SECTION 5. APPLICATION FOR

ALTERNATIVE EXTENSION

.01 Information to be provided .—An applicant for an alternative extension must furnish appropriate evidence that the extension of the amortization period would carry out the purposes of ERISA and PPA and would provide adequate protection for participants and their beneficiaries, and that the failure to permit the extension would (I) result in a substantial risk to the voluntary continuation of the plan, or a substantial curtailment of pension benefit levels or employee compensation, and (II) be adverse to the interests of plan participants in the aggregate. What constitutes appropriate evidence will depend on the facts and circumstances of each case. A response must be furnished for each of paragraphs (1) through (5) below. In certain cases, some of the material described in paragraphs (1) through (5) may be inapplicable, unavailable, inappropriate, or burdensome to furnish. In such cases, the applicant must furnish a statement indicating why the material for a particular paragraph is inapplicable, unavailable, inappropriate, or burdensome.

(1) General facts concerning the partic- ipating employers .

A brief statement should be submitted concerning: (a) the history of the contributing employers and the industry or industries covered by the plan; (b) the ownership of the principal employers (as identified below) and any recent or contemplated changes (such as acquisitions, mergers, or discontinuances of operations) which might have a bearing on the employers’ organizations or general financial condition; (c) any recently withdrawn principal employers with the applicable withdrawal liability amounts and dates; and (d) a general description of the financial state of the industry in which employees covered by the plan are employed.

(2) The financial condition of the prin- cipal employers .

For purposes of this revenue procedure, the principal employers are those employers who (1) are directly represented on the applicant board of trustees, (2) made five percent or more of the total contributions

paragraphs (1) and (2) of § 431(d) of the Code for a charge base is limited to 10 years. Section 4 of this revenue procedure relates to automatic extensions under § 431(d)(1). Section 5 of this revenue procedure relates to alternative extensions under § 431(d)(2). An automatic extension for a charge base may not exceed five years. An alternative extension for a charge base may be for up to 10 years less any automatic extension approved for that charge base. An applicant requesting both types of extension may do so in a single application. However, such an application must include the information specified in § 4.01 below (including the actuarial certification described in § 4.01(4)), the information specified in § 5.01 below, and a completed copy of the checklist that appears as Appendix B of this revenue procedure. Such a combined application will be considered a single ruling request. If the applicant requests both types of extension in a single application, the Service may approve the automatic extension without approving the alternative extension.

.08 Modification of Existing Exten- sion .—If a plan has already received under § 431(d), or under § 412(e) as in effect before the effective date of PPA, an extension for less than 10 years of the amortization period on any charge base, an application for an alternative extension may be submitted modifying the extension on such charge base to a total of 10 years (taken together with the original extension). Even if the original extension was for less than five years, no such modification of an extension may be requested as an automatic extension.

.09 Interim Effect of Applica- tion .—Whether the Service has ruled on an application does not affect the 90-day deadline for certification of a multiemployer plan’s status under § 432(b)(3) of the Code. In making this certification, if the plan has submitted an application for an automatic extension under § 431(d)(1) and the Service has not yet ruled on the application, the actuary must treat the application as approved. However, for certifications made before January 1, 2011, the actuary may, but is not required to, treat as approved an application for an automatic extension on which the Service has not yet ruled. The provisions in the preceding two sentences do not apply if the application was submitted after the deadline specified

in Section 6, or if the actuary has reason to believe that the standards of this revenue procedure have not been met for the application submitted.