XXXXXXXX FUNDS, INC.
SIMPLIFIED EMPLOYEE PENSION-INDIVIDUAL
RETIREMENT ACCOUNTS CONTRIBUTION AGREEMENT
(Under Section 408(k) of the Internal Revenue Code)
___________________________ makes the following agreement under
(Name of employer)
Section 408(k) of the Internal Revenue Code and the instructions to this
form.
Article I--Eligibility Requirements (Check appropriate boxes--see
Instructions.)
The employer agrees to provide for discretionary contributions in each
calendar year to the individual retirement account or individual
retirement annuity (XXX) of all employees who are at least ______ years
old (not to exceed 21 years old) and have performed services for the
employer in at least ______ years (not to exceed 3 years) of the
immediately preceding 5 years. This simplified employee pension (SEP) G
includes G does not include employees covered under a collective
bargaining agreement, G includes G does not include certain nonresident
aliens, and G includes G does not include employees whose total
compensation during the year is less than $400*.
Article II--SEP Requirements (See Instructions.)
The employer agrees that contributions made on behalf of each eligible
employee will be:
A. Based only on the first $160,000* of compensation.
B. Made in an amount that is the same percentage of compensation for
every employee.
C. Limited annually to the smaller of $30,000* or 15% of
compensation.
D. Paid to the employee's XXX trustee, custodian, or insurance company
(for an annuity contract).
___________________________________ _________________________
Employer's Signature and date Name and title
* This amount reflects the cost-of-living increase effective
January 1, 1997. The amount is adjusted annually. The IRS
announces the increase, if any, in a news release and in the
Internal Revenue Bulletin.
XXXXXXXX FUNDS, INC. SIMPLIFIED EMPLOYEE PENSION
Instructions
Section references are to the Internal Revenue Code unless otherwise
noted.
Purpose of Form
Form 5305-SEP (Model SEP) is used by an employer to make an agreement to
provide benefits to all eligible employees under a SEP described in
section 408(k). Do not file this form with the IRS. See Pub. 560,
Retirement Plans for the Self-Employed, and Pub. 590, Individual
Retirement Arrangements (IRAs).
Instructions to the Employer
Simplified Employee Xxxxxxx.XX SEP is a written arrangement (a plan) that
provides you with a simplified way to make contributions toward your
employees' retirement income. Under a SEP, you can contribute to an
employee's individual retirement account or annuity (XXX). You make
contributions directly to an XXX set up by or for each employee with a
bank, insurance company, or other qualified financial institution. When
using Form 5305-SEP to establish a SEP, the XXX must be a Model XXX
established on an IRS form or a master or prototype XXX for which the IRS
has issued a favorable opinion letter. Making the agreement on Form 5305-
SEP does not establish an employer XXX described in section 408(c).
When Not To Use Form 5305-SEP.CDo not use this form if you:
1. Currently maintain any other qualified retirement plan. This
does not prevent you from maintaining another SEP.
2. Previously maintained a defined benefit plan that is now
terminated.
3. Have any eligible employees for whom IRAs have not been
established.
4. Use the services of leased employees (described in section
414(n)).
5. Are a member of an affiliated service group (described in
section 414(m)), a controlled group of corporations (described in section
414(b)), or trades or businesses under common control (described in
sections 414(c) and 414(o)), unless all eligible employees of all the
members of such groups,trades, or businesses, participate in the SEP.
6. Will not pay the cost of the SEP contributions. Do not use Form
5305-SEP for a SEP that provides for elective employee contributions even
if the contributions are made under a salary reduction agreement.
Use Form 5305A-SEP, or a nonmodel SEP if you permit elective
deferrals to a SEP.
Note: SEPs permitting elective deferrals cannot be established after
1996.
Eligible Xxxxxxxxx.XXxx eligible employees must be allowed to participate
in the SEP. An eligible employee is any employee who: (1) is at least 21
years old, and (2) has performed "service" for you in at least 3 of the
immediately preceding 5 years.
Note: You can establish less restrictive eligibility requirements, but
not more restrictive ones.
