SECTION 1. PURPOSE

.01 This revenue procedure sets forth the Service’s procedures for issuing opinion and advisory letters regarding the acceptability under § 401 of the Code of the form of pre-approved plans (that is, master and prototype (M&P) and volume submitter (VS) plans). The revenue procedure revises the existing procedures to eliminate several of the differences between the M&P and VS programs while maintaining the essential distinctive features of each program.

.02 This revenue procedure provides that the Service will begin accepting applications for opinion and advisory letters for pre-approved plans that take into account the requirements of the Economic Growth and Tax Relief Reconciliation Act of 2001, Pub. L. 107–16 (EGTRRA) beginning [RESERVED].

2004-18 I.R.B. 864 May 3, 2004

ple, several employers that adopt a sponsor’s standardized M&P plan may have plans with different trust or custodial account documents. In addition, a sponsor or M&P mass submitter may provide a trust or custodial account document, designated for use only by adopters of nonstandardized plans, which provides for blanks to be completed with respect to administrative provisions of the trust or custodial account agreement. Finally, an M&P plan may provide for the use of any other trust or custodial account document that has been approved by the Service for use with the plan as a qualified trust or as a custodial account treated as a qualified trust. Any trust or custodial account document (including one to be used by adopters of standardized plans) may provide for blanks to be completed that merely enable the adopting employer to specify the names of the plan, employer, trustee or custodian, plan administrator and other fiduciaries, the trust year, and the name of any pooled trust in which the plan’s trust will participate.

.06 Opinion Letter — An “opinion letter” is a written statement issued by the Service to a sponsor or M&P mass submitter as to the acceptability of the form of an M&P plan under § 401(a) or § 403(a), and, in the case of a master plan, the acceptability of the master trust under § 501(a).

.07 Sponsor — A “sponsor” is any person that (1) has an established place of business in the United States where it is accessible during every business day and (2) represents to the Service that it has at least 30 employer-clients each of which is reasonably expected to adopt the sponsor’s basic plan document within the 12-month period following the issuance of opinion letters.

A sponsor may request opinion letters for any number of basic plan documents and adoption agreements provided the 30-employer requirement is met with respect to at least one basic plan document. The Service reserves the right at any time to request from the sponsor a list of the employers that have adopted or are expected to adopt the sponsor’s M&P plans, including the employers’ business addresses and employer identification numbers.

Notwithstanding the above, any person that has an established place of business in the United States where it is accessible during every business day may sponsor a plan as a word-for-word identical

ences between the M&P and VS programs. The principal changes are as follows:

(1) The revenue procedure eliminates the requirement that the allocation or benefit formula in a nonstandardized M&P plan satisfy the uniformity requirements for safe harbor plans under § 1.401(a)(4)–2(b)(2) or § 1.401(a)(4)–3(b)(2) of the Income Tax Regulations. This change will allow adopting employers of nonstandardized defined contribution M&P plans to adopt an allocation formula that is designed to be cross-tested for nondiscrimination on the basis of equivalent benefits under § 1.401(a)(4)–8.

(2) The revenue procedure permits, but does not require, VS plans to include a provision that allows the VS practitioner to amend the plan on behalf of adopting employers for changes in the Code, etc. By choosing to include such a provision in the VS plan, the VS practitioner agrees to comply with certain recordkeeping and notice requirements that apply to sponsors of M&P plans. The Service will evaluate this new feature over time to determine whether to preserve it as a permanent feature of the VS program.

The revenue procedure also makes changes to simplify and streamline the two programs. For example, under the procedure, nonstandardized safe harbor plans and paired standardized plans are discontinued as separate categories of M&P plan. This change has been made because recent changes in law and the procedures for employer reliance have diminished the utility of these types of plans. The revenue procedure also provides that sponsors and practitioners that sponsor both M&P plans and VS plans will submit both types of plans to the same office of the Service for review and approval.

.03 Provisions Related to EGTRRA

[RESERVED].

.04 Remedial Amendment Period [RESERVED].