10 Reasons to Put Off Saving for Retirement

You hear it everywhere. “Plan to retire? Choose to save!” “Pay yourself first; write check #1 each

month to savings.” It’s in the media, your friends and family remind you that saving for retirement is

important and that nagging little voice keeps telling you to get busy, too. What’s a person to do? You

need a list of solid reasons to put off saving for retirement. Here it is!

1. There are so many important things I need that money for NOW. An extra dinner out this

 week with the family. That hot outfit I need to impress that certain someone. That fancy pair of

 sneakers that make the whiz bang noise with each step. A weekend trip to Bora Bora.

2. There’ll always be time to save later. I’m just not quite ready to start. Never do today what you

 can put off until tomorrow.

3. Maybe I won’t live long enough to retire. Life is so uncertain. Why should I miss out on the

 high life now when I might not even need to have money put aside for my old age?

4. I love a challenge. Like working into my 70’s or 80’s or 90’s because I don’t have the money not

 to. Like paying for food and housing and medical care on Social Security payments alone.

5. I don’t know how to begin. There are so many ways to go about saving for retirement that I need

 more time to think about it. After all there’s the retirement savings plan at work and IRAs and even

 investing in things like real estate. I just don’t know where to start.

6. All that talk about 401(k)’s and IRAs and the time value of money is very confusing. I like

 a simple life. Let’s focus on the here and now.

7. I don’t know how much I need for retirement. But I bet it’s a

 huge number. (Or “I know how much I need to retire and I

 don’t think I can do it. So I won’t do anything.”)

8. Planning for retirement is such a big undertaking. I don’t

 think I can save as much as I know I should, so I just won’t

 start saving at all.

9. I might get lucky. You never know. I may win the Lottery.

 Or I may be remembered in the will of a long lost relative. Or

 they might find that my house is right in the middle of a

 diamond field.

10. Taking care of me financially will provide wonderful

 character-building opportunities for my children. And so

 many chances for me to feel warm gratitude toward them.

(Editor’s note: If none of these reasons work for you, then take

care of yourself and check out our Lots of Benefits or Choosing a

Retirement Solution for Your Small Business publications or visit the Retirement Plans web page

at www.irs.gov/ep for more information on how to save for retirement.)

Volume 1, Fall 2004

Inside This Issue

The Fix Is In: Common Plan

Mistakes

page 2

How to Subscribe to

Retirement News for

Employers

page 3

Product Profile - Have You

Had Your Check-Up This

Year? for SIMPLE IRAs,

SEPs, and Similar

Retirement Plans

Publication

page 3

Unenrolled Preparers,

Form 2848 and the IRS

page 4

The 2005 Dollar

Limitations

page 5

DOL News

page 6

Disaster Area Relief

page 7

The Filing Cabinet

page 8

Net Gains

page 9

Calendar of Events

and Deadlines

page 10

Retirement News

for Employers

Helping Business Owners with Retirement Plans

Internal Revenue Service Tax Exempt and Government Entities
Fall 2004 Retirement News for Employers

The Fix Is In: Common Plan Mistakes

In each issue of the Retirement News for Employers we will present a common mistake that

happens in retirement plans. We’ll describe the problem, how it happened, how to fix it and

how to lessen the probability of the problem happening again. Our first column focuses on the

“Failure to Obtain Spousal Consent”.

The Issue

Many retirement plans are required to distribute benefits to participants in the form of a Qualified

Joint and Survivor Annuity (QJSA). A QJSA is an annuity that provides a life annuity to the

participant and a survivor annuity for the spouse’s life following the participant’s death. The

survivor annuity must be no greater than 100% and no less than 50% of the annuity paid during

the participant’s life.

A QJSA must be provided to all participants under a defined benefit plan, money purchase plan

or target benefit plan.

