The annual holiday greeting from the IRS known as the Cumulative List has arrived. Released as Notice 2007-94, the 2007 Cumulative List contains the regulatory guidance which Cycle C individually designed plans must include to remain qualified. According to Rev. Proc. 2005-66 and Rev. Proc. 2007-44, plans classified as Cycle C plans must be updated to include the items in the 2007 Cumulative List and submit for a determination letter by January 31, 2009. An individually designed plan is a Cycle C plan if the last digit of the sponsoring employer’s EIN ends in 3 or 8, or is a Code section 414(d) governmental plan, including governmental multiemployer plans and governmental multiple employer plans.
The 2006 Cumulative List contained a number of items which were not actually issued until well into 2007. This meant that Cycle B individually designed plans could not be written until that guidance was issued, significantly delaying the timing for adopting or restating onto a plan document which was updated for Cycle B.
The 2007 Cumulative List states that, when reviewing Cycle C plans, the IRS will not consider guidance issued after October 1, 2007. Specifically, Notice 2007-94 states that the IRS, when reviewing a determination letter application submitted after February 1, 2008, will not consider:
- guidance published after October 1, 2007;
- statutes enacted after October 1, 2007;
- qualification requirements first effective in 2009 or later; or
- statutory provisions that are first effective in 2008, for which there is no guidance identified in this notice.
This means my Cycle C plan documents can be completed and ready in February, at the beginning of Cycle C, because this year there is no further guidance to wait for.
[tags]Pension Protection Act, ppa, Novice 2007-44, Cycle C, Cumulative List, Rev. Proc. 2005-66, Rev. Proc. 2007-44, ERISA[/tags]
