Blue Ridge ESOP Associates Industry News

Kim M. Thompson

Recent Posts

Disability in an ESOP

Posted by Kim M. Thompson

Dec 22, 2021 10:03:58 AM

When an employee terminates employment with the company due to a disability, his or her ESOP account may be subject to certain procedures and additional benefits. Before these procedures and benefits can be applied, it is important to understand how your ESOP Plan Document defines disability and whether or not the employee’s circumstance meets that definition.

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Segregation of Participant Accounts

Posted by Kim M. Thompson

Nov 24, 2020 2:35:00 PM

Segregation, also referred to as “reshuffling” or “conversion,” is defined by the IRS as “the mandatory transfer of employer securities into or out of plan accounts, not designed to result in an equal proportion of employer securities in each account.” Segregation is often used in ESOPs to convert the accounts of terminated participants out of stock and into cash until such participants are paid a full distribution of their vested plan balances.

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Form 5500 – Small Plan Audit Waiver

Posted by Kim M. Thompson

Jun 18, 2019 2:30:00 PM

The U.S. Department of Labor (DOL) requires qualified retirement plans to have an annual audit by an independent qualified public accountant. The findings of the audit should be reported on the plan’s Form 5500. However, your plan may be eligible for the “small plan audit waiver” if it meets the below outlined requirements. 

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Who Is Considered a Corporate Officer?

Posted by Kim M. Thompson

Mar 13, 2018 4:12:50 PM

In our annual year-end data collection process, we always ask our clients to confirm who their officers are. Sometimes our clients will ask us what it means to be an officer.  This article is intended to provide guidance on this important question.

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Protect your ESOP from Fraud with Fidelity Bond Coverage

Posted by Kim M. Thompson

May 22, 2017 3:51:41 PM

Fidelity Bond Coverage for your ESOP

When preparing or reviewing your ESOP’s Form 5500 annual return, you may notice that Line 4e on Schedule H for large plans and Schedule I for small plans asks the following: “Was this plan covered by a fidelity bond?” It is important to not only make sure that your ESOP is covered by a fidelity bond, but that you have the required amount of coverage each year and that you relay this information to your third-party administrator or the party responsible for completing your Form 5500.

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Topics: fidelity bond

ESOP Hours of Service

Posted by Kim M. Thompson

Feb 9, 2017 10:45:36 AM

The hours of service is an important piece of information you will provide to your ESOP third party administrator (TPA) with your annual census data. An employee’s hours of service may be used to determine eligibility for participation in the ESOP and eligibility to receive allocations and to track years of service for vesting and breaks in service. Therefore, it is important to use the correct method (as defined by your Plan Document) to credit each employee with the correct number of hours.

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Experience the Leader in Personalized ESOP & 401(k) Administration

Blue Ridge ESOP Associates can provide everything you need to administer your ESOP, 401(k) or combination ESOP/401(k) plan. Our full service outsourcing, which can include participant on-line services, provides worry-free  assistance for your HR or Benefits staff, leaving them free to concentrate on other responsibilities.

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