IRS Extends Deadlines for Certain Tax-Qualified Plan Amendments

The U.S. Internal Revenue Service (IRS) recently issued Notice 2022-33 (the Notice), extending amendment deadlines for certain provisions of the Setting Every Community Up for Retirement Enhancement Act of 2019 (the SECURE Act), the Bipartisan American Miners Act of 2019 (the Miners Act), and the Coronavirus Aid, Relief, and Economic Security Act (the CARES Act). Prior to the Notice, this legislation generally required tax-qualified retirement plans to adopt certain amendments by the last day of the first plan year beginning on or after January 1, 2022. 

Deadlines that were extended:

1. SECURE Act and Miners Act

The Notice delays deadlines to adopt any of the amendments under the SECURE Act as well as amendments to lower the minimum in-service distribution age to 59½ in qualified pension plans and governmental 457(b) plans under the Miners Act. The new amendment deadlines are as follows:

Type of Plan	Extended Deadline
Tax-qualified plans (other than governmental plans) and 403(b) plans not for public school employees, including collectively bargained plans	December 31, 2025
Governmental qualified plans, 457(b) and 403(b) plans for public school employees	Generally 90 days after the close of the third regular legislative session of the legislative body with the authority to amend the plan that begins after December 31, 2023

The Notice also provides relief from the anticutback rules (which generally prohibit plan amendments that decrease a participant's accrued benefit) for such amendments made before these deadlines.

2. CARES Act Required Minimum Distribution Waiver

The Notice extends the CARES Act deadline solely for plan amendments that cover the 2020 waiver of required minimum distributions. This extended deadline mirrors the deadlines described above for the SECURE Act based on the type of plan involved.

Amendments adopted prior to these extended deadlines may apply retroactively to the effective date specified in the amendment, but the plan must be operated as if the amendment were in effect during the entire period following such effective date.

Deadlines that were not extended:

1. CARES Act: Notably, the Notice does not extend the amendment deadline for special covid-19 relief regarding special coronavirus-related distributions, a higher plan loan cap, and a suspension of loan repayments permitted under the CARES Act. Therefore, plan sponsors should plan to adopt amendments for those provisions, if applicable, by the original deadline — the end of the first plan year beginning on or after January 1, 2022.
2. Prior Amendment Deadlines: The Notice does not extend any prior legislative deadlines, such as the changes applicable to hardship distributions implemented by the Bipartisan Budget Act of 2018.