The Year End Questionnaire covers the following questions:
- What is the company's Business Code?
- Was the company (including any subsidiaries) part of an acquisition, as either a buyer or seller, during the plan year?
- Did any leased employees not covered by your plan perform services for the company for more than 500 hours during the plan year? Note: Part-time employees are not considered leased employees. For more information on the definition of a leased employee please see here.
- Please confirm or provide your Fidelity Bond coverage amount.
- Does the company have an employer retirement plan other than this one?
- Is the Plan Sponsor part of a "Controlled Group" (CG) or an "Affiliated Service Group" (ASG)?
- Do you want us to calculate a match? Please note, this is separate from any safe harbor match.
- Do you want a profit sharing contribution? We will provide you with two illustrations before assessing a fee of $250.
- Were any fees, commissions or anything of value paid to another broker, agent or other individual or organization that provides fiduciary services to the plan?
- Did the plan hold any assets outside of your plan administrator as of the last day of the plan year?
- Were there any nonexempt transactions with any party-in-interest during the plan year?
- Did the plan have a loss that was caused by fraud or dishonesty during the plan year?
- Has the plan failed to provide any benefit when due under the plan?
1. What is the company's Business Code?
The IRS asks for the company's business activity code on Form 5500. In addition, knowing the type of business the employer sponsors can help J.P. Morgan design the best plan for you and your employees.
You can find this number on your tax filings or by consulting with your accountant or tax advisor.
2. Was the company (including any subsidiaries) part of an acquisition, as either a buyer or seller, during the plan year?
The merger, acquisition, and certain other types of corporate transactions could affect the operation of the plan and trigger the need to conduct additional compliance testing or other requirements. Therefore, J.P. Morgan should be informed of any corporate transactions.
3. Did any leased employees not covered by your plan perform services for the company for more than 500 hours during the plan year? Note: Part-time employees are not considered leased employees. For more information on the definition of a leased employee please see here.
If you have any long-term "temporary" or leased employees (e.g., through a Professional Employer Organization) who worked more than 1,000 hours during the plan year or any part-time employees who worked at least 500 hours per year for three consecutive years, these employees must be included in compliance testing.
For your 2024 plan year, where testing will occur in 2025, part-time employees who meet the 500-hour requirement for three consecutive years will be eligible to participate in your company’s retirement plan. Beginning January 1, 2025, under SECURE 2.0, this requirement will change to two consecutive years, and these new rules will apply to 2025 plan years, which will be tested in 2026. Note that service prior to January 1, 2021, does not count toward the vesting requirement.
If applicable, you will need to upload a census for these employees when completing the year-end questionnaire, allowing us to maintain compliance with eligibility requirements.
4. Please confirm or provide your Fidelity Bond coverage amount.
All individuals and organizations that manage Plan assets must have a fidelity bond for at least 10% of the total assets in the Plan. If you do not have a fidelity bond, enter “0“. To read more about what a Fidelity Bond click here. There are two exceptions to that rule: if your plan is considered a Solo 401(k) (the owner and spouse are the only employees), or the firm is a financial institution that allows for exemptions, such as an insurance firm or registered broker-dealer.
”0” > You have entered '0' for your Fidelity Bond coverage amount, if you do not update this by the time the questionnaire is submitted, your Form 5500 will reflect that the plan does not have a Fidelity Bond in place. Fidelity Bond coverage is required, please obtain a Fidelity Bond as soon as possible! Please note that J.P. Morgan does not offer Fidelity Bonds see a list of certified companies that provide fidelity bonds, click here.
5. Does the company have an employer retirement plan other than this one?
Employers must disclose to J.P. Morgan all plans that they sponsor directly or indirectly (through a Controlled or Affiliated Service Group). Some examples of other retirement plans are Cash Balance plans, SIMPLE plans, SEP plans, or another 401k plan. Sponsoring another plan affects compliance testing and can help J.P. Morgan design the best plan for you and your employees.
6. Is the Plan Sponsor part of a "Controlled Group" (CG) or an "Affiliated Service Group" (ASG)?
A Controlled Group of businesses is a group of related businesses that have a certain amount of common ownership per IRS regulations. If a Controlled Group exists, the employees of those businesses are considered together for Retirement plan purposes.
An Affiliated Service Group exists when entities have common ownership attributes and perform certain services with or for each other. An ASG determination has the same effect as the Controlled Group determination.
