SECTION 21. AMENDMENTS

.01 Opinion or Advisory Letters for Sponsor or VS Practitioner Amendments

• A sponsor or VS practitioner may amend or restate its previously approved plan and the Service will entertain a request for an opinion or advisory letter as to the acceptability, for purposes of § 401(a) or § 403(a), of the form of the plan as amended, during the specified time period within the six-year cycle, as provided in section 8.01 and section 15.01. If the sponsor or VS practitioner is amending its plan, it must, except as provided in section 12 or section 18, submit an application under the procedures in section 7 or section 17, together with a copy of the amendment(s), a cover letter summarizing the changes to the plan that are effected by such amendment(s), and a copy of the plan which is being amended. If the sponsor or practitioner is restating its plan, it must, except as provided in section 12 or section 18, submit the restated plan along with the application. No more than four consecutive amendments may be submitted without restating the plan. In addition, the Service may, at its discretion, require plan restatement at any time that it deems necessary to adequately review a plan.

.02 No Opinion or Advisory Letters for Certain Amendments - A pre-approved plan will not lose its qualified status and, except as provided in (4) below, no opinion or advisory letter will be issued merely because amendments are made which solely cover the following:

(1) Amendments to conform a plan to the requirements of § 402(a) of Title I of the Employee Retirement Income Security Act of 1974 (ERISA), Pub. L. 93–406, 1974–3 C.B. 1, relating to named fiduciaries.

(2) Amendments to conform a plan to the requirements of § 503 of ERISA, relating to claims procedures.

(3) Amendments that merely adjust the limitations under §§ 415, 402(g), 401(a)(17), and 414(q)(1)(B) of the Code to reflect annual cost-of-living increases, other than amendments that add an automatic cost-of-living adjustment provisions to the plan.

(4) Amendments that merely reflect a change of a sponsor’s or VS practitioner’s name. However, the sponsor or VS practitioner must notify the Service, in writing, of the change in name and certify that it still meets the conditions for sponsorship described in section 4.07 or 13.04. No opinion or advisory letter will be issued and no user fee will be required for a mere change in name. However, if the sponsor or VS practitioner wants a new opinion or advisory letter, it will have to submit a new application and pay the appropriate user fee. (Also see section 20 regarding changes in employer identification numbers.) .

.03 Off-Cycle Filing - If a pre-approved plan requests an opinion or advisory letter that is not submitted during the specified period within the six-year cycle, the application will not be reviewed until all on-cycle plans (including applications for determination letters for individually designed plans within their staggered 5-year cycle) have been reviewed and processed. However, the Service may, in its discretion, determine whether the processing of off-cycle filings may be prioritized and accelerated under certain circumstances.