A question about something a client wants me to do.

[On_Time_Virtual_Assistant]

I have someone that keeps talking about something called a payroll census for the 401k plan he has for his employees. He wants me to complete this census, (not the 5500c) but just the payroll census. I can't seem to find any information about what it is exactly. I don't want to give him a yes or no before I have some idea what the heck he is talking about.

Does anyone know?

Thanks much,

Beth

[Business-Bytes]

Hi Beth,

This is a 401(k) Census Report that needs to be completed each year. Information on the employees in this report usually is:

SS#
Last name
First name and middle initial
EE 401(k) contributions (can get from W-2 or yearly payroll report - must cross-check with payments made, too)
ER 401(k) match (amount of contributions by the ER)
EE Gross income/salary
EE Eligible compensation (how much of income was eligible for 401(k) deduction/contribution)
EE DOB
EE DOE (Date of Employment)
Sex Code (a code of 1=male, 2=female)
Plan Year Hours Worked (how many hours the EE worked during the year)
EE DOT (Date of Termination)

At year-end I would run all payroll reports including individual and total for all employees by month and year reports, also a year total for all EE's. Also I had all detailed monthly reports for contributions (EE and ER match) for the year that I paid to the company that handled the contributions.

This is for ALL EE's (I ended up with close to 100 EE's on my report due to layoff's, quit, etc.), not just EE's enrolled in the 401(k) plan. Totals at the bottom of each column MUST match what is on all EE W-2's and payroll records. Also ER matching column must match what was contributed from deposits made (as will EE contributions).

Now, all that being said, you should have the guy contact whoever handles the EE/ER contributions, which is usually an outside company. That company can tell you exactly what data they need and in what format for the Census (I used an Excel workbook [sent just the worksheet I needed at year-end], but each company may be different in the format they need it in). This report goes to the company that handles the 401(k) contributions (at least in my case it did), and helps them to make sure everyone is in compliance with the laws governing 401(k) plans. What I gave you above is generally what is needed.

This report is not for the faint of heart (if there are more than a few employees) and takes quite awhile to do - everything MUST be to the penny and match what you have on record.

HTH a bit

[On_Time_Virtual_Assistant]

That is soooo helpful. I can't thank you enough. He has 5 employees, so that's not too bad. Of course, I don't know how many former employees he has, so that's something I would have to find out.

I knew I'd find help here. You're great...this forum is great...everything's great!

All best,

Beth