Who’s Eligible To Enroll?
To be eligible for the plan, an eligible attorney or staff member ("employee") must meet the age and service conditions (if any) specified in your plan’s adoption agreement. Check your adoption agreement for your plan’s specific provisions.
Once an employee has met the eligibility requirements, they may enter the plan on the first entry date allowable, as specified in your plan’s adoption agreement. If the plan has an automatic enrollment design feature, contributions will automatically begin for an eligible attorney or staff member at the level provided in the firm’s adoption agreement, unless the individual affirmatively elects a different contribution level, or affirmatively elects to make no contributions to the plan.
Determining Eligibility
There are two methods of determining eligibility: Hours of Service Method and Elapsed Time Method. Please refer to your plan’s adoption agreement.
Hours of Service Method
If you elected “years of eligibility service” in the plan’s adoption agreement for any component of your plan, you are subject to the hours-of-service method of calculating eligibility.
An employee earns one year of eligibility service for the 12-consecutive month period beginning on their hire date and ending on the first anniversary date of employment during which they are credited with 1,000 hours of service. Subsequent eligibility computation periods generally begin on the anniversary of the employee’s hire date. Note, if you have elected to use the subsequent plan year option, the 12-consecutive month period begins on the first day of the first plan year that begins prior to the employee’s first anniversary date.
Elapsed Time Method
If you elected “months of service” as the eligibility period in the plan’s adoption agreement this is known as the elapsed time method of calculating eligibility. Note: 12-months differs from one year of service.
Under the elapsed-time method, employees are credited with service when employed for the required period of service, regardless of the number of hours worked. If an employee terminates before becoming eligible and is rehired within 12 months, their prior employment period counts towards eligibility.
Breaks in Service
If an individual has a break in service prior to satisfying the eligibility conditions, his or her prior service shall be counted in determining when he or she is eligible to become a participant, provided, however, that if he or she is subject to a vesting schedule that is at least as favorable as Schedule A in the adoption agreement, such prior service will not be taken into account.
If an individual has a break in service after satisfying the eligibility conditions and after becoming a participant, he or she shall become a participant immediately following the date of his or her reemployment.
Additional Information Regarding Eligibility
An employee may roll assets into the Program prior to meeting eligibility. Please note: Until the eligibility requirements are satisfied, no additional contributions can be made to their account. They will not be considered a “participant” for any other purpose until those criteria are met.
Service Definitions
Hours of Service
Participants earn an hour of service for each hour they are entitled to receive pay. This count includes vacation, holiday, sickness, disability, layoff, jury or military duty, or paid leave of absence. Hours paid solely for the purpose of complying with workers’ compensation or disability insurance laws are not included.
No more than 501 hours of service can be credited for any continuous period during which duties are not performed. For example, if a participant is on a paid leave of absence lasting 800 continuous hours, they would only receive credit for 501 hours due to this absence. Your adoption agreement also has more information on how hours of service are credited.
Breaks in Service/Period of Severance
For plans that use the hours-of-service method of calculating eligibility, a break in service occurs for each 12-month period during which a participant has not completed more than 500 hours of service. The 12- month period starts on their hire date and ends on each anniversary of that date. After the initial 12-month period, if elected in the adoption agreement, subsequent 12-month periods refer to the plan year. For purposes of determining if a break in service has occurred, the participant will receive credit of up to 501 hours of service for an absence due to pregnancy, birth, adoption or care of a child following placement for adoption.
For plans that use the elapsed time method of calculating eligibility, a period of severance is any period of absence from employment more than 12 months long.
Vesting Service
An employee receives vesting service for their completed years and calendar months of employment, including periods as a partner or sole proprietor of the firm. Fractional months are computed in days, with 30 days equaling one month. Vesting service is credited during periods of absence lasting less than 12 months, during disability (as defined in the Plan) or military service (provided that the employee returns to employment with your firm within the period prescribed by laws regarding reemployment rights of individuals in military service), and for the first 12 months of absence for any reason other than the employee’s quitting, retiring or being discharged.
FAQs
By checking your eligibility requirements in your adoption agreement, and the definition of entry date. This is all found in section 3 of the adoption agreement. If your firm elected the one year of eligibility criteria, this also requires that the employee work 1,000 hours of service in that first year of employment.
Enrollment Kit materials are found within the Program Overview Guide. Share the Program Overview Guide with your employees to provide them everything they need to get started.
See the link for Program Enroll in the upper right area of the Enrollment Package or on the homepage of our website Employees enroll themselves in your plan.