A profit sharing or stock bonus plan is not required to provide a QJSA if it satisfies these

requirements:

a) The death benefit of the plan is payable in full to the surviving spouse unless the spouse

has consented to another beneficiary;

b) A life annuity option cannot be elected in the plan or the participant does not elect into

the plan’s life annuity options; and

c) The benefit is not the result of a direct transfer from another plan which was required to

provide a QJSA.

In our Summer Edition cover story, we told you about the IRS program

that’s available for fixing plan mistakes. Beginning with this edition,

we’ll show common mistakes - how they happen, ways to fix them and

how to keep them from happening again.

If the QJSA rule applies to a participant, a QJSA is mandatory unless the participant elects a

different form of payment available under the plan. An election by a married participant to take

a different form of payment, even if it is only for a portion of the participant’s benefit, is not

effective unless the participant’s spouse also consents to the election. If the lump sum value of

the participant’s benefit is $5,000 or less, a lump sum can be paid instead of a QJSA without

obtaining the participant’s election or the spouse’s consent.

The Problem

A common plan mistake submitted for correction under the Voluntary Correction Program

(VCP) is the distribution to a participant of a benefit in a form other than the required QJSA

(e.g., a single lump sum) without securing proper consent from the spouse. This often happens

when the sponsor’s human resources accounting system incorrectly classifies a participant as not

married. The failure to provide proper spousal consent is an operational qualification mistake

that would cause the plan to lose its tax-qualified status.

2

Mistakes

happen. In

fact, the IRS

sees a lot of

the same

mistakes again

and again. In

“The Fix Is In”

we’ll help you

avoid some of

these common

problems.
Fall 2004 Retirement News for Employers

The Fix

Normally, the correction method under VCP for a failure to obtain spousal consent requires the

Plan Sponsor to notify the affected participant and spouse (to whom the participant was married

at the time of the distribution) so that the spouse can provide spousal consent to the distribution

actually made. If spousal consent to the prior distribution cannot be obtained because the

spouse refuses to consent, does not respond to the notice or because the spouse cannot be

located, the spouse is entitled to a benefit under the plan equal to the portion of the QJSA that

would have been payable to the spouse upon the death of the participant had a qualified joint

and survivor annuity been provided to the participant under the plan at his or her retirement.

Such spousal benefit must be provided if a claim is made by the spouse.

Making Sure It Doesn’t Happen Again

The QJSA rules are an important requirement that protects the interests of participant spouses.

Plan sponsors should determine whether these rules apply to their plans. If they do, ensure that

proper consents are secured before retirement benefits are paid out. 

Product Profile – Have You Had Your Check-up This

Year? for SIMPLE IRAs, SEPs, and Similar

Retirement Plans Publication

Does your business sponsor a SIMPLE IRA, SEP or SARSEP plan? Just as you

need to give your car periodic check-ups to ensure that you have a solid, well-oiled,

dependable machine when you need it, a retirement plan needs regular attention and

care to keep it operating well.

The IRS has a new publication to help you maintain your plan and participant benefits.

Have You Had Your Check-up This Year? for SIMPLE IRAs, SEPs,

and Similar Retirement Plans is a plain language publication that provides you

with basic information on:

• Tools – A checklist for a quick review highlighting some of the basic

operational questions for each of three IRA-based plans: SIMPLE IRA

Plan Checklist, SEP Checklist or SARSEP Checklist.

• Tips/Resources – Help keep the plan in good running order with other

available information.

• Help – The IRS has several correction programs that provide incentives for

finding and correcting mistakes earlier rather than later. After reviewing the

plan and completing the appropriate checklist, you may find an error in the

plan’s operation. You may want to correct the error using one of the IRS

correction programs.

Finally, the publication provides additional sources for more in-depth information if

you need it.

The publication, as well as additional information on SIMPLE IRAs, SEPs, and similar

retirement plans, can be found on the IRS website, www.irs.gov/ep. After

November 22, copies of the publication can be ordered by calling (800) 829-3676.

The number is toll-free.

