Change in Employer - Change in Cycle?

[emmetttrudy]

A DB Plan is a Cycle B filer and was filed timely during the first Cycle B, deadline 1/31/08. On October 14, 2011, an amendment was adopted changing the Employer's Name (and this Employer has a different EIN). The new Employer is a new entity that was created January 1, 2011. The last number of the "new" EIN is 5.

Rev. Proc. 2007-44 deals with changes in Cycles due to certain events. Am I reading it correctly that due to this change in EIN, the Plan would now be a Cycle E filer, and the next time it would have to amend and restate is by 1/1/2016, and NOT by 1/31/2013, which would have been the Cycle B deadline had the plan not changed cycles?

The first time I read through Section 11 of this Rev. Proc. I got the impression they would have to file again on Cycle E (deadline 1/31/2011) even though they would be granted a 12 month extension on that until 1/31/2012, because of how close the cycle changing event was to the end of the new cycle deadline. But now that I am re-reading it, I dont think that is the case, nor the intent, to have the plan file twice in the same 5 year cycle period (Cycle A through E).

Any help is much appreciated.

[Trekker]

We had a cycle changing event. The Plan was originally in the first Cycle A and submitted by January 31, 2007. Received a Determination Letter that expired January 31, 2012. In 2009, the Plan became a multiple-employer plan due to an acquisition. This put the plan in Cycle B with all multiple-employer plans. We will submit the Plan by January 31, 2013, even though the letter expired Jan 31, 2012.

The IRS informally told us that there is no issue, even though there is a "donut-hole" in which we have no express letter coverage.

Hope this helps.

[Yesrod5]

We had a similar situation. As a result of a corporate merger in 2010, the original plan sponsor (Cycle B) went away and the surviving company (Cycle E) became the plan sponsor. The determination letter received in regard to a January 31, 2008 Cycle B filing for the plan said that it expired January 31, 2013. We looked at Section 11.01 of Rev. Proc. 2007-44 and felt that we could use Cycle E (although per Rev. Proc. 2007-44 it was clearly permissible to use Cycle B). However, we were concerned about the specific expiration date (January 31, 2013) of the current determination letter. We reached a knowledgeable person in EP at the IRS and were informally told by phone that a Cycle E filing should be fine despite the January 31, 2013 expiration of the current determination letter.