SECTION 3. PROGRAM OPENING

.01 Applications for determination, opinion, notification, and advisory letters involving § 401(a) or § 403(a) that are filed with the Service on or after April 27, 1998 will be reviewed taking into account the changes in the qualification requirements made by GATT and TRA ’97, as well as those changes in the qualification requirements made by SBJPA that are effective before the first day of the first plan year beginning on or after January 1, 1999. However, except in the case of terminating plans, applications for determination letters involving master or prototype (M&P) and regional prototype plans that have not yet been amended to comply with the changes in the qualification requirements made by GATT, SBJPA, and TRA ’97 will be reviewed without taking these changes into account.

.02 Until further notice, the Service’s review of applications for determination and other letters will not consider changes in the qualification requirements made by SBJPA that are first effective in a plan year beginning after December 31, 1998. Thus, for example, the Service’s review will not consider the § 401(k)(12) and § 401(m)(11) safe harbors described in § 1433(a) and (b) of SBJPA, which are effective for plan years beginning after December 31, 1998, or the repeal of § 415(e) by § 1452(a) of SBJPA, which is effective for limitation years beginning after December 31, 1999. Nevertheless, the review will take into account the changes to § 417(e) and § 415(b) made by § 767 of GATT and § 1449 of SBJPA, even though application of these changes may not be required until the first plan (or limitation) year beginning after December 31, 1999. Although defined benefit plans that are submitted for determination on or after April 27, 1998 will be required to incorporate provisions that reflect the changes to § 417(e) and § 415(b) made by GATT and SBJPA, the application of such provisions may be deferred under the plan to the extent permitted by § 417(e)(3)(B) and § 767(d)(3) of GATT (as amended by § 1449(a) of SBJPA), respectively. Like

for pre-approved plans. This revenue procedure provides guidance to plan sponsors regarding this change in the Service’s procedures.

.02 This revenue procedure also provides that the remedial amendment period for amending plans for GATT and SBJPA, which was described in Rev. Proc. 97–41, 1997–33 I.R.B. 51, will apply to plan amendments that relate to TRA ‘97. In addition, this revenue procedure extends the remedial amendment period under Rev. Proc. 97–41 for amending governmental plans to the extent the period would otherwise end before the last day of the last plan year beginning before January 1, 2001.

.03 Finally, this revenue procedure clarifies that a plan will not satisfy any of the nondiscrimination in amount safe harbors in the regulations under § 401(a)(4) if the plan’s provisions reflecting the family aggregation requirements of § 414(q)(6) or § 401(a)(17)(A), as in effect prior to their repeal by SBJPA, continue to apply.