[11571]
January 26, 2000
TO: PENSION MEMBERS No. 6-00
PENSION OPERATIONS ADVISORY COMMITTEE No. 5-00
RE: IRS RELEASES UPDATED SAFE HARBOR SECTION 402(f) NOTICE
______________________________________________________________________________
The Internal Revenue Service has released Notice 2000-11 to provide an updated version of
their safe harbor section 402(f) notice regarding pension plan rollover rights. This version updates and
replaces the safe harbor notice published in Notice 92-48. The safe harbor notice meets the
requirements of section 402(f) if it is provided to the recipient of an eligible rollover distribution no less
than 30 days and no more than 90 days before the date on which the distribution is made, in accordance
with existing regulations.
The updated safe harbor notice reflects changes made to the Code and Income Tax Regulations
that affect the matters addressed in the notice. For instance, the Small Business Job Protection Act of
1996 (SBJPA) altered rules regarding the commencement of minimum required distributions and
eliminated the special five-year averaging rule applicable to certain lump sum distributions; and the
Internal Revenue Service Restructuring and Reform Act of 1998 (RRA) provided an additional exception
to the early withdrawal tax and modified the extent to which hardship distributions were eligible for
rollover. Similarly, various regulations have been issued or finalized since the safe harbor notice was first
published, including regulations addressing the withholding on employer securities, the treatment of plan
loan offset amounts and the use of paperless technologies.
Plan administrators may “customize” the safe harbor notice by omitting portions of it that could
not apply to a particular plan. In addition, plan administrators may provide additional information with
the notice as long as the information is not inconsistent with it. Plan administrators also may satisfy
section 402(f) by providing a notice of rollover rights that is different from the safe harbor notice if it
contains the information required by section 402(f) and is written in a manner designed to be easily
understood.
Comments relating to Notice 2000-11 may be addressed to the Internal Revenue Service at the
address identified therein. There is no established deadline for comments.
Russell G. Galer
Senior Counsel
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