SECTION 21. AMENDMENTS

.01 Opinion or Advisory Letters for Sponsor or VS Practitioner Amendments A plan must be operated in accordance with the written plan document. When there are changes with respect to plan qualification requirements that will impact the provisions of the written plan document, the adoption of interim amendments will generally be required in accordance with the rules set forth in Rev. Proc. 2007–44. Interim amendments adopted by a pre-approved sponsor or VS practitioner on behalf of adopting employers must be provided to the adopting employers. The date on which each amendment is adopted by the sponsor or VS practitioner must be provided with the amendment. The requirement to provide the date for each amendment is effective for amendments adopted by the sponsor or VS practitioner on or after October 31, 2011. However, this does not change the applicable on-cycle submission period for the six-year cycle when sponsors or VS practitioners must request opinion or advisory letters, which will still only occur once every six years. The IRS will entertain a request for an opinion or advisory letter as to the acceptability, for purposes of § 401(a), 403(a), or 4975(e)(7), of the form of the plan as restated, during the applicable on-cycle submission period for the six-year cycle, as provided in section 8.01 and section 15.01. The sponsor or VS practitioner 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 plan’s certification regarding interim amendments, a cover letter summarizing the changes to the plan that are affected by such amendment(s), and a copy of the plan that is being restated. The IRS retains the right to request and secure from the sponsor/VS practitioner in appropriate circumstances copies of all interim amendments reflected on the applicable Cumulative List that the sponsor / VS practitioner has adopted on behalf of its adopting employers.

.02 Loss of Qualified Status for Certain Amendments - A pre-approved plan will not lose its qualified status merely because amendments are made that cover any of the following:

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

(3) Amendments to conform the plan to the requirements of DOL Field Assistance Bulletin No. 2008–1, which provides guidance on the need for plans to specify the duties of trustees with respect to the responsibility for collection of delinquent contributions.

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

(5) Amendments that reflect a change of a sponsor’s or VS practitioner’s name. The sponsor or VS practitioner must notify the IRS, in writing, of the change in name and certify that it still meets the conditions for sponsorship described in section 4.07 or 13.05. (Also see section 20 regarding changes in employer identification numbers.)

.03 Off-Cycle Filing - An application for an opinion or advisory letter for a plan that is word-for-word identical to an approved mass submitter that has a current advisory or opinion letter will not be treated as off-cycle merely because it is submitted after the end of the applicable

on-cycle submission period for the sixyear cycle.

Any other application for an opinion or advisory letter that is submitted after the applicable on-cycle submission period for the six-year cycle will be treated as an off-cycle filing. If such an off-cycle application is submitted before the beginning of the two year period for employer adoption announced by the IRS for an applicable 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 five-year cycle) have been reviewed and processed. However, the IRS may, in its discretion, determine whether the processing of off-cycle filings may be prioritized and accelerated under certain circumstances. Off-cycle applications that are submitted during or after the two-year period will not be accepted.