403(b) Plans
How These Plans Work
- Only non-profit organizations that are tax-exempt under Internal Revenue Code Section 501(c)(3) and public education employers can offer their employees a 403(b) plan
- Employees save for retirement with pretax contributions that are fully vested at all times
- Contributions are deposited either into annuity contracts issued by a licensed insurance company or mutual funds in a custodial account
- Organizations might provide matching contributions or other employer contributions to bolster employees’ savings
- Employees who are age 50 or over can make catch-up contributions
- Employees with 15 years of service or more might be able to make additional special
catch-up contributions if the plan allows it - Plans can allow employees to take a loan from their accounts
- Plans can permit employees to withdraw from their accounts to meet a financial hardship or provided that they have attained at least age 59-1/2
Things To Note
- Matching contributions or other employer contributions are subject to nondiscrimination tests
- Employees’ 403(b) contributions and catch-up contributions must not exceed IRS prescribed annual limits
- Combined contributions from employee and employer must not exceed the IRS prescribed annual limits
- Plans that offer a broad range of investments and have no employer contributions are generally exempt from ERISA’s annual return/report requirement
What We Can Do
- Evaluate your objectives and recommend possible plan designs
- Consult with you on regulatory changes and emerging trends
- Perform modeling to determine the costs of varying levels of employer contributions
- Perform annual coverage testing of the plan and nondiscrimination testing of employer contributions; identify corrective measures if tests fail
- Assist in vendor searches to find appropriate service providers for your plan
- Help with employee communications, including communication materials, employee meetings and workshops
- Prepare plan documents, plan amendments, and required communications to employees
- Provide administration for your plan – daily valuation or traditional recordkeeping, process loans and distributions, including preparation of required governmental information returns related to distributions from the plan
- Prepare the annual 5500 return/report required by the IRS, including any necessary interface with the plan’s independent auditors
- Assist you with any IRS or DOL audit of your plan