Trustee goes after pension plans

[stanpendula]

Surprise ... or not. I am giving the attorney everything he asks for. Plan Prospectus Summaries, Statements, everything. With 3 days before the deadline he comes back and tell me the trustee does not want the Plan Statement Summary (like 80 pages each), he wants "copies of the actual plan". Anybody know what these are. My guys from work don't! And in the paper trustee gave us it doesn't say anywhere about this? Maybe is something more ...

HELP

[IamOld]

Stanpendula, maybe the Trustee is looking for the FULL PLAN DOCUMENT for the 401k - if this is thru an employer, they HAVE to give it to you. It's a very think doc, usually around 100 pages plus/minus, and is NOT written in plain language like is the SUMMARY Plan Doc. The other thing you can do - and under ERISA you have a right to the Plan DOc AND ask for the IRS DETERMINATION LETTER for your 401k - this is a letter that Plan Sponsor gets from the IRS that says this is a "legit" pension plan...other than the above...I'm not sure else what else you can do - but the above two things ABSOLUTELY prove that this is a legit plan. Oh - you can ask your employer to provide you with a copy of the 5500 form (the 401k's tax filing) and that is also proof that it's legit. Also, you can sometimes get the 5500 filing yourself for free at www.freerisa.com

All my best wishes!!!!

Surprise ... or not. I am giving the attorney everything he asks for. Plan Prospectus Summaries, Statements, everything. With 3 days before the deadline he comes back and tell me the trustee does not want the Plan Statement Summary (like 80 pages each), he wants "copies of the actual plan". Anybody know what these are. My guys from work don't! And in the paper trustee gave us it doesn't say anywhere about this? Maybe is something more ...

HELP

[CoBelle]

Yes, the summary docs are usually enough but the Plan Sponser is required to give you a free copy and the Dept of Labor is supposed to have a copy on file too.
I think they are jerking you around but the easiest 'fix' is to ask your Plan Administrator to send you a copy of the IRS or ERISA letter which confirms that the plan is qualified...should be about 1 page and kept in the plan's records.

Good luck!

[stanpendula]

Thanks guys.
I found the 5500s on the Internet. 250 pages each -- Good reading material. Called 401k Plan Customer Service - clueless. But in 5500 there is a phone number for the Plan Admin. Will call tomorrow.