How to Subscribe to

Retirement News for

Employers

The Retirement News for

Employers will be issued only

through IRS e-mail. For your

free subscription, please go

to the Retirement Plans web

page and subscribe on-line

by selecting “Retirement

Source for Plan Sponsors/

Employers” and then

“Retirement News for

Employers”. All editions of

the Retirement News for

Employers will be archived at

the Retirement Plans web

page.

For your convenience, we

have included Internet links

to referenced materials

throughout the electronic

version of Retirement News

for Employers. These links

are identified on the printed

version by the underlined

text. The electronic version

may be found at the

Retirement Plans web page.

3

Want more

information on

fixing mistakes?

Just go to

www.irs.gov/ep,

click on

“Retirement

Source for Plan

Sponsors/

Employers” and

select “How Do I

Fix a Plan

Mistake?”
Fall 2004 Retirement News for Employers

Unenrolled Preparers, Form 2848 and the IRS

Employers may use Form 2848, Power of Attorney and Declaration of Representative, to

authorize another person to represent the taxpayer before the IRS. This person must be eligible

to practice before the IRS but employers have occasionally submitted the form listing ineligible

representatives. In the past, the IRS has treated these invalid powers of attorney as tax

information authorizations, which permit third parties to receive information about the employer’s

account, but not to represent the employer before the IRS.

Beginning April 1, 2004, the IRS discontinued this practice and began rejecting Forms 2848

listing ineligible representatives. As a result of this change in practice, questions have been raised

regarding the role an unenrolled preparer may now play in submissions to Employee Plans (EP).

Preparation of Tax Returns and EP Examinations

The general rules regarding the practice of unenrolled preparers before the IRS are set forth in

Circular 230. Circular 230 provides that individuals who are not CPAs, attorneys, enrolled

actuaries, or enrolled agents, may practice as unenrolled preparers before the IRS to the extent

they prepared the tax returns at issue.

Does someone besides yourself handle your contact with the IRS when

it comes to your business’s retirement plan? If so, a change in IRS

practice may affect you, your plan and your plan advisor.

Publication 470, Limited Practice Without Enrollment, addresses the role of an

unenrolled preparer with respect to tax returns. It states that an unenrolled individual who signs

a return may act as an employer’s representative but this representation may only encompass

matters concerning the tax liability for the taxable year covered by the return.

EPCRS and the Determination Letter Program

The current guidance for submitting matters under the Determination Letter program states that

the request for a letter ruling or determination letter must be signed and dated by the taxpayer or

the taxpayer’s authorized representative.

The same rules apply to EPCRS, the EP retirement plan correction program. The EPCRS

guidance provides that the rules regarding the authority to sign an EPCRS submission and to

appear before the IRS in connection with a submission are the same as for requests for letter

rulings.

Limited Role for Unenrolled Preparers

So where does this leave employers with unenrolled preparers with respect to the EP

Determination Letter program and EPCRS?

4
Fall 2004 Retirement News for Employers

Although an unenrolled preparer does not have the authority to sign documents or

submissions on behalf of the plan sponsor, an unenrolled return preparer can still submit

items to the IRS or take a role in the Determination Letter or EPCRS processes. An

unenrolled preparer may use a Form 8821, Tax Information Authorization, which

when properly executed allows an unenrolled preparer to:

1. Provide and receive information regarding a plan to and from the IRS;

2. Receive copies of correspondence from the IRS and submit information requested by

 the IRS (such as participant data, asset information, etc.) as part of the review of an

 EPCRS submission or a Determination Letter application;

3. Discuss matters raised relative to a Determination Letter application or an EPCRS

 submission with EP personnel as long as any decisions regarding the application or the

 submission are made by the taxpayer, either in person or in writing;

4. Submit an application for an extension of time on Form 5558, Application for

 Extension of Time to File Certain Employee Plan Returns.

Current Use of Form 2848

As of April 1, 2004, Forms 2848 are no longer accepted

where the representative is an unenrolled return preparer.

