The Internal Revenue Code issued an advance copy of Rev. Proc. 99-23 on April 6, 1999. That document extends the deadline for amending qualified retirement plans to comply with changes in the law which resulted out of the following laws:
1.The Uruguay Round Agreements Act ("GATT") of 1994.
2.The Uniformed Services Employment and Redeployment Rights Act of 1994 ("USERRA").
3.The Small Business Job Protection Act of 1996 ("SBJPA").
4.The Taxpayer Relief Act of 1997 ("TRA'97').
5.The Internal Revenue Service Restructuring and Reform Act of 1998 ("RRA'98").
These laws contained various effective dates.
However, under Rev. Proc. 99-23 the remedial amendment period for bringing plans into compliance with law changes resulting from all of the laws cited above has been moved back for non-governmental plans to the last day of the first plan year beginning on or after January 1, 2000. Thus, for a calendar year plan, plans must be amended to comply by December 31, 2000.
The notice means that plans amended by the end of this remedial amendment period with amendments which are retroactive back to the effective date of a new law affecting qualified retirement plans will be deemed to have been made and in effect when the law became effective.
The same notice extends the remedial amendment period for qualified governmental and church plans to the same date. This ensures that governments and churches will not have to amend their plans twice in a one year period for compliance with varying laws. The extension of this remedial amendment period gives plan sponsors additional time to consider appropriate amendments to their plans. It does not, however, necessarily mean that such plan sponsors should delay in making the amendments.