Glossary of Terms
A B C D E F G H I J K L M N O P Q R S T U V W X Y Z
after-tax contribution - a contribution deducted from a participant's pay after taxes have been calculated
age weighted allocation - an allocation based upon a combination of an employee's age and eligible compensation
census data - employee data including name, social security number, date of birth, date of hire, hours worked per year, ownership percentage, and compensation
company stock fund - an investment option for plans sponsored by publicly held companies
contribution frequency - per pay cycle, monthly, quarterly, or annually
contribution type (plan design) - mandatory or discretionary; fixed dollar amount or percentage
contribution type (reporting) - salary savings, employer matching, profit sharing, rollover, loan, etc.
discretionary contribution - a contribution that is made at the employer's discretion for any given plan year
distributions - transactions removing balances from a participant's account such as termination/retirement withdrawals, hardship withdrawals, loans, etc.
eligible compensation - compensation up to the IRS limit ($200,000 for 2002, indexed) which is includeable according to the provisions of the plan
eligible employees - employees who meet age and service requirements as defined by the plan
employee contribution level - the amount or percentage of an employee's eligible compensation to be contributed to a plan on a pre-tax or after-tax basis
employer contribution level - the amount or percentage of eligible gross payroll to be contributed to a plan on behalf of the participants
excess compensation - the amount of eligible compensation over and above the taxable wage base
hardship withdrawal - an amount withdrawn from the plan, with current tax consequences, to meet a heavy financial need
indexed amount - a limit re-evaluated by the IRS each year
IRS Filings - IRS Forms 5500 or 5500-EZ, Form 1099-R, and Form 945
key status - an employee's status based upon his position within the company
loan - an amount withdrawn from the plan, without current tax consequences, and repaid through payroll deduction
matching contribution - an employer contribution made based upon a plan participant's contribution and eligible compensation
money type - based on contribution type: salary savings, employer matching, profit sharing, rollover, loan, etc.
new comparability allocation - an allocation based upon a combination of an employee's key status and eligible compensation
normal retirement age - the age at which an employee is eligible for retirement benefits
participant - an employee who has a balance in the plan
permitted disparity allocation - an allocation by which employees whose eligible compensation exceed the taxable wage base receive an additional amount based upon the amount of excess compensation
plan activity - any change in plan balances within a reporting period, such as contributions, distributions, transfers, dividends, interest, etc.
Plan Trustee - the person or persons assigned liability for the plan
pre-tax contribution - a contribution deducted from a participant's pay before taxes have been calculated
pro-rata allocation - an allocation based solely upon an employee's eligible compensation
profit sharing contribution - an employer contribution made based upon a percentage of a plan participant's eligible compensation
qualified retirement plans - plans whose structure is regulated by the IRS including 401(k), Profit Sharing, Money Purchase, Defined Benefit, IRA, and SEP plans
rollover contribution - a contribution made from the balance of a prior employer's qualified retirement plan or an IRA set up specifically to hold a distribution from a qualified plan
salary savings - pre-tax employee contributions
tax-deferred - not currently includeable in an employee's taxable income; not currently taxable
taxable wage base - an amount set by the IRS each year ($80,400 for 2001, indexed)
testing - IRS 401(m) non-discrimination test and IRS 415 contribution limitation test
third party administrator - a company that provides recordkeeping services for a benefit plan
transfers - transactions reflecting the movement of balances between investment selections within a participant's account
trusteed account - a plan account that is invested as directed by the trustees of the plan or their designees