Top Heavy Contributions for Employees Excluded from Plan During Year (Posted November 22, 2001) Technical Tip 61: The following question and answer were from the IRS Q&A Session at the 2000 ASPPA Annual Conference: If a plan is top heavy and employer decides that they would like to begin excluding commissioned employees and the numbers work out so that the plan passes §410(b)--or general testing, without a contribution allocation to commissioned employees--and some commissioned employees were eligible for the plan prior to the amendment, will commissioned employees who have already become eligible for the plan, but who are no longer an eligible class of employees due to re-definition be required to receive a top-heavy contribution allocation? Response: In the year of change, a top-heavy minimum will be required. In subsequent years, a top-heavy minimum would likely not be required in a defined contribution setting. In a defined benefit setting, this would be more problematic. View all Tips © 2012 Reish Luftman Reicher & Cohen, a Professional Corporation Important notice: Answers are provided as general guidance on the subjects covered in the question and are not provided as legal advice to the questioner's situation. Any legal issues should be reviewed by your legal counsel to apply the law to the particular facts of your situation.