Practice Test Geeks(CPC) Certified Pension Consultant Practice Test
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Retirement Plan Design & Administration Flashcards

7 cards from real CPC practice questions. Tap to flip, then mark Knew It or Still Learning — missed cards come back until you master them.

Read the first 7 Retirement Plan Design & Administration flashcards as text

  1. A plan administrator receives a Qualified Domestic Relations Order (QDRO). What is the plan's obligation upon receipt?

    Answer: Segregate the alternate payee's funds and determine whether the order is qualified within 18 months

    Upon receiving a QDRO, the plan must promptly notify all parties and determine qualified status within 18 months, segregating funds during that review.

  2. Which rule requires that a defined benefit plan provide a benefit to a married participant in the form of a qualified joint and survivor annuity (QJSA) unless the spouse consents to a different form?

    Answer: ERISA §205 survivor annuity requirements

    ERISA §205 mandates that pension plans provide the QJSA as the default form of benefit for married participants, requiring spousal consent to waive it.

  3. An employer maintains two plans: a profit-sharing plan and a 401(k) plan. For §415(c) annual addition limit purposes, contributions to BOTH plans for the same employee are:

    Answer: Aggregated and subject to one combined limit

    IRC §415(c) aggregates all annual additions across all defined contribution plans maintained by the same employer, applying one combined limit.

  4. What is the primary purpose of a floor-offset plan design?

    Answer: To allow a DB plan benefit to be offset by the value of a DC plan account

    A floor-offset plan pairs a DB plan (providing a benefit floor) with a DC plan, reducing the DB benefit by the actuarial equivalent of the DC account balance.

  5. Under the coverage test, which method counts each employee who benefits from a plan as a fraction equal to their plan benefit ratio divided by the highest ratio?

    Answer: Average benefit percentage test

    The average benefit percentage test uses a fractional benefit approach to determine if the average benefit percentage for NHCEs is at least 70% of that for HCEs.

  6. A participant in a 401(k) plan takes a hardship withdrawal. Under the safe harbor definition of hardship, which of the following is a permissible hardship reason?

    Answer: Medical expenses not covered by insurance for the participant's primary beneficiary

    The IRS safe harbor hardship list includes unreimbursed medical expenses for the employee, spouse, dependents, or primary beneficiary.

  7. What is the primary purpose of the IRC §401(a)(26) minimum participation rule for defined benefit plans?

    Answer: To require that at least 50 employees or 40% of all employees benefit under the plan on each day of the plan year

    IRC §401(a)(26) requires that a DB plan benefit the lesser of 50 employees or 40% of all employees on each day of the plan year.