401k loans, 401k prototype plans, 401 and 401k hardship withdrawals

Frequently-Asked Questions

What are the three main advantages 401(k) Easy has over other 401k plans?

EASE OF USE
401(k) Easy collects the same payroll information that an off-site, third-party vendor would request of you, but 401(k) Easy performs all the processing in-house, simplifying operations -- and drastically reducing turn-around times!

SAFETY
With 401(k) Easy you have direct, constant control and oversight over your employees' 401k contributions -- from the time the money is separated from their taxable payroll until it's safely and securely deposited with the custodian mutual fund or participant-directed brokerage company. The press has reported on the diversion of plan assets by unscrupulous employers and unscrupulous third-party "middle-man" administrators. 401(k) Easy helps protect employees' assets because all transactions occur directly between the employer and the investment company housing the plan's assets, circumventing the third-party "middleman."

As an additional safety measure, each plan participant receives a monthly individual account statement sent directly from the investment company housing his or her personal 401k savings. These individual, monthly account statements confirm and document every transaction, making it virtually impossible for malfiescence to go undetected.

AFFORDABILITY
Please take a look at some price comparisons!

What are the two main differences between 401(k) Easy and other 401k plans?

Cost is the primary difference -- It could well be the mitigating factor in whether or not your company can sponsor a 401k.

No competing plan is priced as economically as 401(k) Easy.
Virtually all other plans charge extra for 401k loans, hardship withdrawals, additional investments, etc.

Investment choice is another major source of variation:

401(k) Easy lets you offer individual, 401k participant-directed discount brokerage accounts to your employees.
401(k) Easy lets you pick investments from hundreds of today's most popular mutual fund families.
Most other plans offer far less selection; some limit you to no choice -- they preselect the investments, usually their own, -- and may charge significant fees for additional, non-proprietary investments.

What is a "401k prototype plan"? What does it mean that 401(k) Easy includes one?

The prototype plan is the master document describing and defining every aspect of a 401k prototype. The IRS analyzes this master and deems it "approved" or "disapproved." Once approved, the master can be used to create any number of 401k plans that fall within the approved specifications.

Included in the prototype plan are certain allowed plan options, such as choices in eligibility requirements, matching contribution formulas and investment selection.
All 401(k) Easy 401k plans operate within specifications defined in an IRS-approved prototype plan. All 401(k) Easy 401k plans, therefore, are pre-approved when established. Ongoing plan qualification depends on, among other things, your plan passing annual compliance tests. Keeping on top of discrimination testing is easy with the 401(k) Easy software's built-in tests. Plan testing only takes a moment, and running a test every month will help you catch any negative trends while they're still easy to correct. This is especially important for smaller plans, which tend to have the most difficult time with compliance issues.

We already have a 401k plan, but it's a headache and costs a fortune. Can we switch?

Yes. Our streamlined conversion process makes plan take-overs easy and efficient.

The typical 401k plan can be converted to a 401(k) Easy plan in a matter of days!
We set up everything for you, just as we would for a new plan.
You get all the "getting started" technical support that new plan customers receive.
The conversion process is FREE. You pay nothing beyond the one-time only plan customization fee and annual subscription fee for your 401(k) Easy system.

Call (800) 660-0050 for details, or send us an e-mail via sales@401keasy.com or our convenient contact us submission form.

Can we hire you to set up and run our 401k? What is the cost?

Our affiliate company, Pension Systems Corporation (PSC), provides flexible, affordable, full-service plans that have participation rates that are among the highest in the nation -- yet PSC's fees are among the lowest.

Participants appreciate the MONTHLY statements, and that multiple fund families can be offered simultaneously within a single plan (for instance you can have John Hancock Funds, and MFS Funds, and Oppenheimer Funds, and...)
Employers appreciate the flexibility in creating a 401k customized to their company's needs, and they like PSC's long, proven track record. and affordable prices!

For information about a Pension Systems Corporation 401k plan, please send an e-mail to sales@401keasy.com or call (800) 660-0050 (4-0-1-k).

We've never sponsored a 401k plan before. Will someone help us with the particulars?

In establishing your 401(k) Easy, we'll explain all the 401k basics to you, the plan customization options, and how each affects a plan's operation and popularity.

Once you choose the features you want for your company plan, we "hardwire" the choices into your
401(k) Easy software. Your customized 401(k) Easy software guides you through the administration, and the 401(k) Easy User's Guide outlines your responsibilities and how to use the
401(k) Easy system to fulfill them -- quickly, easily and accurately.

