Please check me on this:

An eligible employer is a state/local government, or a non-church, non-governmental tax-exempt agency. An eligible employer can have an ineligible plan - or can become ineligible due to administration of the plan failing to meet requirements.

So what is an ineligible employer? Are these the non-governmental, non tax-exempt agencies that would establish a top-hat plan for a select group of management?

Is it fair to assume these would be "for profit" entities? (not always - but generally)

Who constitutes "ineligible" employers? Anyone not covered under the definition of an "eligible" employer? HELP.

Internal Revenue Code section 457(e)(1) defines an "eligible employer" as follows: Internal Revenue Code section 457(e)(13) provides the following exception:An "ineligible employer" would be any other employer, e.g., a church, a federal government agency, or a for-profit corporation.

In order to be an "eligible plan," a plan needs to meet all of the requirements of Internal Revenue Code section 457(B), including the requirement that the employer be an eligible employer.

Then if I may inquire - regarding plans which are maintained by employers who are not "eligible" employers. Are these Top-Hat Plans? Or not necessarily?

Top-Hat Plans would would discriminate for a select group of management or highly compensated employees. Or am I missing something?

Is there such a thing as a 457 Plan of an ineligible employer which covers rank & file employees - rather than discriminating for the select group?

Is it that there are just plans of "eligible employers" (definition above) which are covered under 457(B) and the Top-Hat Plans?

Or - is an ineligible employer not necessarily a top-hat plan, and can cover rank & file employees in a deferred status so long as the assets are subject to substantial risk of forfiture?

If true - who would set up these plans and why? Are they not eligible under the code for a 401(k)/like plan?

Of course, substantial risk of forfiture used to exist on the Governmental Plans but was removed by the requirements of the Small Business Job Protection Act of 1996.

Any 457 or unfunded deferred compensation plan of an ERISA-covered employer must cover only a top hat group. That includes an unfunded deferred compensation plan of a private corporation (which would not be a 457 plan), or a 457 plan of a nongovernmental, nonchurch tax-exempt employer. Even though a nongovernmental, nonchurch tax-exempt employer is an "eligible employer" for 457 purposes, section 457 prevents such an employer from funding the 457 plan, and Title I of ERISA prevent the employer from extending an unfunded plan to anyone outside of the top hat group.