Final answer:
Statement (c) is false regarding safe harbor provisions of a 401(k) plan; such provisions do not allow plans to avoid employer matching contributions. Rather, employers are required to make specific contributions to meet safe harbor requirements.
Step-by-step explanation:
The section 401(k) plan safe harbor provisions are designed to make the 401(k) plan exempt from certain nondiscrimination tests, such as the Actual Deferral Percentage (ADP) and Actual Contribution Percentage (ACP) tests. Among the statements regarding safe harbor provisions, statement (c) that safe harbor provisions allow plans to avoid employer matching contributions is false. In fact, to meet the safe harbor requirements, employers must make either a matching contribution to employees who defer or a non-elective contribution to all eligible employees, regardless of whether they defer.
Employers must satisfy specific criteria for contributions under the safe harbor rules. Therefore, safe harbor plans do necessitate certain contribution structures as indicated in statement (d), and require a specific contribution to participants' accounts as per statement (b). Statement (a) is also correct; safe harbor provisions do exempt the plan from nondiscrimination testing as they are intended to ensure that benefits do not unduly favor highly compensated employees over non-highly compensated employees.