Determination Letter applications or EPCRS submissions

submitted by an unenrolled preparer prior to that time will be

treated according to prior practice. For all applications

submitted after March 31, 2004, the new rules as outlined in

this article will apply.

As a result, unenrolled return preparers may not use Form

2848 to receive confidential information about their clients.

Unenrolled preparers should instead use Form 8821.

Future Solution?

The Advisory Committee on Tax Exempt and Government

Entities (ACT) and EP recognize the important role played

by benefits professionals who are not currently permitted to

represent employers in their dealings with EP, but upon

whom many employers depend for their expert advice

regarding plan establishment and administration.

Accordingly, the ACT is currently considering a

recommendation that would permit enrollment for limited

purposes to applicants who can demonstrate special

competence in EP matters. Comments may be emailed to

tege.act@irs.gov.

Additional information regarding this program will be

provided in future newsletters.

They’re Here: The 2005 Dollar

Limitations!

They’re here – they’re really, really here: next year’s list

of retirement plan dollar limits. Once again, we’ve

gathered all the dollar limit numbers you need to know

but didn’t know where to find and put them on the

Retirement Plans web page.

You’ll find dollar limits starting in 1989 and continuing

all the way through 2005. Or, if you just want to see

the 2005 numbers, click on 2005 COLA News

Release.

We’ve got all the limits that you’ve grown to know and

love. Besides such favorites as the deferral limit for

401(k) plans ($14,000) and the section 401(a)(17)

compensation limit ($210,000), some lesser known

figures are given as well. For example, the chart has the

compensation amount under section 408(k)(2)(C) for

SEPs ($450 in 2005 and unchanged from 2004) and

the amount for determining who is a “Key Employee” –

as defined in Internal Revenue Code section 416 –

increased in 2005 from $130,000 to $135,000.

So, if you want to see if your 2005 COLA is diet,

decaffeinated or regular, click on COLA Table or go

to the Retirement Plans web page, click on

“Published Guidance” and go to “Cost-of-Living

Adjustment Increases”.

Is your retirement

plan advisor

enrolled or

unenrolled? Does

it even matter?

Read our article to

find out.

5
Fall 2004 Retirement News for Employers

DOL News

The Department of Labor’s Employee Benefits Security Administration (DOL/EBSA)

continues to expand its efforts to assist employers and other plan officials in complying with the

law. In this issue, we highlight new guidance and relief to help retirement plan officials and

participants.

Missing Participant Guidance

On September 30, 2004, DOL/EBSA released Field Assistance Bulletin (FAB) 2004-02

providing guidance on the responsibilities of employee benefit plan fiduciaries in connection with

missing participants in terminated defined contribution plans governed by the Employee

Retirement Income Security Act (ERISA).

The guidance provides the steps fiduciaries must take to locate missing participants and

beneficiaries when defined contribution plans are terminated, including checking related plan

records and using the IRS or Social Security Administration letter-forwarding service. In cases

where participants cannot be located, or fail to elect a method of distribution, the FAB indicates

that plan fiduciaries can follow the new safe harbor regulation governing automatic rollovers for

guidance on distributing benefits. The FAB is available on DOL/EBSA’s web site.

Automatic Rollover Rules

On September 28, 2004, DOL/EBSA released a final regulation that

will provide retirement plan fiduciaries with guidance to help them

preserve workers’ retirement savings.

Certain distributions of retirement plan benefits must be automatically

rolled over into an individual retirement plan when a separated worker

fails to elect a distribution method. The final rule protects retirement

plan fiduciaries from liability under the Employee Income Retirement

Security Act (ERISA) by providing a safe harbor in connection with two

aspects of the automatic rollover process – the selection of an institution

to provide the individual retirement plan and the selection of investments

for such plans.

In order to obtain relief under the safe harbor, a plan fiduciary must

satisfy certain conditions. Among other things, the selected plan

provider must be qualified to offer individual retirement plans; investment

products must be designed to preserve principal; and the fees and

expenses for such plans may not exceed those charged by the selected

plan provider to its other individual retirement plan customers.

