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Who Are Highly Compensated and Key Employees?


HCE and Key Employees in 401(k) Plans - Uniglobal Blog

Technically, it's not a What, it's a Who. HCEs or Highly Compensated Employees are a classification of participants in a retirement plan. An HCE ...

Compensating Key Employees & Increasing Retention - The Hartford

Compensating Your Key Employees · Stock Options · Incentive and Deferred Compensation · Arranging Equity Participation · Supplemental Executive Retirement Plans.

Work classified me as a “highly compensated employee” and is ...

Last year, I only made $93,000 and I put 20% into my 401k. My 401k contributions came out to $19k and change. I am not understanding how I'm ...

Understanding the Highly Compensated Employee (HCE ...

Understanding the Highly Compensated Employee (HCE) Classification Under the FLSA · Directs the work of at least two full-time employees. · Does ...

A simple guide to 401(k) testing - HealthEquity Blog

HCE - A Highly Compensated Employee (HCE) is defined as an employee that owns more than 5% of the company or received at least $120,000 in ...

Definition: key employee from 26 USC § 125(j)(3) - Law.Cornell.Edu

(ii) Qualified employee The term “qualified employee” means, with respect to a cafeteria plan, any employee who is not a highly compensated or key employee and ...

What Tests Determine Who Is a Highly Compensated Employee?

Generally, an employee is an HCE under the compensation test if he or she received compensation from the employer in excess of a dollar ...

FMLA Matters: What Does It Mean to Be a "Key Employee"?

Employees paid on an hourly basis may not be designated key employees. Second, salary is used as a yardstick to determine which employees are “ ...

Key Employee Definition - Flexible Spending Accounts

A Plan should not favor any Highly-compensated employees (HCE). A highly compensated employee, for this purpose, is any of the following employees. An officer.

What is a key employee? - PeopleKeep

According to 26 USC § 416(i)(1)1, a key employee is any officer who has an annual compensation of more than $220,000 (in 2024), a 5% or more ...

401(k) Guide for Highly Compensated Employees - unbiased.com

According to the IRS, a highly compensated employee or “key employee” is an employee who meets certain earning criteria. An HCE must make ...

How to determine ownership and family attribution

One of the most important determinations that needs to be made to keep the plan compliant is who is considered HCEs or key employees. Family attribution can ...

Highly Compensated Employee Definition - Patriot Software

A highly compensated employee is someone whose earnings exceed the IRS limit or someone who owns 5% or more of a company.

UTS 144 Establishing Compensation for Highly ... - UT System

The purpose of this policy is to set forth the philosophy of the UT System in establishing compensation for Highly Compensated Personnel.

IRS Indexed Limits for 2025 - The Standard

Compensation Limit5. 401(a)(17); 404(l). $345,000. $350,000. Highly Compensated Employee Income Limit6. 414(q)(1)(B). $155,000. $160,000. Key Employee Officer.

What's the Definition of a Highly Compensated Employee? - TriNet

Since employees are classified based on the income from the previous year's tax return, make sure you're looking at the requirements for the ...

Is a Safe Harbor 401(k) Right for You? | Paychex

... highly compensated or key employees. A safe harbor 401(k) is a solution that allows business owners to avoid this annual test and its ...

401(k) Plans For Highly Compensated Employees - Capitalize

What is a Highly Compensated Employee (HCE)? · Officers of a company who earn over a specific gross income threshold ($150,000 in 2023) and fall ...

Key Terms | Definiti

Tests designed to ensure a qualified retirement plan does not discriminate in favor of highly compensated employees. NONHIGHLY COMPENSATED EMPLOYEE (NHCE). An ...

26 USC 125: Cafeteria plans - U.S. Code

(B) highly compensated participants as to contributions and benefits. (2) Key employees. In the case of a key employee (within the meaning of section 416(i)(1)) ...


Key employee

Key employee, in U.S. Internal Revenue Service terminology, is an employee classification used when determining if company-sponsored qualified retirement plans, including 401 defined benefit plans and 401s, are considered "top-heavy" or, in other words, weighted towards the company's more highly compensated individuals.