Hold Your Questions, Please!• Announced July 2015 – Technical assistance

email and 800# gone!– No money in budget for staffing– Key legal personnel have been transferred

2

Not for Slide Deck

CHANGES TO THE DETERMINATION LETTER PROGRAM

4

IRS Announcement 2015-19

• Effective January 1, 2017, the IRS will only issue determination letters for individually designed plans upon initial plan qualification and upon plan termination– Can still submit cycle E plans (EINs ending in “0” or

“5”) and cycle A plans (EINs ending in "1" or "6“) • Cycle E = 2/1/15 to 1/31/16• Cycle A = 2/1/16 to 1/31/17

IRS Announcement 2015-19

• Effective January 1, 2017 the staggered 5-year remedial amendment cycle is eliminated

• No changes to DL program for pre-approved plan program– Form 5307 submissions still permitted for volume

submitter plans with modifications that do not require significant review

– What if changes are too significant or it’s a prototype plan with modifications?

7

No Changes to Pre-approved Plan Submissions (for now)

8

IRS Announcement 2015-19

• Effective July 21, 2015, the IRS will not accept off-cycle determination letter applications

• IRS may provide exceptions in the future

9

Off-cycle submissions have

always been at the back of a long bus

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Questions Posed by IRS

• What types of “limited circumstances” should be eligible to submit?

• Should changes be made to the general remedial amendment period?

• What impact do these changes have on interim amendment requirements?

• What other programs should be modified?

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INTERNAL REVENUE SERVICE

PRE-APPROVED PLAN UPDATES(DB plans, 403(b) plans and ESOPs)

Expected Timeline for DB PPA Restatements

Submission 10/30/2015

IRS Review 10/30/15 – 10/31/17?

Restatements 11/1/17 – 1/31/19?

NEW – IRS Rev. Proc. 2015-36

Rev. Proc. 2015-36

• Prohibits certain cash balance plan provisions – Any statutory hybrid benefit formula that is not a cash

balance formula, such as a pension equity plan – Provisions that allow for hypothetical interest crediting

based on rates of return that are subject to participant choice, based on actual return of assets, or based on a regulated investment company

– A conversion from a traditional defined benefit plan unless the benefit is determined using the A + B benefit method

– Plans that use an accrual method other than the 133 1/3% method

Form 8905

• IRS encouraged plan sponsors to sign Form 8905– Form 8905 is certification of intention to adopt a

pre-approved plan– Must sign by applicable 5-year cycle deadline

Expected Timeline for 403(b) Restatements

Submission 4/30/15

IRS Review 5/1/15 – 4/30/17?

Restatements 5/1/17 – 4/30/19?

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Pre-approved 403(b) Plans

• No individual determination letter program – Adopters of VS plans with “substantially similar”

provisions will have reliance– Pre-approved plans will have to include the

kitchen sink -- use sink filled with old

Expected Timeline for Pre-approved ESOPs

Submission 1/31/2018

IRS Review 1/31/18 – 1/31/20?

Restatements 2/1/20 – 1/31/22?

NEW – IRS Rev. Proc. 2015-36

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