Service is any work performed for you for any period of time, however
short. If you are a member of an affiliated service group, a controlled
group of corporations,or trades or businesses under common control,
service includes any work performed for any period of time for any other
member of such group,trades, or businesses.
Excludable Employees.CThe following employees do not have to be covered by
the SEP: (1) employees covered by a collective bargaining agreement whose
retirement benefits were bargained for in good faith by you and their
union, (2) nonresident alien employees who did not earn U.S.source income
from you, and (3) employees who received less than $400* in compensation
during the year.
Contribution Limits.CThe SEP rules permit you to make an annual
contribution of up to 15% of the employee's compensation or $300,000*,
whichever is less. Compensation, for this purpose, does not include
employer contributions to the SEP or the employee's compensation in excess
of $160,000*. If you also maintain a Model Elective SEP or any other SEP
that permits employees to make elective deferrals, contributions to the
two SEPs together may not exceed the smaller of $300,000* or 15% of
compensation for any employee.
Contributions cannot discriminate in favor of highly compensated
employees. You are not required to make contributions every year. But
you must contribute to the SEP-IRAs of all of the eligible employees who
actually performed services during the year of the contribution. This
includes eligible employees who die or quit working before the
contribution is made.
You may also not integrate your SEP contributions with, or offset
them by, contributions made under the Federal Insurance Contributions Act
(FICA).
If this SEP is intended to meet the top-heavy minimum contribution
rules of section 416, but it does not cover all your employees who
participate in your elective SEP, then you must make minimum contributions
to IRAs established on behalf of those employees.
____________________
This amount reflects the cost-of-living increase effective
January 1, 1997. The amount is adjusted annually. The IRS announces
the increase, if any, in a news release and in the Internal Revenue
Bulletin.
Deducting Contributions.--You may deduct contributions to a SEP subject to
the limits of section 404(h). This SEP is maintained on a calendar year
basis and contributions to the SEP are deductible for your tax year with
or within which the calendar year ends. Contributions made for a
particular tax year must be made by the due date of your income tax return
(including extensions) for that tax year.
Completing the Agreement.--This agreement is considered adopted when:
! IRAs have been established for all your eligible employees;
! You have completed all blanks on the agreement form without
modification; and
! You have given all your eligible employees the following information:
1. A copy of Form 5305-SEP.
2. A statement that IRAs other than the IRAs into which employer
SEP contributions will be made may provide different rates of return and
different terms concerning, among other things, transfers and withdrawals
of funds from the IRAs.
3. A statement that, in addition to the information provided to an
employee at the time the employee becomes eligible to participate, the
administrator of the SEP must furnish each participant within 30 days of
the effective date of any amendment to the SEP, a copy of the amendment
and a written explanation of its effects.
4. A statement that the administrator will give written
notification to each participant of any employer contributions made under
the SEP to that participant's XXX by the later of January 31 of the year
following the year for which a contribution is made or 30 days after the
contribution is made.
Employers who have established a SEP using Form 5305-SEP and have
furnished each eligible employee with a copy of the completed Form 5305-
SEP and provided the other documents and disclosures described in
Instructions to the Employer and Information for the Employee, are not
required to file the annual information returns, Forms 5500, 5500-C/R, or
5500-EZ for the SEP. However, under Title I of ERISA, this relief from
the annual reporting requirements may not be available to an employer who
selects, recommends, or influences its employees to choose IRAs into which
contributions will be made under the SEP, if those IRAs are subject to
provisions that impose any limits on a participant's ability to withdraw
funds (other than restrictions imposed by the Code that apply to all
IRAs). For additional information on Title I requirements, see the
Department of Labor regulation at 29 CFR 2520.104-48.
Information for the Employee
The information below explains what a SEP is, how contributions are made,
and how to treat your employer's contributions for tax purposes. For more
information, see Pub. 590.
Simplified Employee Pension.--A SEP is a written arrangement (a plan) that
allows an employer to make contributions toward your retirement.
Contributions are made to an individual retirement account/annuity (XXX).
Contributions must be made to either a Model XXX executed on an IRS form
or a master or prototype XXX for which the IRS has issued a favorable
opinion letter.
