Form 5304-SIMPLE (Rev. 3-2012)
Page 5
the reduction in the employee’s
compensation cannot exceed the
applicable amount for any calendar year.
The applicable amount is $11,500 for 2012.
After 2012, the $11,500 amount may be
increased for cost-of-living adjustments. In
the case of an eligible employee who is 50
or older by the end of the calendar year,
the above limitation is increased by $2,500
for 2012. After 2012, the $2,500 amount
may be increased for cost-of-living
adjustments.
Timing of Salary Reduction
Elections
For any calendar year, an eligible employee
may make or modify a salary reduction
election during the 60-day period
immediately preceding January 1 of that
year. However, for the year in which the
employee becomes eligible to make salary
reduction contributions, the period during
which the employee may make or modify
the election is a 60-day period that
includes either the date the employee
becomes eligible or the day before.
You can extend the 60-day election
periods to provide additional opportunities
for eligible employees to make or modify
salary reduction elections using the blank
in Article II, item 2b. For example, you can
provide that eligible employees may make
new salary reduction elections or modify
prior elections for any calendar quarter
during the 30 days before that quarter.
You may use the Model Salary Reduction
Agreement on page 3 to enable eligible
employees to make or modify salary
reduction elections.
Employees must be permitted to
terminate their salary reduction elections at
any time. They may resume salary
reduction contributions for the year if
permitted under Article II, item 2b.
However, by checking the box in Article II,
item 2d, you may prohibit an employee
who terminates a salary reduction election
outside the normal election cycle from
resuming salary reduction contributions
during the remainder of the calendar year.
Contributions (Article III)
Only contributions described below may be
made to this SIMPLE IRA plan. No
additional contributions may be made.
Salary Reduction Contributions
As indicated in Article III, item 1, salary
reduction contributions consist of the
amount by which the employee agrees to
reduce his or her compensation. You must
contribute the salary reduction
contributions to the financial institution
selected by each eligible employee.
Matching Contributions
In general, you must contribute a matching
contribution to each eligible employee’s
SIMPLE IRA equal to the employee’s salary
reduction contributions. This matching
contribution cannot exceed 3% of the
employee’s compensation. See Definition
of Compensation, below.
You may reduce this 3% limit to a lower
percentage, but not lower than 1%. You
cannot lower the 3% limit for more than 2
calendar years out of the 5-year period
ending with the calendar year the reduction
is effective.
Note. If any year in the 5-year period
described above is a year before you first
established any SIMPLE IRA plan, you will
be treated as making a 3% matching
contribution for that year for purposes of
determining when you may reduce the
employer matching contribution.
To elect this option, you must notify the
employees of the reduced limit within a
reasonable period of time before the
applicable 60-day election periods for the
year. See Timing of Salary Reduction
Elections above.
Nonelective Contributions
Instead of making a matching contribution,
you may, for any year, make a nonelective
contribution equal to 2% of compensation
for each eligible employee who has at least
$5,000 in compensation for the year.
Nonelective contributions may not be
based on more than $250,000* of
compensation.
To elect to make nonelective
contributions, you must notify employees
within a reasonable period of time before
the applicable 60-day election periods for
such year. See Timing of Salary Reduction
Elections above.
Note. Insert “$5,000” in Article III, item
2b(i) to impose the $5,000 compensation
requirement. You may expand the group of
employees who are eligible for nonelective
contributions by inserting a compensation
amount lower than $5,000.
Effective Date (Article VII)
Insert in Article VII the date you want the
provisions of the SIMPLE IRA plan to
become effective. You must insert January
1 of the applicable year unless this is the
first year for which you are adopting any
SIMPLE IRA plan. If this is the first year for
which you are adopting a SIMPLE IRA
plan, you may insert any date between
January 1 and October 1, inclusive of the
applicable year.
Additional Information
Timing of Salary Reduction
Contributions
The employer must make the salary
reduction contributions to the financial
institution selected by each eligible
employee for his or her SIMPLE IRA no
later than the 30th day of the month
following the month in which the amounts
would otherwise have been payable to the
employee in cash.
The Department of Labor has indicated
that most SIMPLE IRA plans are also
subject to Title I of the Employee
Retirement Income Security Act of 1974
(ERISA). Under Department of Labor
regulations at 29 CFR 2510.3-102, salary
reduction contributions must be made to
each participant’s SIMPLE IRA as of the
earliest date on which those contributions
can reasonably be segregated from the
employer’s general assets, but in no event
later than the 30-day deadline described
previously.
Definition of Compensation
“Compensation” means the amount
described in section 6051(a)(3) (wages,
tips, and other compensation from the
employer subject to federal income tax
withholding under section 3401(a)), and
amounts paid for domestic service in a
private home, local college club, or local
chapter of a college fraternity or sorority.
Usually, this is the amount shown in box 1
of Form W-2, Wage and Tax Statement.
For further information, see Pub. 15,
(Circular E), Employer’s Tax Guide.
Compensation also includes the salary
reduction contributions made under this
plan, and, if applicable, compensation
deferred under a section 457 plan. In
determining an employee’s compensation
for prior years, the employee’s elective
deferrals under a section 401(k) plan, a
SARSEP, or a section 403(b) annuity
contract are also included in the
employee’s compensation.
For self-employed individuals,
compensation means the net earnings
from self-employment determined under
section 1402(a), without regard to section
1402(c)(6), prior to subtracting any
contributions made pursuant to this
SIMPLE IRA plan on behalf of the
individual.
Employee Notification
You must notify each eligible employee
prior to the employee’s 60-day election
period described above that he or she can
make or change salary reduction elections
and select the financial institution that will
serve as the trustee, custodian, or
*This is the amount for 2012. For later years, the limit may be increased for cost-of-living adjustments. The IRS announces the increase, if any,
in a news release, in the Internal Revenue Bulletin, and on the IRS’s website at IRS.gov.