News

"Employers who have adopted a pre-approved Pension Plan -- either traditional Defined Benefit or Cash Balance -- must restate their plans by March 31, 2025 ... It is the responsibility of the Plan fiduciary to ensure that the Plan is updated and signed by the March 31, 2025 deadline. Because the Restatement process can be time consuming, it is important to begin Planning to ensure the Restatement deadline is met. And as mentioned above, it's now a compliance question on Form 5500."

"Did you just set your plan up last year? Sorry, you still gotta jump through the hoop; see if you can catch a break from your TPA to get it restated on the cheap if you don't change anything. Were you going to terminate your plan, anyway, and are thinking 'now's the time' since you're tired of the administrative expense? Sorry again; every ERISA attorney ... will recommend you restate your plan before you terminate it."

"The new rules -- announced in Rev. Proc. 2023-37  -- took effect on Nov. 21, 2023.... The deadline to adopt interim amendments to preapproved plans for changes in law or guidance is now tied to IRS's Required Amendments List.... [T]he deadline for governmental employers to adopt a plan amendment is the later of: [1] The deadline that applies to nongovernmental employers for the particular type of amendment (e.g., discretionary or interim); [2] If legislative action is necessary to adopt an amendment, a date based on the employer's legislative calendar."

"Many plans do not offer Roth options and need to update their systems to flag incomes at or above the limit to be sure they are in compliance. This problem is particularly acute for governmental plans, which tend to have more complicated and less centralized payroll systems, and in many cases require updates to state legislation and collectively bargained labor contracts in order to make the necessary changes."

"[The authors] have compiled a comprehensive guide outlining the multitude regulatory plan document amendments and restatement deadlines. Spanning from 2025 through 2029, these deadlines necessitate meticulous preparation and organization to ensure timely compliance."

" What happens when the drafter of an ERISA plan makes an innocent error (a 'scrivener's error') that unintentionally increases benefits to plan participants by more than $1.6 billion?.... [Two] federal court decisions highlight the tension between the need to protect plan participants and the potential unfairness of allowing participants to receive a windfall just because of an innocent mistake, as well as the difference between correction by retroactive plan amendment under EPCRS and reformation of a plan document by a court under ERISA."

"When SECURE 2.0 was enacted in 2022, the deadline for qualified plans to retroactively adopt required amendments and receive anti-cutback protection was no later than the last day of the first plan year beginning on or after January 1, 2025. SECURE 2.0 also extended the remedial amendment period for the SECURE Act 1.0, CARES Act, and Relief Act required amendments to coordinate with this later deadline. The Notice now extends the deadline to December 31, 2026. The Notice specifically provides that required amendments adopted after this deadline will not receive anti-cutback relief."

"One of the most significant provisions in [ Notice 2024-02 ] is an extension of the deadline for plan sponsors to adopt amendments required under SECURE 2.0.... The Notice also clarifies the Act's provision allowing employers to provide de minimis financial incentives to employees to encourage participation in a 401(k) or 403(b) plan."

150 pages; January 2024. "This Information Package contains samples of plan provisions that have been found to satisfy certain specific requirements of the Internal Revenue Code, taking into account changes in the plan qualification requirements, regulations, revenue rulings, and other guidance ... including changes enacted by the [CARES Act] ... the [SECURE] Act of 2019 ... and ... the SECURE 2.0 Act of 2022 ... Such language may or may not be acceptable in different plans depending on the context in which used." [Also available: Redlined version ]

60 pages; January 2024. "This Information Package contains samples of plan provisions that have been found to satisfy certain specific requirements of the Internal Revenue Code, as amended through the SECURE 2.0 Act of 2022 ... These CODA LRMs are not revised to reflect certain changes to catch-up contribution limits and requirements enacted by SECURE 2.0, to the extent these changes are not included on the Cumulative List. This CODA LRM also does not include plan language for implementing pension-linked emergency savings accounts (PLESAs) ... added by Section 127 of SECURE 2.0." [Also available: Redlined version ]

45 pages; January 2024. "[ Rev. Proc. 2015-36 ] expanded the pre-approved program to cover employee stock ownership plans (ESOPs) and set forth certain requirements to be a pre-approved ESOP.... This information package contains samples of plan provisions that satisfy certain requirements of the Code applicable to ESOPs. Such language may or may not be acceptable in specific plans depending on the context in which used. To expedite the review process, plan sponsors are encouraged to use the language in this package."

"[ Notice 2024-02 ] provides an additional year for plans to adopt plan amendments pursuant to the Act. As a result, non-governmental qualified plans must be amended by December 31, 2026, while applicable collectively bargained plans have until December 31, 2028 to make the required amendments and governmental plans must be amended by December 31, 2029."

"[I]tems specific to 401(k) plans include: [1] changes made to the hardship distribution rules under the Bipartisan Budget Act of 2018, [2] final hardship distribution regulations issued in 2019, [3] the establishment of starter 401(k) plans under the SECURE 2.0 Act, [4] changes to rules relating to long-term, part-time employees made by the SECURE Act, the SECURE 2.0 Act, and proposed regulations upon which taxpayers may rely, and [5] changes to the rules for SIMPLE 401(k) plans made by the SECURE 2.0 Act."

