Retirement plan administration, compliance testing and Form 5500

Optimizing Foundations provides third-party administration for retirement plans: the annual compliance testing, participant calculations, government filings and plan documents that keep a plan qualified and its sponsor out of correction programs. For defined benefit and cash balance plans the administration is combined with the actuarial valuation, so the sponsor has one firm and one data request. For 401(k) and 403(b) plans the firm administers alongside the recordkeeper the sponsor already uses.

What is included

• Compliance testing. ADP and ACP, coverage under Section 410(b), nondiscrimination under 401(a)(4), minimum participation under 401(a)(26), top-heavy determination and minimums, the Section 415 and 402(g) limits, with corrective distributions calculated when a test fails.
• Form 5500. The annual return with schedules, Form 8955-SSA, Form 5558 extensions, Form 5330 where an excise tax applies, and the summary annual report or annual funding notice.
• Participant work. Benefit and vesting calculations, distribution packages, required minimum distributions, qualified domestic relations order review and statements.
• Plan documents. Pre-approved documents and amendments, summary plan descriptions, required notices and restatement cycles.
• Trust accounting. Reconciliation of trust statements to the valuation and to Schedule H, including plans with multiple custodians.
• Corrections. Corrections under the IRS and Department of Labor programs for prior-year failures, with the sponsor's counsel where a filing is required.

How the work runs

A compliance calendar is set for the plan's own year; the firm's resources page generates it for any plan year. Data arrives once a year through the client portal, with a mid-year check for plans with safe harbor or automatic enrollment features. Testing is completed early enough to correct failures before the deadlines that carry an excise tax.

Common questions

Can the firm administer a plan while a recordkeeper holds the assets? Yes. That is the usual arrangement for defined contribution plans. The recordkeeper processes transactions; the firm does the testing, filings and documents.

We have a compliance failure from a prior year. Can it be fixed? Usually, through the correction programs. The cost depends on the failure and how long it has gone uncorrected, which is a reason to review the plan now.

Every deliverable described here is reviewed by a second credentialed actuary before delivery. This page is general information about the firm's services and is not advice for any specific plan.