2022: Quarter 1 Newsletter
Have you completed your "Lookback" test?
If your 403(b) plan excludes employees who work 20 hours or less per week, or 1,000 hours or less per year, you must complete two tests to ensure employees are not being excluded in error. The first test should have been completed on the employee's hire date. The second test is the "Lookback" test, which needs to be completed each subsequent 12-month period of every plan year.
Improper exclusion of employees who are eligible to participate can put your Plan at risk of not being compliant. If you have immediate questions or concerns, please contact us as soon as possible.
Did you know?
Common remittance is an additional service we offer that allows you to remit all Plan contributions in a single payment. Interested? Call us at 866-560-6415 to find out more!
Help us, help you!
As your Plan Recordkeeper, transaction processing is the majority of what we do. This involves processing distributions, loans, hardships, transfers, and Salary Reduction Agreements. AFPlanServ provides this service not only to relieve the burden from you, but to also help your Plan stay in compliance with the IRS guidelines, which enables us to maintain a record of transaction approvals in the event of an IRS audit.
We want to emphasize that AFPlanServ, not your school district, must sign all transaction requests. Please forward the requests to our mailing address or fax them to our office. You can find our address and fax number in the "AFPlanServ Contact Information" section below.
Do I need a Salary Reduction Agreement?
Yes. A Salary Reduction Agreement authorizes you, the Employer, to withhold a specific amount of compensation from an employee's paycheck on a pre-tax or after-tax basis and send the contribution to the Provider they have indicated. This form is required for all employees who make contributions to their 403(b) and/or 457(b).
We are here to help! To help keep your Plan compliant, we monitor yearly contributions for each participating employee, however, we cannot do this without your assistance and without a properly completed salary reduction agreement. This also helps ensure that contributions are only sent to your approved Providers.
If you have not sent us a Salary Reduction Agreement, please mail or fax it to us.
Frequently Asked Questions
Q: Do transaction requests need approval for retired participants?
A: Yes. Any account established under the Plan requires approval.
Q: Is there an additional fee for our common remitter service?
A: No. Common remitter is a free tool that AFPlanServ uses to maintain compliance regarding your plan.
Plan Reminders
Each year, AFPlanServ provides a Sample Eligibility Notice to help satisfy the Universal Availability requirements.
You may use it as a template for your custom notification or distribute the sample in its entirety.
Please check the Operational Guidelines to ensure you are adhering to the items listed. If you have any questions, please contact us.
To update the contact information for your Plan, please complete the Employer Contact Form.
If you need more information about your role as the plan sponsor, we're happy to help!