IRS Announcement 2014-4 Extends Deadline for Pre-approved Plan Opinion and Advisory Letter Applications | Practical Law

IRS Announcement 2014-4 Extends Deadline for Pre-approved Plan Opinion and Advisory Letter Applications | Practical Law

The Internal Revenue Service (IRS) issued Announcement 2014-4, which extends the deadline to submit on-cycle applications for opinion and advisory letters for pre-approved defined benefit plans for the second six-year remedial amendment cycle from January 31, 2014 to February 2, 2015.

IRS Announcement 2014-4 Extends Deadline for Pre-approved Plan Opinion and Advisory Letter Applications

by Practical Law Employee Benefits & Executive Compensation
Published on 24 Jan 2014 • USA (National/Federal)
The Internal Revenue Service (IRS) issued Announcement 2014-4, which extends the deadline to submit on-cycle applications for opinion and advisory letters for pre-approved defined benefit plans for the second six-year remedial amendment cycle from January 31, 2014 to February 2, 2015.
On January 23, 2014, the IRS issued Announcement 2014-4, which extends the deadline to submit on-cycle applications for opinion and advisory letters for pre-approved defined benefit plans for the second six-year remedial amendment cycle to February 2, 2015. The submission period was previously scheduled to expire on January 31, 2014.
The extension applies to:
  • Defined benefit mass submitter lead and specimen plans.
  • Word-for-word identical plans.
  • Master and prototype minor modifier placeholder applications.
  • Non-mass submitter defined benefit plans.
The new deadline is intended to allow time for the IRS to expand the pre-approved program to permit plans with certain cash balance features to be submitted by sponsors and practitioners as part of their pre-approved defined benefit submissions. However:
  • The extension applies to all on-cycle pre-approved defined benefit plan submissions, even those that will not be modified to contain cash balance features.
  • Plans submitted in accordance with this extension will continue to be reviewed for qualification items based on the 2012 Cumulative List (see IRS Notice 2012-76, (Dec. 27, 2012)).
In the announcement, the IRS also clarified that:
  • User fees for pre-approved defined benefit plan applications will be determined by:
  • Sponsors of individually designed Cycle C plans will have until March 31, 2014 (rather than January 31, 2014) to complete Form 8905 (Certification of Intent to Adopt a Pre-approved Plan) if they do not intend to file a determination letter as an individually designed plan but intend to adopt a pre-approved defined benefit plan document.
According to the IRS, future guidance will address:
  • When applications for opinion and advisory letters for pre-approved defined benefit plans with cash balance features may be submitted.
  • Permissible cash balance features under the pre-approved program.
The IRS invites comments on expansion of the pre-approved defined benefit program to accommodate submissions of plans with cash balance features.
For more information, see: