<prompt> Human: Hi PF. Have been going back and forth with my small firms Finance Director this morning and still cant believe what shes telling me.She just got the Q1 401k package, and my deferral of 13.99 of my salary is throwing us out of compliance for ERISA purposes. My base is 140k. I max out my 401k. Never saw that as a problem, but now, as I was just told,Even though the max for 2013 is 17,500; the Plan testing limits will cap you. The reason is that when Congress passed the laws, it didnt want unlimited tax breaks for the Highly Compensated.Even if you max out at 17,500 this year, it will put you at approx. 12.50 deferral which is well above the cap of 5.75 now.The reason we have always passed is that the pool of non-highly compensated is getting larger, thus dragging down the average.So, has anyone ever dealt with something like this? I am pushing back but the message Im getting from my own Finance Director is Adjust it and get us back in compliance. I just cant believe that its somehow suddenly inappropriate for me to withhold up to the legal contribution limit.BTW, there is no match at my firm, for what thats worth.Edit: UpdateSo I went back to the Finance Director and asked her that, in addition to effectively restricting HCEs contributions, we should also take some of the steps others have suggested e.g. raise awareness of the program, offer a company match, or convert to a safe harbor plan.Her response was that were already a mandatory plan, so enrollment is automatic for new employees, and NHCEs average deferral is 4.She says shes spoken with the CEOowner, and were not in a cash position to offer a match or switch to a safe harbor plan.So, for now, its essentially tough luck.I may go back and ask for a modest comp adjustment to offset the impact, but I guess my best bet is to open a taxable brokerage account and start funding that with the funds I was previously deferring into the 401k.Thanks again to all who offered clarity guidance.  <response>: This can happen. In my small company, the owners put zero into the plan to help stay in compliance. Look into safe harbor rules. Basically, if you can get lower paid people to participate or a few other safe harbor issues, you can contribute again. Usually HR is all over this because they dont want highly paid folks to leave or demand additional compensation because of it. 