Every new first-year 401(k) Easy system comes with 3 hours of "getting started" technical support which you can use for getting your 401k up and running, enrolling participants and working through the first month's processing cycle.
Your plan's administrator also gets eight 15-minute blocks of subsequent technical support for use at any time during the year.
Support via e-mail is available 24 hours a day, seven days a week. Assistance via e-mail is always FREE, and we always get back to you within 24 hours of receiving your message.
If your plan administrator needs immediate, telephone technical support and has used up your year's supply, additional assistance is available for a fee of $30 per each 15 minutes.

Our technical support services field inquiries on technical, software-related questions as well as general 401k and related questions. We are not, however, pension law attorneys, accountants, actuaries or tax preparers, who are the only qualified people to answer certain questions. It is always advisable to consult with your tax and/or legal advisors in matters that concern your company's 401k plan.

What if we start with a run-it-yourself plan, then later decide we want an outside-serviced plan?

If, for any reason, you decide you no longer want to run your own 401k plan, we can quickly convert your 401(k) Easy into a 401k serviced by an outside company. It's a very affordable option when you have a company like Pension Systems Corporation ready to provide administration services.

So if your company grows by leaps and bounds and you decide you would rather pay someone else to do the work, we can help. (You're not locked into using Pension Systems Corporation, either -- although their services and prices are unbeatable. You can go to any 401k provider you like; we'll be there to help through the conversion.)

Can 401(k) Easy handle 401k matching contributions? Are they mandatory? Do we have control over matching contribution rates and vesting schedules?

401(k) Easy allows for the most popular 401k options permitted under current law, but does not mandate inclusion of any. Employer matching contributions are one of these options.

With 401(k) Easy you decide whether to offer (or exclude) employer matching contributions.
If you decide to include matching contributions, you define the matching contribution formula; choose almost any formula the Internal Revenue Code allows.
You determine the vesting schedules for matching contributions. (You don't have to worry about vesting for participant contributions because, unlike matching contributions, participant contributions are always 100% vested when made, as dictated by law.)

Does 401(k) Easy let us exclude part-time workers from receiving 401k matching contributions?

To exclude part-timers from receiving matching contributions simply exclude them from the plan, which is accomplished by setting appropriate length of service and other participation requirements for the plan.

If you want part-timers to be able to participate in the plan but not receive matching contributions, you're better off not offering matching contributions but instead offering some type of bonus to the groups of employees you seek to reward. 401k contributions are a percentage of pay, including bonuses, so paying bonuses will allow employees to contribute more to their 401k accounts themselves (in lieu of your making matching contributions for them). Please call us or consult your tax advisor for details and further options.

Can 401(k) Easy handle 401k loans? Are they mandatory? Do 401k loans increase the price of 401(k) Easy?

401(k) Easy allows for all the most popular 401k options permitted under current law, but does not mandate inclusion of any. 401k loans are one of these options. Your company sets the policy for its plan within the IRS guidelines.

There is no extra charge for including 401k loan capabilities in your 401(k) Easy system.

Your company can charge plan participants a "reasonable" (in the IRS' eyes) fee for processing 401k loans; $25 to $50 is most common.
VIEW 401(k) EASY PLAN OPTIONS

NOTE: Non-owner employees are always eligible for 401k loans if the business owner(s) authorize loans in the company's plan. Persons who are sole proprietors, or own 5% (or more) of a s-corporation, LLC, or partnership may not be eligible for 401k loans, but shareholders of c-corporations are eligible. We suggest consulting with a qualified advisor for guidance if you are a business owner and intend taking out a 401k loan.

Can 401(k) Easy handle 401k hardship withdrawals? Are they mandatory?

The Internal Revenue Code says hardship withdrawals must be an option available to participants of every 401k plan. Thus, they are mandatory.

Your company can charge its plan participants a "reasonable" (in the IRS' eyes) fee for processing hardship withdrawals; $25 to $50 is most common.
VIEW 401(k) EASY PLAN OPTIONS

What kind of investments are available with
401(k) Easy? Can we offer 401k participant-directed brokerage accounts?

401(k) Easy customers can choose mutual funds for the company plan from among hundreds of SEC-regulated load or no load mutual fund families. Each fund-family offers portfolios that provide a diversity of risk-return scenarios.

401(k) Easy lets you pick any one* of hundreds of these mutual fund families, load or no-load.
401(k) Easy lets you offer individual, participant-directed discount brokerage accounts (Schwab, Ciqna, Fidelity, etc.) that provide a tremendous selection of no-transaction fee mutual funds.
You can also choose to offer your company's publicly traded stock using our optional Company Stock Upgrade. Please contact us for details.

*We recommend using only one family of mutual fund investments for your do-it-yourself plan due to the administrative complexity involved in multiple investment family plans.