DOL/EBSA also adopted a class exemption from the prohibited

transaction rules of ERISA that permits certain plan sponsors to use

their own services and products in connection with rollovers from their

own retirement plan.

The final rule and class exemption were published in the Federal

Register and are available on DOL/EBSA’s web site.

6

Our colleagues at

the Department

of Labor want to

share their

information with

you. Look for

more DOL News

in future editions.

You can also

check out their

web site:

www.dol.gov/ebsa.

Contacting

Employee Plans

The Retirement News for Employers

welcomes your comments about

this edition and/or your suggestions

for future articles.

Send comments/suggestions to:

EP Customer Education & Outreach

SE:T:EP:CEO

1111 Constitution Avenue, N.W., PE-4C3

Washington, DC 20224

Fax: (202) 283-9525

e-mail:

RetirementPlanComments@irs.gov

For EP Taxpayer Assistance

For retirement plans technical

and procedural questions:

Please call (877) 829-5500 or

visit the EP Customer Account

Services section of the

Retirement Plans web page.

For questions relating to retirement

income, IRAs, Roth IRAs,

educational IRAs, medical savings

accounts and section 125

cafeteria plans:

Please call (800) 829-1040

For further Retirement

Plan Information

Please go to the Retirement Plans

web page.
Fall 2004 Retirement News for Employers

Streamlined Registration by Plan Investment Managers

On August 24, 2004, DOL/EBSA published in the Federal Register a final rule requiring stateregistered investment advisers who are seeking investment manager status under ERISA to

register electronically through the Investment Adviser Registration Depository (IARD).

The rule allows plan fiduciaries to consult a single source to find out whether an investment

adviser is registered while also streamlining the process through the elimination of paper filings.

Under ERISA, plan trustees are relieved of certain liabilities relating to management of plan

assets by a registered investment adviser, bank or insurance company that meet certain

requirements to be appointed an investment manager for an ERISA-covered plan.

The IARD is a centralized electronic filing system for investment advisers created by the

Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) and state securities regulators. A majority

of state-registered investment advisers who are investment managers of ERISAcovered plans already file registration forms electronically through the IARD.

The final rule will apply to investment adviser registration filings due on or after October

25, 2004. The final rule also contains a conforming amendment to an EBSA

Interpretive Bulletin on fiduciary responsibility, which deals with when registered

investment advisers are eligible to be ERISA investment managers.

The final regulation is available on DOL/EBSA’s web site.

Extended SEP and SIMPLE Contribution Deadline

for Disaster Areas

The IRS has announced special tax relief for taxpayers in several Presidentially

declared disaster areas. This tax relief affects a wide range of types of returns and

taxes, including Simplified Employee Pensions (SEPs) and Savings Incentive Match

Plans for Employees (SIMPLE IRA plans). If you are a taxpayer affected by the

disasters, you may be eligible for tax relief impacting your SEP or SIMPLE IRA plan. It

is important to determine whether you are an affected taxpayer before taking advantage

of the tax relief provisions. Once you determine that you are an affected taxpayer, then

you can identify the specific relief available to you.

The following questions and answers help identify some of the relief available to SEPs

and SIMPLE IRA plans:

Q: My business is located within a Presidentially declared disaster area and I sponsor a SEP or

a SIMPLE IRA plan. How does this affect my plan contributions?

A: Sponsors of affected SEPs or SIMPLE IRA plans may have an extension of the due date

for making SEP or SIMPLE IRA plan contributions.

Q: My business is physically located within one of the Presidentially declared disaster areas. Is

my business’s SEP or SIMPLE IRA plan affected by the President’s declaration?

A: Yes, your SEP or SIMPLE IRA plan is affected and may be entitled to special relief.

Q: If my business is not located in a Presidentially declared disaster area but the SEP or

SIMPLE IRA plan records are, is my SEP or SIMPLE IRA plan still affected?

