The combination of 401(k) plans with Cash Balance or Defined Benefit (CB/DB) plans can be a great solution for some participants, but can also create administrative challenges. For example, Annual Administration must be performed for both Plan types, but asking a Plan Sponsor to complete Data Collection twice may be undesirable. This article discusses how to handle this situation.
Tier Availability: Business
Security Rights Required: Add/Edit Plan Cycles, Add/Edit Project, Maintenance
When it comes time to perform Annual Administration on Combo Plans, consider the following strategy:
- First, complete Annual Administration for the 401(k) Plan as normal. This includes Data Collection, along with any additional steps required to suit a firm's internal processes.
- Then, perform a separate Annual Administration Project for the CB/DB Plan with Web Collection disabled. Complete the Project per internal processes, referencing any questionnaire/census data from the 401(k) Project as required.
When performed as per the above, a relevant Plan Cycle record will only be created automatically for the 401(k) Plan. PensionPro does not automatically create this record when an Annual Administration Project is performed without Web Collection, and it will need to be added manually for the CB/DB Plan. This is done from the Plan tab > Plan Cycles view, or via the Plan Cycles Power Tool.
As long as the EIN, IRS Plan Number, and Plan Cycle date exist within PensionPro, any 5500 filing data available from the Department of Labor will be imported into the Plan Cycle records for both Plans.
For more details on Plan Cycles, refer to the following articles: