Vol. IX, Issue 10
November 21, 2011
IRS Releases 2012 Indexed Limits for Retirement Contributions
The Internal Revenue Service (IRS) establishes limits for retirement plan contributions each year. The following are the limits for 2012.
Code Section 402(g) Limits
- Participant before-tax contributions are limited to $17,000 (increased from $16,500 in 2011).
- Participants with 15 or more years of service with a “qualified organization” may be eligible to contribute up to an additional $3,000 per year, subject to a $15,000 lifetime limit and other rules. Qualified organizations include churches and tax-exempt organizations controlled by or associated with a church. Participants can contact the General Board for help determining if they are eligible to make these additional contributions.
- Participants who will be age 50 or older by December 31, 2012 may make “catch-up contributions” of up to an additional $5,500 in 2012.
- Participants who have 15 or more years of service with a qualified organization and are age 50 or older must meet the “15 years of service” limit for the year—provided they have not reached the $15,000 lifetime limit—before they are eligible to make catch-up contributions.
Code Section 415(c) Limit
Total annual before-tax and after-tax participant contributions plus plan sponsor contributions to all retirement plans cannot exceed the lesser of a participant’s compensation or $50,000 in 2012. Housing is excluded from “compensation” for this purpose.
Code Section 401(a)(17) Limit
The maximum participant compensation that can be considered for retirement contribution calculations is $250,000. (Churches and Qualified Church-Controlled Organizations are exempt.)
Please contact Manuel Vargas at 1-847-866-4565 or mvargas@gbophb.org if you have any questions.
General Board Holiday Closings
The General Board will close at 3:00 p.m., Central time, on Wednesday, November 23, and will remain closed through Friday, November 25, in observance of the Thanksgiving holiday. Customer service assistance will be unavailable during this time.
Benefits Access for participants and the Interactive Voice Response (IVR) system, accessible by calling 1-800-851-2201, will be available. Participants can use either of these tools to access account information and make transactions 24 hours a day, seven days a week.
The Wespath Institutional Investor Portal and Benefits Access also will be available for plan sponsors, conferences and institutions.
Wire transfers and checks received by 1:00 p.m., on Wednesday, November 23, will be processed that same day. Those received after that time will be processed on Monday, November 28.
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