From the Front Lines

Done Fishing? 

I have a client whose plan holds—believe it or not—a catfish farm ­as an asset, which put me in an unusual situation last year. I had to explain to the plan sponsor that his fishing at the farm was considered a prohibited transaction…since he would be benefiting personally—by eating the catfish he caught. 

Stress Relief? 

Back in the late 1980s, when hardship withdrawal rules were becoming stricter, I was a pension clerk for a small third-party administrator. A plan sponsor called requesting a hardship withdrawal for one of his vice presidents, a top salesman for the company. I explained the rules to the plan sponsor and asked the reason for the hardship. I expected to hear that he ­needed college tuition for one of his ­children or that he had some ­unfortunate medical expenses. 

The plan sponsor told me to indicate that the VP was being evicted. I explained that I would need proof, and the plan sponsor explained, “Look, this guy actually needs a good set of golf clubs.If his golf game doesn’t improve, his stress level will increase. If his stress level goes any higher, I’m going to fire him because he’s driving me nuts. He will then not have a paycheck and will be evicted. Is that how you want the note worded?’ 

Mail Call 

In a “prior life,” my firm had a 10,000-life large-market plan that assumed the brunt of a statement mailing mishap.Because of a bizarre mix-up with the fulfillment vendor, a senior member of the firm received all 10,000 participant statements on her doorstep. When she arrived home from work, the UPS truck had just unloaded the last of several dozen brown boxes with everyone’s statements.  

I remember hearing that she could not even get to her front door! A good mailing-fulfillment partner is a must!