Notice 2024-82 — Internal Revenue Bulletin 2024-52

I. PURPOSE

This notice sets forth the 2024 Required Amendments List (2024 RA List). The Required Amendments List (RA List) applies to individually designed plans qualified under section 401(a) of the Inter nal Revenue Code (Code) (qualified indi vidually designed plans) and individually designed plans that satisfy the require ments of section 403(b) (section 403(b) individually designed plans). The RA List also applies to pre-approved plans with respect to interim amendments.

II. BACKGROUND

Section 401(b) provides a remedial amendment period during which a plan may be amended retroactively to comply with the qualification requirements under section 401(a). Treas. Reg. § 1.401(b)-1 describes the disqualifying provisions that may be amended retroactively and the remedial amendment period during which retroactive amendments may be adopted. That regulation also grants the Commis sioner of Internal Revenue the discretion to designate certain plan provisions as disqualifying provisions and to extend the remedial amendment period in guidance published in the Internal Revenue Bulletin (IRB).

Section 5 of Rev. Proc. 2019-39, 2019-42 IRB 945, as modified by section III.B.2(e) of Notice 2020-35, 2020-25 IRB 948, establishes a system of recurring remedial amendment periods for section 403(b) individually designed plan form defects first occurring after June 30, 2020.

Section 5.03(1)(c) of Rev. Proc. 202240, 2022-47 IRB 487, provides generally that, except as otherwise provided by stat ute or in regulations or other guidance published in the IRB, in the case of a qual ified or section 403(b) plan that is individ ually designed and is not a governmental plan within the meaning of section 414(d) of the Code, the remedial amendment period for (1) a disqualifying provision or (2) a form defect first occurring after June 30, 2020, that arises as a result of a change in qualification requirements or sec tion 403(b) requirements, as applicable, expires on the last day of the second cal endar year that begins after the issuance of the RA List on which the change in qual ification requirements or section 403(b) requirements appears. Section 5.03(2)(c) provides a special rule for governmental plans that may further extend the remedial amendment period in some cases.

Section 6.01 of Rev. Proc. 2022-40 pro vides that the plan amendment deadline with respect to (1) a disqualifying provi sion in a qualified individually designed plan, or (2) a form defect first occurring after June 30, 2020, in a section 403(b) individually designed plan is the date on which the remedial amendment period expires in accordance with section 5 of Rev. Proc. 2022-40 with respect to that disqualifying provision or form defect.

Section 7 of Rev. Proc. 2022-40 pro vides that the Department of the Treasury (Treasury Department) and the Internal Revenue Service (IRS) publish an annual RA List. ¹ In general, a change in quali fication requirements or section 403(b) requirements will not appear on an RA List until guidance with respect to that change (including, any model amend ment, if applicable) has been provided, in regulations or in other guidance published in the IRB. However, in the discretion of the Treasury Department and the IRS, a change in qualification requirements or section 403(b) requirements may be included on an RA List in other circum

stances, such as in cases in which a stat utory change is enacted and the Treasury Department and the IRS anticipate that no guidance will be issued.

Section 7.01(1)(a) of Rev. Proc. 202337, 2023-51 IRB 1491, provides that for a pre-approved plan that is not a govern mental plan, a provider (or the adopting employer, if applicable) adopts an interim amendment (as defined in section 4.01(9) of Rev. Proc. 2023-37) timely if the plan amendment is adopted by the last day of the second calendar year that begins after the issuance of the RA List in which the change in qualification requirements or section 403(b) requirements appears.

The remedial amendment period appli cable to a disqualifying provision or form defect arising as a result of a change in qualification requirements or section 403(b) requirements may be extended beyond the date that normally would apply to an item included on an RA List, if a statute, regulation, or other guidance published in the IRB provides for a later deadline.

Section 501 of the SECURE 2.0 Act ² provides, in general, that a retirement plan or annuity contract will be treated as being operated in accordance with the terms of the plan during a specified period and, except as provided by the Secretary of the Treasury (or the Secretary’s delegate), a retirement plan will not fail to satisfy the anti-cutback requirements of section 411(d)(6) of the Code or section 204(g) of the Employee Retirement Income Secu rity Act of 1974, Pub. L. 93-406, 88 Stat. 829, as amended (ERISA), by reason of a plan amendment made pursuant to any amendment made by the SECURE 2.0 Act or pursuant to any regulation issued by the Secretary of the Treasury or the Secretary of Labor (or a delegate of either such Sec retary) under the SECURE 2.0 Act, pro vided that:

(1) the amendment is adopted no later than the last day of the first plan year beginning on or after January 1, 2025, or,

1 In order to help plan sponsors achieve operational compliance with changes in requirements, the IRS also provides the Operational Compliance List, which is a list of changes in both qualification requirements and section 403(b) requirements that are effective during a calendar year, on the IRS website at https://www.irs.gov/retirement-plans/operational-compliance-list. See generally section 8 of Rev. Proc. 2022-40.

2 Division T of the Consolidated Appropriations Act, 2023, Pub. L. 117-328, 136 Stat. 4459 (2022), known as the SECURE 2.0 Act of 2022 (SECURE 2.0 Act).

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for an applicable collectively bargained plan (a plan maintained pursuant to one or more collective bargaining agreements between employee representatives and one or more employers ratified before December 29, 2022), or for a governmen tal plan (within the meaning of section 414(d) of the Code), the last day of the first plan year beginning on or after Janu ary 1, 2027, or such later date as the Secre tary may prescribe (the section 501 date);

(2) the amendment applies retroac tively to the effective date of the SECURE 2.0 Act provision or the regulations there under (or, in the case of an amendment not required by a provision of the SECURE 2.0 Act or the regulations thereunder, the effective date specified by the plan); and

(3) the plan or contract is operated as if the amendment were in effect during the period beginning on the effective date of the SECURE 2.0 Act provision or the regulations thereunder (or, in the case of an amendment not required by a provision of the SECURE 2.0 Act or the regulations thereunder, the effective date specified by the plan or contract) and ending on the section 501 date or, if earlier, the date the amendment is adopted.

Section 501(c) of the SECURE 2.0 Act modifies section 601(b)(1) of the Setting Every Community Up for Retirement Enhancement Act of 2019 (SECURE Act), ³ sections 2202(c)(2)(A) and 2203(c) (2)(B)(i) of the Coronavirus Aid, Relief, and Economic Security Act (CARES Act), ⁴ and section 302(d)(2)(A) of Title III of the Taxpayer Certainty and Disaster Tax Relief Act of 2020 (Relief Act) ⁵ to extend plan amendment deadlines with respect to these sections to coordinate with the plan amendment deadlines under section 501 of the SECURE 2.0 Act, as applicable. ⁶