Multiple employer retirement plans have been with us since before ERISA. Their treatment is codified in IRC §413(c). However, surprisingly few administrators fully understand these plans.
They have grown more important with advent of Rev. Proc. 2002-21, which essentially requires that PEOs which desire to provide retirement benefits for their Worksite Employees must do so in a multiple employer plan format. (See Chapter 4.) While many of the examples used in this chapter will apply to PEOs, the principles apply to multiple employer plans regardless of their sponsors.
 | Q 18:1 What is a multiple employer plan? |
| Q 18:2 Who can be a sponsor in a multiple employer plan? |
| Q 18:3 How is employee status affected by a multiple employer plan? |
| Q 18:4 How does a multiple employer plan comply with the exclusive benefit rule? |
| Q 18:5 How is service counted in a multiple employer plan for participation and vesting? |
| Q 18:6 How is coverage testing run in a multiple employer plan? |
| Q 18:7 How is ADP and other nondiscrimination testing run in a multiple employer plan? |
| Q 18:8 How are the top heavy rules applied to a multiple employer plan? |
| Q 18:10 How are deduction limits determined for a multiple employer plan? |
| Q 18:9 How are the 415 limits applied to a multiple employer plan? |
| Q 18:11 How is compensation determined in a multiple employer plan? |
| Q 18:12 How is HCE status determined in a multiple employer plan? |
| Q 18:13 What are the filing requirements of a multiple employer plan? |
| Q 18:14 What happens if there is an operational failure affecting one portion of a multiple employer plan? |
| Q 18:15 What are the advantages of adopting a multiple employer plan? |
| Q 18:16 What are the disadvantages of adopting a multiple employer plan? |