IRS Extends Several Required Amendment Deadlines

December 2, 2005 (PLANSPONSOR.com) - The IRS issued Notice 2005-95 which clarifies the interaction of the amendment timing deadlines for plans qualified under § 401(a) as set forth in RP-2005-66, 2005-37 I.R.B. 509 with the deadlines set forth in various other published guidance.

The notice also provides transitional relief from certain of those deadlines, thus giving sponsors, practitioners, and employers additional time to adopt required amendments.    Under the relief, sponsors, practitioners, and employers maintaining plans qualified under § 401(a) will have an extension of the otherwise applicable deadline for adopting certain plan amendments reflecting the final retroactive annuity starting date regulations, the automatic rollover requirements under § 401(a)(31)(B) of the Internal Revenue Code, and the final §§ 401(k) and 401(m) regulations.

The notice also provides relief with respect to the satisfaction of the safe harbor notice requirement of § 401(k)(12) for plan years beginning before 2007.    In addition, the notice provides relief, under the heading “Required Minimum Distributions for Defined Benefit Plans,” to sponsors of prototype individual retirement arrangements.

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The notice is  here .

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