Reminder: Notify NRECA about Long-Term, Part-Time Employees Eligible for the 401(k) Plan

Do you have part-time employees who worked at least 500 (but fewer than 1,000) hours since 2021? If so, remember to check their eligibility under the new long-term, part-time rules. They may be eligible to participate in the 401(k) Pension Plan starting January 1, 2024.

Report any employees eligible under this new rule to NRECA’s Employee Benefit Services team in one of two ways: Send an email to ebsmailbox@nreca.coop or through the secure Message Center, or contact the Member Contact Center at 866.673.2299 or email contactcenter@nreca.coop. Be sure to include the employee’s name and hours worked for all applicable computation periods. NRECA will add the participant to the system, noting that he or she is a long-term, part-time participant.

In 2019, the SECURE Act set up an alternate path to 401(k) Pension Plan participation for part-time employees. Starting with hours worked in 2021, an employee who works 500 or more hours for three consecutive computation periods (and is age 21 if your plan requires it) becomes eligible to make employee contributions. Check the Counting Hours of Service page on the Employee Benefits website for details about how the rule works.

If you have questions about long-term, part-time eligibility after reviewing the rules, call the retirement compliance team at 866.673.2299, option 7.