"For the second year in a row, the IRS Required Amendments (RA) List ( Notice 2023-79 ) identifies no statutory or regulatory changes for individually designed qualified and Section 403(b) retirement plans.... IRS Notice 2024-2 extends the deadline to at least Dec. 31, 2026, for required and discretionary amendments related to recent legislation, including the SECURE 2.0 Act ... However, employers making unrelated discretionary changes in 2025 generally will still need to amend their plans by the end of the 2025 plan year[.]"

18 pages. "This practice note describes the requirements for implementing pre-approved plans and advantages, disadvantages, and best practices concerning the implementation and legal review of pre-approved plans."

81 pages. "This notice provides guidance in the form of questions and answers with respect to certain provisions of ... the SECURE 2.0 Act of 2022. Specifically, this notice addresses issues under the following sections of the SECURE 2.0 Act:

• section 101 (expanding automatic enrollment in retirement plans),
• section 102 (modification of credit for small employer pension plan startup costs),
• section 112 (military spouse retirement plan eligibility credit for small employers),
• section 113 (small immediate financial incentives for contributing to a plan),
• section 117 (contribution limit for SIMPLE plans),
• section 326 (exception to the additional tax on
• early distributions from qualified plans for individuals with a terminal illness),
• section 332 (employers allowed to replace SIMPLE retirement accounts with safe harbor 401(k) plans during a year),
• section 348 (cash balance),
• section 350 (safe harbor for correction of employee elective deferral failures), section 501 (provisions relating to plan amendments),
• section 601 (SIMPLE and SEP Roth IRAs), and
• section 604 (optional treatment of employer contributions or nonelective contributions as Roth contributions).

"This notice is not intended to provide comprehensive guidance as to the specific provisions of the SECURE 2.0 Act, but rather is intended to provide guidance on discreet issues to assist in commencing implementation of these provisions."

18 pages. "The 2023 Cumulative List will assist providers applying to the [IRS] for opinion letters for the fourth remedial amendment cycle for defined contribution qualified pre-approved plans (Cycle 4) under the IRS's pre-approved plan program. Cycle 4 began on February 1, 2023. The 2023 Cumulative List identifies recent changes in the qualification requirements of the Internal Revenue Code that were not taken into account during the first three remedial amendment cycles for defined contribution qualified pre-approved plans and that will be taken into account by the IRS with respect to the form of a plan submitted to the IRS for Cycle 4. The Cycle 4 submission period begins on February 1, 2024, and ends on January 31, 2025."

"The IRS is hosting a virtual meeting with pre-approved plan providers and mass submitters to discuss technical and procedural requirements for the upcoming 4th cycle 401(a) defined contribution pre-approved plan submission period. When: Wednesday, January 17, 2024 ... This meeting is intended for those providers and mass submitters who draft pre-approved plans and plan to apply for a 4th cycle opinion letter under Revenue Procedure 2023-37 ."

"Part A. Changes in requirements that generally would require an amendment to most plans or to most plans of the type affected by the change. None.

"Part B. Other changes in requirements that may require an amendment. None."

"[1] Long-term part-time administrative changes ... [2] SECURE 2.0 Optional changes.... [3] Pre-approved plans with discretionary match ... [4] Qualified retirement plan routine year-end maintenance ... [5] Gag clause prohibition compliance ... [6] [MHPAEA] comparative analysis ... [7] Cafeteria plan 'family glitch' amendment."

"[1] End of remedial amendment period for timely adopted interim amendments.... [2] End of remedial amendment period for discretionary amendments made by adopting employers.... [3] Failure of adopting employer to timely adopt interim amendment.... [4] Starter 401(k) deferral-only plans.... [5] Qualified pre-approved plan cycles.... [6] Provider applications for opinion letters.... [7] Conformity with Section 403(b) pre-approved plan rules."

"The guidance ... in [ Rev. Proc. 2023-37 ] on qualified and 403(b) pre-approved plans made some significant changes in order to conform, clarify, and update the rules.... [1] Changes that apply to all pre-approved plans ... [2] Changes for qualified pre-approved plans ... [3] 403(b) pre-approved plans ... [4] Remedial amendment cycles ... [5] Effective date."

4 pages; rev. Nov. 2023. "This publication explains the significance of a favorable determination letter, points out some features that may affect the tax status of an employee retirement plan and nullify the determination letter without specific notice from us, and provides general information on the reporting requirements for the plan."

81 pages. "This revenue procedure sets forth the rules regarding Qualified Pre-approved Plans and Section 403(b) Pre-approved Plans, and combines, conforms, clarifies, and updates rules for Qualified Pre-approved Plans and Section 403(b) Pre-approved Plans previously set forth in prior revenue procedures ... Combining these prior revenue procedures allows for the rules for the different types of Pre-approved Plans to be more easily conformed to each other, to the extent practicable. These rules for Pre-approved Plans fall into three broad categories: [1] Remedial Amendment Periods, the Remedial Amendment Cycle system, and plan amendment deadlines ... [2] Provider application for an Opinion Letter ... [3] Adopting Employer application for a determination letter ...

'Pursuant to this revenue procedure, the Submission Period for a Provider of a defined contribution Qualified Pre-approved Plan to submit an application for a Cycle 4 Opinion Letter begins on February 1, 2024, and ends on January 31, 2025."

"The IRS is soliciting comments concerning Form 5307, Application for Determination for Adopters of Modified Nonstandardized Pre-Approved Plans.... The form was revised to eliminate features of the determination letter program that are of limited utility to plan sponsors in comparison with the burdens they impose. The form was also revised to enable electronic submission on Pay.gov."