Does anyone know of any software that can perform the MEA calculation and then proceed with the administration of 403(B) plans. I work for a TPA firm and we use Quantech (QT) for the administration of our defined contribution plans. When I spoke to QT's technical support about this capabiltiy they responded that it is not available on the system at this time. Any suggestions or advice would be appreciated. Thanks.

Look in EMPLOYEE BENEFITS SOFTWARE in the BENEFITSLINK.COM site. This page is listed lower on the opening page of BENEFITSLINK.COM. Also many mutual funds & insurance companies will do the MEA calculations when employees select them as the funding agency for the 403(B).

Below are sites the sell the software. I have never used these venders, so I do not know how "good" their software is.

http://www.brentmark.com/gsl.htm
http://www.zdnet.co.nz/swlib/Home_Hobby/Pe...nce/0001O3.html
http://www.imagisoft.com/tsa-ord.htm
http://www.afs-link.com/403BPLNR.HTM

I would be inclined to be distrustful of software, since I have seen so much of it to be either wrong, or nearly impossible to use. The reason is that calculations depend on a whole host of factors, including projected benefits under defined benefit plans. If the software merely tells the employees to set forth their projected benefits, employees typically get it wrong. And software not devised for a particular employer seldom has any ability to calculate those projected benefits. While we have devised formulas from which specific employers have been able to create the software, I would be concerned about software which purported to cover all employers.
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Employee benefits legal resource site

We use a program called tax benefit analysis developed by Softcom in Raleigh, NC. I've found it to be accurate and the vendor willing to make changes very quickly. Cost is reasonable. It's primary function is to support MEA calculations for public school retirement systems. It has other programs on it as well as the MEA.

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One of the biggest setbacks of most of these MEA calculators is that they are designed to estimate the prospective limitations for the year, based on certain assumptions. They typically are not designed to perrform "retrospective" testing of acual contributions and limitations for the testing year. Further, these software programs are unable to distinguish between types of excesses where a contribution exceeds more than one of the three limits (402(g), 415 and MEA) which are exceeded in any given year.

[This message has been edited by Bob Toth (edited 07-30-99).]

Since posting the message above, I have become aware that at least one firm, Carruth & Associates, provides 403(B) software which is customized to the employer, and takes into account its specific other plans. Obviously, I cannot endorse any specific software. However, I have been called upon to give legal advice to this company, and I have been struck by its attention to detail on both the mathematical and legal aspects.

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Employee benefits legal resource site




[This message has been edited by CVCalhoun (edited 04-18-2000).]