An employer is not required to make SEP contributions. If a
contribution is made, it must be allocated to all the eligible employees
according to the SEP agreement. The Model SEP (Form 5305-SEP) specifies
that the contribution for each eligible employee will be the same
percentage of compensation (excluding compensation higher than $160,000*)
for all employees.
Your employer will provide you with a copy of the agreement
containing participation rules and a description of how employer
contributions may be made to your XXX. Your employer must also provide
you with a copy of the completed Form 5305-SEP and a yearly statement
showing any contributions to your XXX.
All amounts contributed to your XXX by your employer belong to you
even after you stop working for that employer.
Contribution Limits.--Your employer will determine the amount to be
contributed to your XXX each year. However, the amount for any year is
limited to the smaller of $30,000* or 15% of your compensation (currently
limited to $160,000) for that year. Compensation does not include any
amount that is contributed by your employer to your XXX under the SEP.
Your employer is not required to make contributions every year or to
maintain a particular level of contributions.
Tax Treatment of Contributions.--Employer contributions to your SEP-XXX
are excluded from your income unless there are contributions in excess of
the applicable limit. Employer contributions within these limits will not
be included on your Form W-2.
Employee Contributions.--You may contribute the smaller of $2,000 or 100%
of your compensation to an XXX. However, the amount you can deduct may be
reduced or eliminated because, as a participant in a SEP, you are covered
by an employer retirement plan.
SEP Participation.--If your employer does not require you to participate
in a SEP as a condition of employment, and you elect not to participate,
all other employees of your employer may be prohibited from participating.
If one or more eligible employees do not participate and the employer
tries to establish a SEP for the remaining employees, it could cause
adverse tax consequences for the participating employees.
An employer may not adopt this IRS Model SEP if the employer
maintains another qualified retirement plan or has ever maintained a
qualified defined benefit plan. This does not prevent your employer from
adopting this IRS Model SEP and also maintaining an IRS Model Elective SEP
or other SEP. However, if you work for several employers, you may be
covered by a SEP of one employer and a different SEP or pension or profit-
sharing plan of another employer.
SEP-XXX Amounts--Rollover or Transfer to Another XXX.--You can withdraw or
receive funds from your SEP-XXX if within 60 days of receipt, you place
those funds in another XXX or SEP-XXX. This is called a "rollover" and
can be done without penalty only once in any 1-year period. However,
there are no restrictions on the number of times you may make "transfers"
if you arrange to have these funds transferred between the trustees or the
custodians so that you never have possession of the funds.
Withdrawals.--You may withdraw your employer's contribution at any time,
but any amount withdrawn is includible in your income unless rolled over.
Also, if withdrawals occur before you reach age 592, you may be subject to
a tax on early withdrawal.
Excess SEP Contributions.--Contributions exceeding the yearly limitations
may be withdrawn without penalty by the due date (plus extensions) for
filing your tax return (normally April 15), but is includible in your
gross income. Excess contributions left in your SEP-XXX account after
that time may have adverse tax consequences. Withdrawals of those
contributions may be taxed as premature withdrawals.
Financial Institution Requirements.--The financial institution where your
XXX is maintained must provide you with a disclosure statement that
contains the following information in plain, nontechnical language:
1. The law that relates to your XXX.
2. The tax consequences of various options concerning your XXX.
3. Participation eligibility rules, and rules on the deductibility
of retirement savings.
4. Situations and procedures for revoking your XXX, including the
name, address, and telephone number of the person designated to receive
notice of revocation. (This information must be clearly displayed at the
beginning of the disclosure statement.)
5. A discussion of the penalties that may be assessed because of
prohibited activities concerning your XXX.
6. Financial disclosure that provides the following information:
a. Projects value growth rates of your XXX under various
contribution and retirement schedules, or describes the method of
determining annual earnings and charges that may be assessed.
b. Describes whether, and for when, the growth projections are
guaranteed, or a statement of the earnings rate and the terms on which the
projections are based.
c. States the sales commission for each year expressed as a
percentage of $1,000.
In addition, the financial institution must provide you with a
financial statement each year. You may want to keep these statements to
evaluate your IRA's investment performance.