A: Yes. 7

IRS employees

contributing to this edition

of the Retirement News

for Employers are:

Bob Brambilla

Stephanie Christenson

Evelyn DeWald

John Heil

Terri Holloway

Larry Isaacs

Teresita Laureano

Peter McConkey

Todd Newman

Mark O’Donnell

Nancy Payne

Donna Prestia

Keith Ruprecht

John Schmidt

Brenda Smith-Custer

Susan Taylor and

Rob Walsh
Fall 2004 Retirement News for Employers

Q: What extension relief period will apply to my SEP or SIMPLE IRA plan?

A: The IRS determines the extension period for each individual disaster area. This information

may be found at www.irs.gov and clicking on “Disaster Area Tax Relief”.

For example, if you have been affected by Hurricane Ivan (as defined in IR-2004-118) and

your original or extended due date for filing any returns related to your SEP or SIMPLE IRA

plan falls between September 13, 2004 and December 30, 2004, then the following tax relief

applies:

1. Returns related to your SEP or SIMPLE IRA plan (e.g., Form 1120, Form 1065, Form

1040, etc.) may be made through December 30, 2004.

2. SEP or SIMPLE IRA plan contributions that affect these returns may also be made

through December 30, 2004.

(Note that the date is December 30, 2004, not December 31, 2004.)

Or, if you have been affected by Tropical Depression Ivan (as defined in NJ-2004-49) and

your original or extended due date for filing any returns related to your SEP or SIMPLE IRA

plan falls between September 18, 2004 and December 1, 2004, then the following tax relief

applies:

1. Returns related to your SEP or SIMPLE IRA plan (e.g., Form 1120, Form 1065, Form

1040, etc.) may be made through December 1, 2004.

2. SEP or SIMPLE IRA plan contributions that affect these returns may also be made

through December 1, 2004.

For all of the most recent disaster area tax relief, visit www.irs.gov.

The Filing Cabinet

Forms – you can’t live with them, you can’t live without them. Just like you use forms when

running your business – everything from spreadsheets to receipts to invoices – you also use

forms when dealing with a retirement plan. And just as your business forms sometimes change,

retirement forms also sometimes change. Here in The Filing Cabinet, the stories will keep you

up to date on the stuff you need to know when you’re filing retirement forms.

2004 Form 5500 Now Available

With its September 28, 2004 Media Release, DOL/EBSA, along with the IRS and Pension

Benefit Guaranty Corporation announced the release of the 2004 Form 5500 and Form 5500-

EZ. This represents the earliest the forms, schedules and related schedules have been made

available and reflects the government’s continued commitment to improve the Form 5500 filing

process.

Informational copies of the forms, schedules and instructions are available for viewing on

EBSA’s web site www.efast.dol.gov (along with information about approved software

vendors) and the Retirement Plans web page by clicking on “EP Forms & Publications”

under the “Related Topics” section.

Paper copies of all the 2004 material are now available from the IRS by calling

(800) TAX-FORM.

Filers are also invited to contact the EFAST Help Line for general assistance by calling

(866) 463-3278. 8

In the aftermath

of the summer’s

severe weather,

the IRS issued a

series of disaster

area tax relief

measures. For

the latest news

on these

measures, check

out the main IRS

web site at

www.irs.gov.
Fall 2004 Retirement News for Employers

New Publications

In keeping with our promise to supply plain-language information on different types of retirement

plans, we’re happy to announce the release of two publications dealing with Salary Reduction

Simplified Employee Pensions (SARSEPs). Both of these new publications can be ordered by

calling (800) TAX-FORM.

• Publication 4336, SARSEP for Small Businesses

• Publication 4407, SARSEP - Key Issues and Assistance

In addition, we’ve created two additional publications that will be available in paper format by

November 22, 2004. The first, Publication 4405, Have You Had Your Check-Up This

Year? for SIMPLE IRAs, SEPs, and Similar Retirement Plans encouraging

employers and plan sponsors to take a retirement plan check-up.

