IRS Extends Remedial Amendment Period for SECURE Act

The IRS issued Notice 2022-33 which extends the deadline for amendments to retirement plans and Individual Retirement Arrangements (IRAs) to adopt provisions enacted under the SECURE Act, the Miners Act, and some provisions under the CARES Act. The Notice provides that qualified plans, IRAs, and non-governmental 403(b) plans must be amended to adopt applicable provisions of each act no later than December 31, 2025. The previous deadline for such amendments under Notice 2020-68 and Notice 2020-86 was December 31, 2022.

Governmental 403(b) and 457(b) plans must adopt the provisions no later than 90 days after the close of the third regular legislative session of the lawmaking body with the authority to amend the plan that begins after December 31, 2023. The previous deadline was no later than 90 days after the close of the second such legislative session.

The Notice extends the relief from the anti-cutback rules under IRC Sec. 411(d)(6) and ERISA Sec. 204(g) as it relates to the amendments through the applicable amendment deadline.

Notably, the Notice does not extend the remedial amendment period for all provisions relating to the CARES Act. While the Notice extends the deadline to amend for provisions under section 2023 of the act relating to waiver of required minimum distributions, it does not extend such amendment deadline for provisions under section 2022 relating to coronavirus-related distributions and loans. Our ERISA team is evaluating this Notice and the impact it will have on plans.