WHAT IF THERE ARE TWO SEPARATE CLIENTS, BOTH OF WHICH HAVE COMMON OWNERSHIP THROUGH THEIR PRINCIPALS? IS IT POSSIBLE TO COMBINE THE TWO BENEFIT PLANS? SPECIFICALLY, WHAT ERISA QUALIFICATIONS DO THEY NEED TO SATISFY TO MEET THE SINGLE EMPLOYER DEFINITION, AND IF THE QUALIFICATIONS ARE MET, ARE WE ABLE TO FILE ONLY ONE ERISA DOCUMENT?

Yes it is possible to establish a Single Employer Plan if the companies are in the same control group, and under common control. To be considered under common control, there must be at least 25% common ownership interest. Regulations further provide that common control will fall under one of the following categories:

1. Sibling group
2. Parent/Subsidiary Group, entities which are connected through at least 80% common ownership
3. A group with 5 or less individuals that own at least 80% interest in each company AND; the same group of 5 or less, together own more than 50% interest in each entity, only calculating the individuals ownership where the ownership is identical in each organization.

Responsibility for fiduciary obligations and compliance are remitted to the control group. Premium payment being managed by two separate offices is an administrative task and does not become a determining factor for establishing a Single Employer Plan.