1 See Institute Memorandum to Pension Members No. 31-97 and Pension Operations Advisory Committee No. 27-97, dated
August 8, 1997, and Institute Memorandum to Pension Members No. 4-98 and Pension Operations Advisory Committee
No. 2-98, dated January 15, 1998.
2 See Institute Memorandum to Pension Members No. 66-98, dated October 30, 1998.
[10875]
April 9, 1999
TO: PENSION MEMBERS No. 19-99
PENSION OPERATIONS ADVISORY COMMITTEE No. 25-99
RE: IRS EXTENDS REMEDIAL AMENDMENT PERIOD
______________________________________________________________________________
The Internal Revenue Service has released a revenue procedure extending the remedial
amendment period during which plan amendments relating to certain qualification changes may be made
retroactively effective. Under prior revenue procedures, the remedial amendment period for changes
made by the Small Business Job Protection Act of 1996 (SBJPA), the Uruguay Round Agreements Act
of 1994 (GATT), the Uniformed Services Employment and Reemployment Rights Act of 1994
(USERRA) and the Taxpayer Relief Act of 1997 (TRA 97) was scheduled to end on the last day of the
first plan year beginning on or after January 1, 1999.1 Revenue Procedure 99-23 extends the remedial
amendment period for these changes until the last day of the first plan year beginning on or after January
1, 2000.
Revenue Procedure 99-23 also extends the deadline for amending plans to reflect the design-
based “safe harbor” methods for satisfying the sections 401(k) and (m) nondiscrimination tests to the
last day of the first plan year beginning on or after January 1, 2000. In addition, this revenue procedure
eliminates the requirement set forth in Notice 98-52 that the “safe harbor” provisions must be effective
as of the first day of the first plan year beginning after December 31, 1998.2 Thus, for example, an
existing section 401(k) plan may be amended by the last day of the 2000 plan year, retroactive to the first
day of that year (or to the first day of the 1999 plan year) to satisfy the safe harbors for the 2000 plan
year (or for both the 1999 and 2000 plan years).
3 See Institute Memorandum to Pension Members No. 80-98, dated December 28, 1998.
The deadline for amending plan provisions to reflect the change in the rollover treatment of
hardship distributions pursuant to the Internal Revenue Service Restructuring and Reform Act of 1998
(RRA 98) has also been extended. Such amendments, however, continue to be subject to the
requirement under Notice 99-5 that they must be effective as of the first day the plan operates in
accordance with the change in rollover treatment.3
A copy of the revenue procedure is attached.
Russell G. Galer
Senior Counsel
Attachment
Note: Not all recipients receive the attachment. To obtain a copy of the attachment referred to in this Memo, please call the
ICI Library at (202) 326-8304, and ask for attachment number 10875. ICI Members may retrieve this Memo and its
attachment from ICINet (http://members.ici.org).