What Compliance testing is required for a safe harbor plan?

What Compliance testing is required for a safe harbor plan?

Annual Non-Discrimination Testing (ADP/ACP) – The ADP and ACP tests compare the average rates of deferral and matching contributions of HCEs to non-HCEs. If your plan has opted for a safe harbor election in any given year, it automatically satisfies the ADP and ACP testing.

Do safe harbor plans require testing?

Safe harbor plans generally don’t require the following compliance tests: A test for pre-tax elective and/or Roth deferrals by highly compensated employees (HCEs) to a 401(k) plan exceeding the maximum amount permitted under nondiscrimination testing rules for a plan year.

What is the safe harbor test?

A safe harbor 401(k) plan ensures all eligible plan participants receive an employer contribution. In exchange for making the fixed employer contribution, employers get a “pass” on 401(k) non-discrimination testing (one of the checks the IRS puts on 401(k) plans to ensure they’re equitable to all employees).

Are safe harbor plans subject to ADP testing?

The ACP Test Safe Harbor To qualify as a safe harbor §401(k) plan, the ADP test safe harbor must always be satisfied and, thus, is exempt from the ADP test. Remember, the ADP test is not applicable to a §403(b) plan.

Do safe harbor plans require nondiscrimination testing?

A Safe Harbor plan is a special kind of 401(k) that automatically satisfies most nondiscrimination testing. It has certain built-in elements that are intended to help employees save by requiring companies to contribute to their employees’ 401(k) accounts.

What is 401k nondiscrimination testing?

In the most basic terms, nondiscrimination tests (NDTs) are annual tests required to ensure that 401(k) retirement plans benefit all the employees, (not just business owners or highly-paid employees). Failing to meet the IRS’s standards can mean fines, penalties, and bureaucratic headaches.

Do safe harbor plans require top heavy testing?

Yes. There’s no need to do top-heavy testing for a safe harbor 401(k) that receives only elective deferrals and safe harbor minimum contributions.

What is a nondiscrimination test?

Nondiscrimination tests on a cafeteria plan are a series of tests that are required by the Internal Revenue Service (IRS) to determine if a cafeteria plan that includes benefits like a health care flexible spending account (HCFSA), dependent care flexible spending account (DCFSA), pre-tax premiums under a cafeteria …

What is non discrimination testing?

Non-discrimination testing requires that employees of a certain status (highly compensated employees and key employees) stay within a specific contribution rate, as determined by the contribution rate of non-highly compensated employees.

What is nondiscrimination testing?

Nondiscrimination testing. Definition. Tests that are required to be completed by qualified plans and ERISA -403(b) accounts , to ensure that plan benefits/contributions do not discriminate in favor of officers, shareholders, employees whose principal duties consist in supervising the work of other employees, or highly compensated employees.

401k nondiscrimination testing is a process that 401ks have to go through every year. This process is designed to ensure that upper level executives in a company are not the only ones that are contributing to a company 401k plan.

What are the safe harbor 401k rules?

401(k) Safe Harbor Rules. 401(k) plans can be set up in a variety of ways. A Safe Harbor plan uses a structure that automatically satisfies the Internal Revenue Service’s requirements for nondiscrimination on elective deferrals and employer matching contributions.

author

Back to Top