If your defined contribution plan – 401(k), profit sharing, money purchase – uses an Internal Revenue Service pre-approved plan document, it is restatement time again... The last round of restatements ended back in April 2010. The IRS issued Announcement 2014-16 notifying plan sponsors and service providers that it is issuing opinion letters on pre-approved defined contribution plans (prototype and volume submitter) on March 31, 2014, and that the two-year window for plan sponsors to adopt the new pre-approved documents is April 30, 2016. This means that plan sponsors whose plans are currently on a pre-approved document should begin the process of restating their plans and coordinating with their document providers. This includes plans that:
Rely on the IRS opinion letter issued on the pre-approved document;
Have an individually-designed plan that is substantially similar to the pre-approved document such that the IRS has permitted the plan to remain on the six-year cycle for pre-approved plans rather than on the five-year staggered remedial amendment cycle based on the plan sponsor’s employer identification number (EIN); or
Have an individually designed plan but intend to adopt a pre-approved plan and the plan sponsor has signed a Form 8905, Intent to Adopt a Pre-Approved Plan, by the applicable deadline for the plan’s staggered remedial amendment cycle.
Plan Sponsors who wish to submit their plans to the IRS for an individual favorable determination letter, such as individually-designed plans that are on the six-year pre-approved document cycle, may begin to submit their restatements to the IRS as early as May 1, 2014 and no later than April 30, 2016.
© Boutwell Fay LLP 2014, All Rights Reserved. This handout is for information purposes only, and may constitute attorney advertising. It should not be construed as legal advice and does not create an attorney-client relationship. If you have questions or would like our advice with respect to any of this information, please contact us. The information contained in this article is effective as of September 31, 2014