Now is the Time to Start Planning for Upcoming 2026 Plan Amendment Deadlines
- Katrina Veldkamp
- 22 hours ago
- 2 min read
Plan sponsors of most types of retirement plans must amend their plan documents by the end of 2026.
What amendments are required for qualified retirement plans?
All non-governmental qualified retirement plans (e.g., 401(k), profit sharing, cash balance, and defined benefit plans) must be amended by December 31, 2026, to reflect required and optional updates pursuant to the CARES Act, SECURE Act, and SECURE 2.0 Act. Note that the amendment deadline for qualified plans sponsored by governmental employers is December 31, 2029, and the amendment deadline for collectively bargained 403(b) plans is December 31, 2028.
What amendments and restatements are required for 403(b) plans?
All non-governmental 403(b) plans must be amended by December 31, 2026, to reflect required and optional updates pursuant to the CARES Act, SECURE Act, and SECURE 2.0 Act. Note that the amendment deadline for qualified plans sponsored by public school employers is December 31, 2029, and the amendment deadline for collectively bargained qualified plans is December 31, 2028.
Additionally, all 403(b) plans that use a pre-approved plan document, regardless of whether they are public school plans or not, must be restated in full (“Cycle 2 restatements”) by December 31, 2026 to preserve reliance on the related IRS opinion letter.
What should plan sponsors do next?
Plan sponsors should check in with their service providers to request a status update on when amendments and/or restatements will be ready for review. Legal counsel should review drafts to ensure they accurately reflect plan terms, and plan sponsors should review to ensure the plan terms match plan operations.
Because service providers will become busier as the year progresses, the sooner plan sponsors can start the review process with legal counsel, the better!
If you have any questions about the upcoming amendment deadline, please contact your Boutwell Fay attorney.
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