Articles — Ascensus

Post-RMD Age Contributions and Qualified Charitable Distributions

Can IRA owners who are age 72 or older and still working offset their required minimum distributions by the amount of IRA contributions they make? Do IRA owners now have to be age 72 or older to take qualified charitable distributions?

Eligible Rollover Distributions

What is an eligible rollover distribution? What are the tax consequences if an eligible rollover distribution is rolled over? Are there any eligible rollover distributions that may be rolled over beyond the 60-day window?

Marital or Dependent Status May Affect HSA Contribution Limit, Qualified Medical Expenses

What is the maximum amount an unmarried couple with family HDHP coverage can contribute to their HSAs? Can a child listed as a dependent for HDHP coverage purposes but not claimed as a tax dependent still use HSA assets to pay medical expenses? How does divorce affect the HSA contribution limit?

HSA, expertAscensusJune 17, 2021Compliance & Operations, HSA, Contribution, Distribution, Eligibility, Q&A

Spousal Consent Requirements Differ Between Retirement Plans and IRAs

Does a married plan participant need to obtain spousal consent when requesting a qualified retirement plan distribution? Do IRAs have the same spousal consent requirements? Do spousal consent requirements apply to plan participants joined in civil unions that aren’t defined as marriage?

Coverdell ESAs Come with Different Roles

What are the different roles commonly seen on a Coverdell ESA application? When can the designated beneficiary of an ESA be changed? When can the responsible individual of an ESA be changed?

What to Know about the Summary Plan Description

What is a summary plan description? When must it be given and to whom? Can it be delivered electronically? What are the consequences of not providing one?

Recouping HSA Contributions

An employer generally cannot recoup contributions it made to an employee’s HSA. But there are certain circumstances in which the IRS does allow an employer to recoup, or recover, contributions.

HSA, expertAscensusApril 15, 2021Compliance & Operations, HSA, Contribution, Q&A

Using Safe Harbor Contributions to Pass ADP Testing

Making a retirement plan a safe harbor plan is another way for a plan to pass its ADP testing. What did the SECURE Act change to allow for this option? Are there requirements or restrictions to be aware of?

Employer Plan, expertAscensusApril 15, 2021Compliance & Operations, Retirement Plan, Contribution, Distribution, Q&A

Accepting and Reporting Coverdell ESA Contributions

Is your organization responsible for ensuring that family members do not contribute more than the annual contribution limit to a Coverdell ESA? Can you accept ESA contributions on the child’s 18th birthday? How are ESA contributions reported and what is the reporting deadline?

ESA, expertAscensusMarch 18, 2021Compliance & Operations, Coverdell ESA, Contribution, Reporting, Q&A

Qualified Plan Loan Offsets

What is a qualified plan loan offset? What is the qualified plan loan offset extended rollover period? How should we report a qualified plan loan offset?

Employer Plan, IRA, expertAscensusMarch 18, 2021Compliance & Operations, IRA, Retirement Plan, Loan, Reporting, Rollover

Not All Traditional IRA Contributions Are Deductible

How does your client determine whether Traditional IRA contributions are deductible? What options does your client have when Traditional IRA contributions are partially deductible? Are there special considerations for IRA owners age 70½ or older?

expert, IRAAscensusFebruary 18, 2021Compliance & Operations, IRA, Traditional IRA, Contribution, Deduction, Q&A

Prohibited Transactions Under ERISA

What is a prohibited transaction under ERISA? What penalties are imposed under ERISA involving prohibited transactions? Are there any exceptions to the prohibited transaction rules?

Abandoned IRAs and State Escheatment

When an IRA is forgotten or abandoned, it can prove problematic from an administrative perspective for IRA custodians, trustees, and issuers. What can these organizations do when this occurs? Can they legally “shed” these IRAs that are owned by unresponsive individuals?

IRA, expertAscensusJanuary 21, 2021Compliance & Operations, IRA, Distribution, Q&A, Reporting, Withholding

Prohibited Transactions Under the Internal Revenue Code

What is a prohibited transaction? Who is a disqualified person? What are the consequences of a prohibited transaction? How is a prohibited transaction corrected?

Your 2020 RMD Waiver Questions Answered

Can an IRA owner roll over a distributed 2020 RMD? Does an IRA beneficiary have to satisfy a year-of-death RMD for 2020? Does an IRA owner have to take an RMD for 2020—despite the waiver—before converting to a Roth IRA in 2020?

Understanding the Annual Additions Limit for Defined Contribution Plans

How much can be contributed each year to a plan participant’s account? What happens if a plan participant exceeds the annual additions limit? What can an employer do to help avoid exceeding the annual additions limit?

Correcting HSA Mistaken Distributions

Can HSA owners repay mistaken distributions from their HSAs? When HSA owners use their HSA assets for nonqualified expenses, are those considered mistaken distributions? What options do they have for correcting these?

HSA, expertAscensusNovember 19, 2020Compliance & Operations, HSA, Distribution, Q&A

More to Consider When Using the New Comparability Profit Sharing Formula

When designing an employer-sponsored retirement plan that uses the new comparability profit sharing contribution allocation formula, your employer clients may want to consider ways to make the formula work better.