These rules exist to prevent employers from setting up multiple entities to avoid paying certain employees benefits they normally would have to pay to meet the qualified plan requirements. If you are unsure if you fall into either of these categories, your accountant will be able to assist you in making the determination. Click here to read our article "Controlled Groups and Affiliated Service Groups."
6a. Do those other businesses have employees?
If there are employees associated with the Controlled Group or Affiliated Service Group, we must include any of those employees in compliance testing. If they are not currently participating in the plan and not included on your year-end census, you will be required to upload a census for the employees to the checklist.
6b. Are all these companies participating in the plan and included in the annual census file?
If the sponsoring employer is in a Controlled Group or Affiliated Service Group, it affects the retirement plan significantly. J.P. Morgan is required to notify the IRS of your plan's annual return.
If you are unsure of the answers to these questions, your accountant will be able to assist you.
7. Do you want us to calculate a match? Please note, this is separate from any safe harbor match.
If your plan allows for a discretionary (aka optional) match contribution, you will be able to request us to calculate it here. Once you select "yes" then you will need to put in the total dollar amount that the match should be or the uniform percentage of employee deferrals that you will match.
Please note that if you are a Safe Harbor plan and want to provide a discretionary match on top of it, you cannot match above a deferral percentage of 6% nor where the total amount of the discretionary match exceeds 4% of plan compensation.
8. Do you want a profit-sharing contribution? We will provide you with two illustrations before assessing a fee of $150.
A profit-sharing contribution is an optional employer contribution provided to eligible employees at the end of the year, and it is tax-deductible for the employer. They can be an appropriate way to reward eligible employees, retain talent, and maximize retirement plan benefits for the company owners.
While elective deferrals are limited to $23,500 per person for 2025 ($31,000 including catch-up contribution), profit-sharing contributions have an individual limit of $70,000 per person (this limit includes elective deferrals; $77,500 including catch-up contributions).
If you choose to make a profit-sharing contribution, J.P. Morgan will calculate the amount for each saver once all sections of the checklist are completed and the J.P. Morgan data review has been completed.
Note: If you wish to have J.P. Morgan calculate your contribution and have it deposited by the time you submit your business taxes, the checklist must be submitted at least three weeks prior to your business tax deadline.
Once the calculation is completed, we will send a contribution report and upload the file directly to your email and prompt you to review the report, along with instructions on how to submit the contribution.
9. Were any fees, commissions or anything of value paid to another broker, agent or other individual or organization that provides fiduciary services to the plan?
This information is used to complete the annual return for the plan. You do not have to include any fees paid to J.P. Morgan or your financial advisors.
10. Did the plan hold any assets outside of your plan administrator as of the last day of the plan year?
J.P. Morgan must disclose all plan assets to the IRS on the annual Form 5500, including any non-cash assets. There are also certain IRS regulations regarding non-cash assets held in the name of the retirement plan.
Some examples where this may be true:
- If plan contributions were held in a bank account that was not on the J.P. Morgan platform.
- If real estate is held or owned by the plan.
11. Were there any nonexempt transactions with any party-in-interest during the plan year?
“Party-in-interest” could be any of the following:
- A fiduciary of the plan: including, but not limited to, any administrator, officer, trustee, counselor, or employee
- A person providing services to the plan
- An employer whose employees are covered by the plan
- An owner (individual or corporation, partnership, trust, or estate) who directly or indirectly owns 50% or more of the employer
- An employee, officer, or director of the employer
- A lineal relative of any of the above
“Nonexempt transactions” could be any of the following:
- Sale, exchange, or lease of any property between the plan and a party-in-interest
- The lending of money or other extensions of credit between the plan and a party-in-interest(excluding saver loans)
- Furnishing of goods, services, or facilities between the plan and a party-in-interest
- Transfer to, or use by, or for the benefit of, a party-in-interest of any income or assets of the plan
- Acquisition, on behalf of the plan, of any employer security or employer real property
- Self-dealing with the assets of the plan for a fiduciary's own interest or own account
- Acting in a fiduciary's individual or any other capacity in any transaction involving the plan on behalf of a party whose interests are adverse to the interests of the plan or the interests of the participants or beneficiaries
- Receipt of any consideration for their own personal account by a party-in-interest who is a fiduciary from any party dealing with the plan in connection with a transaction involving the income or assets of the plan
12. Did the plan have a loss that was caused by fraud or dishonesty during the plan year?
This information is used to complete the annual return for the plan.
13. Has the plan failed to provide any benefit when due under the plan?
This information is used to complete the annual return for the plan. This would include any contributions that are required per your plan document that have not yet been deposited.