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Calhoun Law Group, P.C.
9112 Lindale Drive
Bethesda, MD 20817-3441
Office Phone: (202) 441-5592
Telefax: (301) 564-1941
E-mail:Click here to send e-mail.
The 457 Answer Book is one of the few in-depth resources to provide answers to the questions that tax-exempt organizations, state and local governments, their accountants, tax and legal advisors, 457 administrators, product providers, and investment counselors need to know.
Guiding readers through all aspects of 457 plan administration — from installation through the audit process — the 457 Answer Book describes:
- the duties and responsibilities of those performing the functions;
- the required legal, accounting, and administrative tasks;
- checklists that facilitate control of each administrative process; and
- suggested forms.
Blending the theoretical and practical, the 457 Answer Book provides:
- The history and legal origins of the plan
- Design and drafting standards
- Suggested administrative procedures
- Data processing and payroll considerations
- Operations and fund flow mechanics
- Marketing and sales suggestions
- And much more.
Table of Contents
- The History of 457 Plans
- Eligible 457 Plans
- Distribution Rules
- Investments
- Beneficiary Designations and Estate Planning
- ERISA, Its Exemptions, and Other Nontax Considerations for 457 Plans
- Mergers and Acquisitions
- Defining a Top-Hat Plan in Connection with 457 Plans
- Creditors’ Rights
- Application of Federal Securities Law to 457 Plans
- Ineligible Plans Under 457(f)
- IRS Form Reporting and Related Issues
- Domestic Relations Orders
- Miscellaneous Issues
- 457 EPCRS
- Administration of 457 Plans
About the Authors
Gary S. Lesser, Esq., is the principal of GSL Galactic Consulting, located in Indianapolis, Indiana. Mr. Lesser maintains a telephone-based consulting practice providing services to other professionals and business owners. He is a nationally known author, educator, and speaker on retirement plans for individuals and smaller businesses. Mr. Lesser has broad technical and practical knowledge of both qualified and nonqualified retirement plans.
Mr. Lesser is the technical editor and co-author of Aspen Publishers’ SIMPLE, SEP, and SARSEP Answer Book, Life Insurance Answer Book, Roth IRA Answer Book, and Quick Reference to IRAs. Mr. Lesser is also the principal author and technical editor of The CPA’s Guide to Retirement Plans for Small Businesses (in press), a publication of the American Institute of Certified Public Accountants (AICPA). He has developed several software programs that are used by financial planners, accountants, and other pension practitioners to design and market retirement plans for smaller businesses. His two software programs—QP-SEP Illustrator TM and SIMPLE Illustrator SM—are marketed and distributed nationally. He has also been published in the EP/EO Digest, Journal of Taxation of Employee Benefits, Journal of Compensation and Benefits, Journal of Pension Benefits, Life Insurance Selling, Rough Notes, and NAPFA Advisor. Mr. Lesser is a member of the Financial Planning Association (FPA) and is an associated professional member of the American Society of Pension Actuaries (ASPA).
In 1974, Mr. Lesser started his employee benefits career with the Internal Revenue Service, as a Tax Law Specialist/Attorney in the Employee Plans/Exempt Organizations (EP/EO) Division. He later managed and operated a pension administration and actuarial service organization, was an ERISA marketing attorney for a national brokerage firm, and was a senior vice president/director of retirement plans for several nationally known families of mutual funds and variable annuity products. Mr. Lesser graduated from New York Law School and received his B.A. in accounting from Fairleigh Dickinson University. He is admitted to the bars of the state of New York and the United States Tax Court.
David W. Powell, Esq., is a partner in the law firm of the Groom Law Group, Chartered, Washington D.C. Mr. Powell received his law degree from the University of Texas School of Law in 1982 and has practiced in the tax and employee benefits field in New Orleans, New York City, and Washington, D.C. He is a certified public accountant, and is a past president of the Washington Employee Benefits Forum. Mr. Powell works with tax and ERISA issues relating to all types of employee pension and welfare benefit plans, including qualified, nonqualified, 403(b), 457, church, governmental, health care, and flexible benefits plans. He is a member of the Employee Benefits Committee of the District of Columbia Bar and the Employee Benefits Committee of the Tax Section of the American Bar Association, and has authored a number of articles on employee benefits subjects. Recent publications include Tax Aspects of Church Plans and Mergers and Acquisitions, 403(b) Answer Book (Aspen Publishers); Pensions and Deferred Compensation for Financial Officers of Nonprofit Organizations, Nonprofit Controllers Manual (Warren, Gorham & Lamont); Design and Use of Section 457 Plans, Journal of Deferred Compensation; Tax Management Portfolio 372, Church and Governmental Plans (BNA); and numerous others.
Peter Gulia is President of Fiduciary Guidance Counsel, a Philadelphia law firm. After more than 21 years’ experience with one of America’s largest retirement-services businesses, Peter now counsels employers that manage retirement plans.
Although Peter concentrates his practice on retirement plans, he also counsels investment advisers about their fiduciary duties and compliance procedures under the Investment Advisers Act, the Employee Retirement Income Security Act, and other laws. Likewise, Peter advises lawyers and accountants about their professional conduct.
Since 1984, Peter has focused on the design, governance, fiduciary investment procedures, and administration of retirement plans. In addition to ERISA-governed plans, Peter has wide experience with church plans and governmental plans, and with how laws beyond ERISA and the Internal Revenue Code affect retirement plans. Likewise, Peter has experience concerning how the law of charitable and other tax-exempt organizations affects those employers’ retirement and deferred compensation plans.
Peter has for 12 years published with Wolters Kluwer Law & Business. He is a contributing author of:
- 403(b) Answer Book
- 457 Answer Book
- Governmental Plans Answer Book
- Roth IRA Answer Book
- SIMPLE, SEP, and SARSEP Answer Book
- Life Insurance Answer Book for Qualified Plans and Estate Planning.
In 2001, Peter published his explanation of the Economic Growth and Tax Relief Reconciliation Act of 2001 with ALI-ABA and Westlaw. In 2004, Peter contributed to The CPA’s Guide to Retirement Plans for Small Businesses, published by the American Institute of Certified Public Accountants.
Peter teaches continuing-professional-education programs, and is a member of the American Bar Association, the American Society of Pension Professionals and Actuaries (as an Associated Professional Member), the American Institute of Certified Public Accountants (as an associate of a member), and the Financial Planning Association.