The other, Publication 4406, 403(b) and 457 Retirement Plans (with Plan Feature

Comparison Chart), outlines the features of 403(b) and 457 plans with comparisons to

401(k) plans.

All four of these new publications and are available on the Retirement Plans web page by

clicking on “EP Forms & Publications” under the “Related Topics” section.

Net Gains

Welcome to Net Gains, the column devoted to providing you with the latest Retirement Plans

web page information.

For those of you new to the Retirement Plans web page, this portion of the IRS web site

contains almost everything you want to know about retirement plans but didn’t know where to

find it. Leading off this edition of Net Gains is the new:

EP Determination Letter Resource Guide

The IRS has posted the EP Determination Letter Resource Guide. This one-stop Resource

Guide walks customers through the EP Determination Letter process and helps answer

questions about the process. While it doesn’t cover everything, it will help you in your search

for information.

Highlights of the Resource Guide include:

• What is a Favorable Determination Letter?

• Do I need to file for a Determination Letter for my retirement plan?

• The Application Process: A review of the application process from receipt of the

determination letter request to the issuance of a determination letter.

• Additional Resources: Forms, publications and links to information useful during the

determination letter application process.

Its permanent home on the web can be accessed by clicking on “Retirement Source for Plan

Sponsors/Employers” and then “How Do I Establish a Plan”. There you’ll find the “EP

Determination Letter Resource Guide”.

9
Fall 2004 Retirement News for Employers

New IRA-Based Plans – and more – Pubs

Four new publications – three on IRA-based plans – have been developed and are now available on the

Retirement Plans web page by clicking on “EP Forms & Publications” under the “Related Topics”

section:

• Publication 4336, SARSEP for Small Businesses - an informational tool that provides guidance

on the operation of a Salary Reduction Simplified Employee Pension (SARSEP).

• Publication 4405, Have You Had Your Check-up This Year? for SIMPLE IRAs, SEPs,

and Similar Retirement Plans - an educational pamphlet that informs and encourages employers to

perform a periodic “check-up” of their IRA-based plan through the use of checklists. It also contains

information on how to initiate any necessary corrective actions.

• Publication 4406, 403(b) and 457 Retirement Plans (with Plan Feature Comparison

Chart)- an introductory brochure dealing with retirement plans for employees of various government and

tax-exempt entities. It compares the plan features of tax-sheltered annuities vs. deferred compensation

plans.

• Publication 4407, SARSEP - Key Issues and Assistance - an educational pamphlet that

highlights various key issues dealing with operating a SARSEP and lists different resources for more help. It

is also an introduction to the more comprehensive Publication 4336, SARSEPs for Small Businesses,

mentioned above.

Let’s Just Take It One Three-Month

Period at a Time

Operating a retirement plan can be a time-consuming job. There are deadlines, not just for

reports and forms but also for making contributions. There are conferences and seminars.

And then there is information you need to give to participants.

So to help you navigate the retirement plan timeline, here is our month-by-month look at some

of the important moments in the months to come. Please note that all of the filing dates below

are for calendar-year plans - adjust the dates for non-calendar year plans:

December 2: DOL Seminar: Getting It Right – Know Your Fiduciary

Responsibilities - Dallas, TX

December 31: Deadline for -

• Making required minimum distributions for 2004.

• Distributing prior year’s excess contributions - including

 income or losses - without losing plan’s tax-qualified status.

January 15, 2005: Fourth quarterly contribution due date for 2004

calendar-year defined benefit plans.

For a comprehensive list of upcoming EP Educational Events, visit

the Retirement Plans web page, select “Retirement Source for Plan

Sponsors/Employers” and then “Upcoming EP Educational

Events”.

= contribution

= conference

= file forms

Department of the Treasury Publication 4278 (11-2004)

Internal Revenue Service Catalog Number 37968B

www.irs.gov