Restatement effective 1/1/21, signed in 2022--consequences?

What are the consequences of a client signing the Post PPA document with a date of 1/4/22 and the restatement is effective 1/1/21?

I would suspect they'd have to re-sign updated pages with 2022 as the effective date, and double-check that they didn't inadvertently have any changed provisions that needed a 12/31/21 signature date.

And yet, if this were a brand new plan (absent salary deferrals) it would be fine, right?

Hmmmm......

My document provider said there shouldn't be a problem, but, like the KGB:  Trust but verify.

Does anyone agree with my document provider?

(Nothing that req'd a 2021 date that I know of; we executed the Hardship/RMD amendment earlier in the year.)

If there's nothing that needed a 2021 date, why risk it?

There are a few things that are involved in order to be able to handle this question with a correct response.

First of all, if we were referencing a new plan that became effective during 2021, the plan document would need to be signed, as a result of the SECURE Act amendment, by the due date of the employer's tax return for the 2021 tax year. This overrides the previous rule that a new plan document had to be adopted by the end of the plan year in which it was made effective for it to be a valid plan.

Since the question is dealing with amendments and restatements, we reference the remedial amendment period of Code Section 401(b) and any further extension provided by legislation making revisions to the qualification requirements. Remember, that for the SECURE Act, to the extent we are discussing mandatory provisions versus discretionary provisions, the rule is that the plan document  needs to be adopted by the close of the 2022 as a general rule (with exceptions for collectively bargained plans and as otherwise provided in the SECURE Act). To the extent that the client has amended the plan to make a provision concerning a discretionary change that was made by legislation, the rule is that it has to be adopted by the close of the plan year in which the change has been made effective.

To provide you with the correct answer, I would need to know whether the amendment and the restatement involve discretionary changes to the qualification rules or mandatory changes, based on the rules outlined above.