Do we repurchase 401(k) Easy every year? Doesn't that get expensive?

401(k) Easy is an annual program and must be re-purchased each year it is being used, like tax preparation software. Regulations that govern 401k plans are adjusted every year; and the 401(k) Easy software is updated with these changes, year-to-year .

The amount you'll pay each year for your 401(k) Easy do-it-yourself 401k system is so much less than what you'd pay any plan provider + administrator + investment provider each year that with
401(k) Easy you're way ahead in saving money -- year after year. (And don't worry about transferring data from one year to the next: 401(k) Easy does it for you automatically!)

Why do we pay for "eligible employees," not just those who participate in the plan?

Plan testing requirements set by lawmakers are written in terms of eligible employees, not just participating employees; your 401(k) Easy program, therefore, is customized to account for all eligible (not just participating) employees.

The government's goal in creating the 401k plan is to encourage people to save money for their retirement. Lawmakers want all types of employees to make use of the 401k -- especially those categories of wage earners who historically rely heavily on Social Security for their retirement income. Employers are permitted to restrict eligibility to participate in company 401ks somewhat, but government rules have been written to encourage participation among lower-paid and mid-level employees; those who historically rely more heavily on Social Security and other government assistance during retirement.

There are numerous ways to encourage widespread participation in your company 401k plan. Contact us: sales@401keasy.com or use this website's contact us submission form.

How does 401(k) Easy help us keep our 401k in synch with IRS regulations?

We've built several safeguards into the 401(k) Easy do-it-yourself 401k system to help you keep your 401k in line with ever-changing IRS regulations:

We program relevant IRS regulations about contribution limits and compliance testing, among other things, into your 401(k) Easy software. For instance, the software won't let you enter a contribution for a participant that will push the participant's year-to-date contribution total over the allowable maximum (and it tells you how much, if anything, the participant CAN contribute without exceeding the maximum).
401(k) Easy runs the all-important ADP (average deferral percentage), ACP (actual contribution percentage), multiple-use and top-heavy compliance tests that every
401k plan must pass at year's end. Although your plan only has to pass these tests at the end of the plan year, 401(k) Easy can run year-to-date tests as often as you like (we recommend monthly) so you can spot non-compliance trends -- long before mandatory year-end testing is done -- and running those tests is as easy as a mouse click! Consider 401(k) Easy as your in-house 401k compliance Early Warning Radar!
We made 401(k) Easy an annually purchased program so you'd never mistakenly process information using last year's regulations. The software will only accept data that pertains to the calendar year for which it was written.

Does 401(k) Easy help with IRS 401k compliance testing?

Yes -- and you can run year-to-date tests as often as you want to identify any trends toward non-compliance, so you can fix the problem before the final year-end tests.

401(k) Easy runs the all-important ADP (average deferral percentage), ACP (actual contribution percentage), multiple-use and top-heavy compliance tests that every
401k plan must pass at year's end. Although your plan only has to pass these tests at the end of every plan year, 401(k) Easy can run year-to-date tests as often as you like (we recommend monthly) so you can spot non-compliance trends -- long before mandatory year-end testing is done. Running practice compliance tests is as easy as a mouse click! Consider 401(k) Easy as your in-house 401k compliance Early Warning Radar!

Does 401(k) Easy help with 401k year-end tax reporting?

Included with your 401(k) Easy system is the 401k EZFedForms CD-ROM:

The EZFedForms CD-ROM contains annotated versions of relevant 401k-related federal reporting forms (Summary Annual Report, 5500 series, 1099-Rs, and more). The annotated forms tell you exactly what information goes where.
The EZFedForms CD-ROM also includes blank versions of each form for your to print, fill out and send to the IRS. With EZFedForms, even first-time filings are easy!
The 401(k) Easy generates most of the figures you need for these IRS filings. The remaining information necessary for completing the annual filings comes from the custodians holding 401k plan assets.

What other reports does 401(k) Easy create? How do these reports help us?

Because we're long-experienced in all aspects of 401k administration for plans of all sizes, we know plan administrators' needs and have created series of brief, easy-to-read reports that enable plan administrators to find the information they need -- fast -- so they can do their jobs -- fast.

Whether it's purchase orders that go to the mutual fund company or discount brokerage with the month's contributions, MONTHLY account statements for your employees, tallies of outstanding 401k loans or many of the numbers you need for your plan's IRS forms, the information is easy to find in 401(k) Easy's pre-formatted reports.
The 401(k) Easy User's Guide contains a quick-look-up chart summarizing the content of each report and typical uses for the information, so you can quickly pick the report your need.