100+ Free QKA Practice Questions

QKA-1: Eligibility

IRC §410(a) age 21/one-year-of-service maximum, 1,000-hour rule, elapsed-time method, plan entry dates (semi-annual standard), SECURE 2.0 long-term part-time employee rules (500 hours in 2 consecutive years for elective deferrals, effective 2025), and statutory excludable classifications

QKA-1: Distributions

Distributable events (severance, age 59½, death, disability, hardship, plan termination), in-service withdrawals, RMDs at age 73, $7,000 mandatory cash-out under SECURE 2.0, 20% mandatory federal withholding on eligible rollover distributions, direct rollovers, and SECURE 2.0 emergency $1,000 distributions and federally declared disaster distributions

QKA-1: Safe Harbor 401(k) Plans

Traditional safe harbor (3% nonelective OR basic match 100% on first 3% + 50% on next 2% OR enhanced match), QACA auto-enrollment safe harbor (2-yr cliff vesting permitted, escalating default deferral), SECURE 2.0 mid-year nonelective adoption rules, and 30-day annual notice requirement for traditional safe harbor

QKA-1: Vesting

3-year cliff and 2-to-6-year graded schedules for employer contributions, 100% immediate vesting required for safe harbor nonelective/match and QACA contributions, top-heavy minimum vesting (3-year cliff or 2-to-6 graded), §411(a)(6) forfeiture rules, and reallocation vs expense-offset of forfeitures

QKA-1: Employer Contributions

Discretionary profit-sharing allocations (pro-rata, integrated/permitted disparity, age-weighted, cross-tested), matching contributions (fixed and discretionary), allocation conditions (1,000-hour or last-day requirements with §401(a)(26) and §410(b) impact), and §415(c) annual additions limit ($72,000 in 2026)

QKA-1: Employee Contributions

Pre-tax elective deferrals, Roth 401(k) designated Roth contributions, §402(g) deferral limit ($24,500 in 2026), age-50 catch-up ($8,000 in 2026), SECURE 2.0 age 60-63 super catch-up ($11,250 in 2026), after-tax voluntary contributions subject to ACP, and SECURE 2.0 §603 Roth-only catch-up for >$145K (indexed) high earners

QKA-1: Participant Loans

IRC §72(p) loan limit (lesser of $50,000 reduced by highest outstanding balance in prior 12 months, or 50% of vested account balance), 5-year level amortization (longer for principal residence), quarterly payment minimum, deemed distribution on default, loan offset rollover window extended to tax-filing deadline, and SECURE 2.0 §312 federally declared disaster loan increase

QKA-1: Plan Types

401(k) profit-sharing, money purchase pension, ESOP, SEP and SARSEP, SIMPLE IRA and SIMPLE 401(k), 403(b), 457(b) governmental and tax-exempt, traditional defined benefit, cash balance hybrid, and SECURE 2.0 §121 starter 401(k) and safe harbor SIMPLE updates

QKA-1: Plan Qualifications

IRC §401(a) qualification requirements, written plan document, exclusive-benefit rule, anti-alienation (with QDRO exception), definitely determinable benefits, Cycle 3 pre-approved DC plan restatement deadline (July 31, 2022), determination letter program, and operational vs document compliance

QKA-2: Coverage

IRC §410(b) ratio percentage test (NHCE coverage % must be >= 70% of HCE coverage %), average benefits test (nondiscriminatory classification + average benefit percentage), reasonable classification with NHCE concentration safe/unsafe harbor, statutory excludable employees (<21, <1 year service, nonresident aliens, union employees), and §401(a)(26) minimum participation for DB plans

QKA-2: ADP/ACP Testing Part 1

ADP test on elective deferrals, ACP test on matching and after-tax contributions, current-year vs prior-year NHCE testing election, 1.25 absolute spread, 2.0 multiplier spread with +2 absolute cap (whichever is greater), and HCE/NHCE actual percentage calculation

QKA-2: ADP/ACP Testing Part 2

Correction methods: refund excess contributions to HCEs starting with highest deferral dollar amount, QNEC and QMAC bottom-up to NHCEs, recharacterization as catch-up for age-50+ HCEs, 2.5-month correction window (6 months for EACA plans) before §4979 10% excise tax, and EPCRS SCP correction after the statutory window

QKA-2: HCEs

IRC §414(q) HCE definition: (a) more-than-5% owner in current OR prior year, or (b) compensation exceeded $160,000 in 2025 lookback year for 2026 HCE determination, optional top-paid 20% group election, §318 family attribution to spouse/children/parents/grandparents, and HCE determination calendar mechanics

QKA-2: Compensation

§415 compensation (W-2, §3401(a), or current-includible), §414(s) safe-harbor and custom compensation definitions plus nondiscriminatory compensation test, §401(a)(17) compensation limit ($360,000 in 2026), post-severance pay 2.5-month inclusion window, severance pay exclusion, bonus/commission/overtime treatment, and partial year of participation

QKA-2: Top-Heavy and Key Employees

§416 top-heavy ratio (sum of key-employee account balances / sum of all account balances > 60% on determination date), key employee definition (officer > $230,000 in 2026, more-than-5% owner, more-than-1% owner with compensation > $150,000), required 3% minimum employer contribution to non-key participants, accelerated 3-year cliff or 2-to-6 graded vesting, and aggregation/permissive aggregation groups

QKA-2: Plan Disclosures

Summary Plan Description (SPD) within 90 days of eligibility, Summary of Material Modifications (SMM) within 210 days after plan year of amendment, Summary Annual Report (SAR) by 9 months after plan year end, 30-60 day blackout notice, QDIA annual notice, ERISA §404(a)(5) participant fee disclosure, §408(b)(2) service-provider fee disclosure, and SECURE 2.0 paper-statement default rules

QKA-2: Form 5500 and Government Reporting

Form 5500 series filings (Form 5500 with schedules, 5500-SF for small plans, 5500-EZ for one-participant), independent audit threshold (100 participants WITH account balance under SECURE 2.0 §404 counting rule effective 2023), Schedule C for service-provider compensation, Schedule SB/MB for DB plans, DOL EFAST2 mandatory e-filing, and 7-month filing deadline (July 31 for calendar year) with 2½-month Form 5558 extension

QKA-2: Ethics

ASPPA Code of Professional Conduct: Integrity (Precept 1), Qualification Standards (Precept 2), Conflict of Interest disclosure (Precept 7), Confidentiality (Precept 9), Control of Work Product (Precept 10), Professional Courtesy, Cooperation with other Professionals, and adherence to Standards of Practice