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Submit a request Sign in What can we help you with? Participants Setting up your account Distributions & Rollovers 401(k) loans Employers Setting up your plan Taxes Contributions Resources COVID-19 Contact us Advisors & Accountants Visit our blog Promoted articles Compliance testing: What plan sponsors need to know Compliance testing refers to a series of IRS-re... What happens if you have a payroll correction and need to reverse 401(k) contributions? There are several reasons why a plan administra... How to distribute (or rollover) your 401(k) funds from Guideline If you’d like to request a distribution from yo... How do I rollover my retirement account to Guideline? To rollover a previous retirement account to... Do I qualify for a hardship withdrawal? In certain circumstances, Guideline permits you... What is an IRS Form 8915-E? IRS Form 8915-E, Qualified Disaster Retirement ... What is IRS Form 1099-R? When you receive a distribution from your IRA o... Tax documents and reporting rules for IRA and 401(k)s If you had certain IRA or 401(k) transactions d... COVID-19 General What does the CARES Act mean for me and my options to withdraw from my 401(k) account? A note to our clients in light of COVID-19 General General How do I share documents with Guideline? I emailed support, when can I expect a response? Support contact information and operating hours Employers Safe Harbor Benefits of a Safe Harbor Plan Who’s Eligible for Safe Harbor Contributions? Create Your Safe Harbor Plan Today! Plan Design Risks Plan Design Risk: Employee options can equal ownership Ownership Attribution of Related Employees Plan Design Risk: Large employee wage discrepancy Plan Design Risk: Small Number of Participants Plan Design Risk: S-Corporations with Low Owner’s Wages Avoid plan design pitfalls: Finding the Goldilocks Match Classifying Ownership Who is an Officer, Highly Compensated or Key employee? I’m an HCE and/or Key EmployeeWhat does this mean for me? Determine Ownership and Family Attribution I’m a Plan Admin and/or ParticipantWhat Can I Do? General Insurance and ERISA Bonding What are the levels/permissions of administrators for my plan? What level of administrator are you? What happens if I fail to inform Guideline of a potential partial plan termination? How do I prove that the reduction in participants was simply due to routine turnover in my business? What is considered an employer-initiated severance? See all 22 articles Plan Setup Sample plan conversion timeline Common plan administrator questions I signed the Plan Document, what happens next? When will my Guideline plan begin? When will employees be invited to create their accounts? First payday with contributions See all 9 articles Nondiscrimination Testing ★ Compliance testing: What plan sponsors need to know Coverage Test Limit Tests Compliance Testing: The Top-Heavy Test Compliance Testing: The ADP and ACP Tests Safe Harbor plans help you avoid year-end plan corrections See all 9 articles Plan Design Plan Design Risks, Pitfalls, and Best Practices Mitigate Plan Design Challenges: Short Year/ Late Year Plans Mitigate Plan Design Challenges: Fluctuating or Unpredictable Income Creating the Optimal Plan Changes to the 401(k) Plan Eligibility See all 9 articles Annual Limits Know your limits: Employer contributions to your 401(k) plan 415 Annual Additions Limit Annual Compensation Limit Employer Contribution Deduction Limit Employer Contribution Restrictions Contributions ★ What happens if you have a payroll correction and need to reverse 401(k) contributions? How can I review past payroll contributions? Running a Special Payroll (Bonus, Off Cycle, Commission Pay) What are Lost Earnings? What are profit sharing and nonelective contributions? How are employer matching contributions calculated? See all 19 articles Managing Active Plans Reporting Employees Compensation to Guideline Ensuring Participants Receive Important Plan Information How to locate a participant who no longer works for the company Government Filings How to select a plan auditor How long does a plan audit take? When is a 401(k) plan audit required? Can I defer or claim a waiver of the plan audit? What is a 401(k) Plan Audit? How do I read my Form 5500-SF? See all 17 articles Plan Termination The plan termination process and related fees When can I terminate my 401k Plan? SEP IRA How do I invite an employee to my SEP IRA plan? How do I open a SEP? How do I make a SEP IRA contribution? I haven’t set up a separate business, what do I enter for a business name? How much can I contribute to a SEP IRA? What are the benefits of a SEP IRA Plan? Employees Distributions & Rollovers ★ How to distribute (or rollover) your 401(k) funds from Guideline ★ How do I rollover my retirement account to Guideline? ★ Do I qualify for a hardship withdrawal? Do I qualify for a 401(k) loan? I was auto-enrolled — can I get my money back? How long will my hardship withdrawal request take? See all 31 articles Account & Enrollment I do not see deductions for my first paycheck in January How do I close my Guideline account? What is a blackout period? What happens to my non-vested account balance if I leave my company? What is a graded vesting schedule? What is a cliff vesting schedule? See all 38 articles Retirement Planning ★ What is an IRS Form 8915-E? I would like to max out, how can I make sure I reach the annual limit for the year? When will my portfolio change take effect? Can I choose different allocations for my current portfolio vs. future contributions? Guideline’s investment principles What is portfolio rebalancing? See all 29 articles Individual Retirement Accounts (IRAs) Retirement Planning ★ What is IRS Form 1099-R? ★ Tax documents and reporting rules for IRA and 401(k)s What are the spousal benefits of an IRA? Benefits of an IRA: Using your spouse’s income for IRA contributions Benefits of an IRA: Flexible beneficiary distribution option Benefits of an IRA: Sharing IRAs in divorce settlements See all 19 articles Distributions & Rollovers Can I take an IRA distribution for my disability? Requesting a distribution from your Guideline IRA Considering an indirect IRA rollover? Considering a direct IRA rollover? Rolling over your IRA funds When must I take a required minimum distribution from my Traditional IRA? Account & Enrollment Am I eligible to participate in my Employer’s SEP IRA Plan? The importance of regularly updating your IRA and retirement account beneficiaries How do I set up my Guideline IRA? How do I make contributions to my Guideline IRA? How do I choose an IRA beneficiary? Advisors General Guideline for Accountants - frequently asked questions Guideline for Advisors - frequently asked questions © Theme by Lotus...