SECTION 8. APPROVED PLANS

• MAINTENANCE OF APPROVED STATUS

.01 Subsequent Required Amendments

• An approved M&P plan must be amended by the sponsor and, if necessary, the employer, to retain its approved status if any provisions therein fail to meet the requirements of law, regulations, or other issuances and guidelines affecting qualification that become effective subsequent to the issuance of an opinion letter. Failure to so amend could result in the loss of a plan’s qualified status. Sponsors are required to make reasonable and diligent efforts to ensure that each employer which, to the best of the sponsor’s knowledge, continues to maintain the plan as an M&P plan amends its plan when necessary. Failure to comply with this or any other requirement imposed on sponsors by this revenue procedure may result in the loss of eligibility to sponsor M&P plans and the revocation of opinion letters that have been issued to the sponsor.

.02 Amendments Following Revenue Rulings - If an approved M&P plan is required to be amended to retain its approved status as a result of publication by the Service of a revenue ruling, notice or similar statement in the Internal Revenue Bulletin (I.R.B.), then, unless specifically stated otherwise in the revenue ruling, etc., the time by which the sponsor must amend its M&P plan to conform to the requirements of the revenue ruling, etc., and request a new opinion letter shall be the end of the one-year period after its publication in the I.R.B., and with respect to any adopting employer’s plan the effective date of such amendment shall be the first day of

of substantially identical plans that are not mass submitter plans, the Service encourages plan drafters and sponsors to include with each opinion letter application where it is appropriate a cover letter setting forth the following information:

(1) The name and file folder number (if available) of the plan that, for review purposes, the plan drafter designates as the “lead plan” (including the name and EIN of the sponsor);

(2) A list of all plans written by the plan drafter that are substantially identical to the lead plan (including the information described in (1));

(3) A description of each place where the plan for which the application is being submitted is not word-for-word identical to the language of the lead plan, including an explanation of the purpose and effect of each such difference; and

(4) A certification, made under penalty of perjury by the plan drafter, that the information described in (3) is true and complete.

If the sponsor or plan drafter is aware that a lead plan or any substantially identical plan has been assigned for review to a specialist, the cover letter should also indicate the name of specialist, if possible. To the extent feasible, lead plans and substantially identical plans should be submitted together. The Service will regard the information and certification described in (3) and (4) above as a material representation for purposes of issuing an opinion letter.

.04 Separate Applications Required for Different Categories of M&P Plans / Use of Same Basic Plan Document by Multiple Plans - An M&P plan shall not contain any combination of profit-sharing, money purchase (other than target benefit), target benefit, non-integrated defined benefit, or integrated defined benefit plan features. However, separate defined contribution plans may have the same basic plan document and separate defined benefit plans may have the same basic plan document, but the provisions of the basic plan document must be identical for all plans using that document (that is, no elective or optional features). For example, a sponsor may submit four plans with respect to a given defined benefit basic plan document: integrated standardized and nonstandardized; and nonintegrated standardized and nonstandardized plans. A sponsor may also use one defined contribution basic

plan document for a money purchase plan, a target benefit plan, and a profit-sharing plan. One basic plan document may not be used with respect to both defined benefit and defined contribution plans. A separate adoption agreement and completed application form must be submitted with respect to each defined benefit plan and each defined contribution plan. In the case of a simultaneous submission of plans using the same basic plan document, only one copy of the basic plan document should be provided. If the requests are not simultaneous, the sponsor must submit a copy of the basic plan document with each submission and include a cover letter identifying the original submission. The number of such basic plan document must remain the same as in the prior submission.

.05 Sample Language - A Listing of Required Modifications (LRM) containing sample language to be used in drafting M&P plans is available from Employee Plans Rulings and Agreements. Such language is not automatically required in M&P plans but should be used as a guide in drafting such plans. To expedite the review of their plans, sponsors are encouraged to use LRM language and to identify where such language is being used in their plan documents. LRMs may be downloaded from the Internet at the following address: http://www.irs.gov .

.06 Material Furnished to Adopting Employers - A sponsor must furnish each adopting employer with a copy of the approved plan, copies of any subsequent amendments, and the most recently issued Internal Revenue Service opinion letter.

.07 Material Furnished to Employee Plans Determinations — Each M&P mass submitter and each sponsor of a non-mass submitter plan must furnish a copy of the approved M&P plan and the Internal Revenue Service opinion letter to Employee Plans Determinations at the following address:

Internal Revenue Service Employee Plans Determinations P.O. Box 2508 Cincinnati, OH 45201 Attn: EP Determinations VSC

Coordinator Room 5106

May 3, 2004 869 2004-18 I.R.B.