PEO Benefit Basics: 401(k) Issues When You Lose a Client

Professional Employer Organizations ("PEOs") don't fit neatly into the scheme of things when it comes to IRS rules governing qualified employee benefit plans. Joint employer status raises many questions about how these plans should be structured and operated. Bob Christenson's article discusses some of the problems which arise when a PEO stops doing business with a client and wants to distribute 401(k) balances to the former client's employees. The article also provides tips on finding missing participants.

This article appeared in the May 2001 issue of PEO Insider Magazine.