1099 IRS Notice for 2014 Filings

Because of the complexities of tax withholding and reporting, Pension Fund contracts with two outside firms with respect to the various pension and retirement savings programs you may utilize. One vendor manages tax withholding and reporting on distributions, while the other prepares and mails tax forms and reports to the IRS on our behalf.

We learned earlier this year that the vendor responsible for tax withholding sent an errant file to the IRS which for many of our members had the effect of doubling the amount of taxable income reported on their Pension Fund-related income. We learned of this situation earlier this year when one of our participants reported receiving a letter from the IRS. Upon learning of the problem, we contacted the vendor. Following several contacts, the vendor acknowledged their error. That firm subsequently made contact with the IRS to notify them of the error and assured that a corrective file would be sent to resolve the problem.

The reporting vendor advised that IRS issued a case number for the situation and that once the corrective file was loaded, no further contacts would be made to our participants. We understood that at the time there were approximately 15 of our participants who had been contacted by the IRS and that the scope of the problem could be contained as the corrective file was loaded. Because we believed that the problem had been properly identified, involved only a small number of our members and would be resolved quickly the decision was made not to send out a general alert.

Several participants have contacted Pension Fund in recent weeks. After making contact again with both the vendor and IRS, it is clear that the corrective file has not been uploaded to date. This suggests to us that many, if not all, recipients of 1099-R, 1099-int or 1099-Misc forms for 2014 are at risk of receiving a letter from the IRS, implying that you have under reported your income on your 2014 tax return.

I deeply regret that we did not proactively advise participants when the problem was first defined and provide information about how to deal with a letter from the IRS in this regard. It is not our practice to withhold or delay providing information that you need about Pension Fund, your accounts or tax reporting. I sincerely apologize.

In the event that you receive a letter from the IRS regarding your 2014 tax return and the errant or duplicate 1099, I encourage you to send or fax to us a copy of the entire IRS letter so that we can be certain of their demand. We will provide you with a letter for the IRS and appropriate additional documentation as needed. You will need to send these documents on to IRS in the timely manner required. It has been our experience that this process resolves the IRS inquiry.

Please feel free to contact us at 866.495.7322 if you have questions.

Sincerely,

James P. Hamlett

CEO and President
Pension Fund of the Christian Church