completed Form 5500 or 5500-SF and return those pages to our offices, as we must include a PDF of those pages with the submission. (If you choose this option, be aware that your signatures will be available to view on the DOL website.)
All Form 5500 filings will be posted on the Department of Labor’s website within 90 days of receipt in order to satisfy the Pension Protection Act requirements.
When submitting a file using our Submit Data link, you must be sure to continue moving through the steps until you select the option “Submit for final processing” and click the “Complete Payroll” button. After this step, you will receive a confirmation number. If you have not received a confirmation number, you have not completely submitted your payroll file. Since our system checks your file for format and data errors, if you have received a confirmation number, your file has uploaded correctly.
When submitting a file using the File Upload link, a new window will appear with the name of the file and the confirmation, “File uploaded to server.” Your submitted file will be reviewed by our offices as soon as possible.
Both of these features are available after you login to your account.
In addition, by uploading your file to our website, you ensure that your file is formatted properly and correctly corresponds to your plan’s existing data. This will help us administer your plan in a timely manner and prevents delays in processing.
Once you log in to your plan’s account, you will find links to your plan-related forms. Participants in the plan will also find forms they may need if they login to their account. By using the web, we can be sure that the forms available to you are appropriate for your plan’s provisions and policies. In many cases, these plans are partially completed, saving you time as well.
A summary plan description is distributed to potential plan participants, written in plain language, and summarizes the key components of the plan document, including advantages and disadvantages of the plan’s specific provisions.
You may also want to review what happens when plan documents differ from the SPD.
The provisions in the Summary Plan Description (SPD) should always match those found in the plan document. Each time a plan is restated or otherwise modified, updated Summary Plan Descriptions should be distributed to employees.
However, if you find that the two documents differ, you should immediately contact us to obtain an updated SPD. In the meantime, if you find that your SPD does differ, courts have consistently ruled that since the SPD is “the statutorily established means of informing participants of the terms of the plan and its benefits,” and the “employee’s primary source of information regarding employment benefits,” the SPD would take precedence over the plan document (Pierce v. Security Trust Life Insurance Co., 979 F2d 23 (4th Cir. 1992)).