Profit sharing allocation requirement - anti-cutback

This may seem like a stupid question.

Suppose a plan currently has a last day/1,000 hour requirement, but allocation requirements are waived for anyone who terminates after attaining NRA or Early Retirement Date. Now they want to amend the plan to eliminate this waiver.

Clearly, if someone already terminated employment this year and has attained ERA/NRD, this amendment won't apply to them. But what if someone has attained ERD/NRA, but has not yet terminated employment? Is it ok to apply to them for 2022, or can it not apply to them until 2023?

Is the determining factor the termination of employment - in other words, since they haven't terminated employment yet, is there no cutback? Or would you interpret it similar to a plan where there is a 500 hour requirement with no last day, so that as soon as you get 500 hours, you are eligible for that year? (So that in this case, as long as you have already attained ERD/NRA, you are eligible for this year?) I incline toward this latter interpretation, but I can see the argument for the "dark side."

Granted that the plan is everyone in their own group, not a safe harbor, and not top heavy, so that it may be possible to exclude them anyway...

The Relius document section that deals with that is titled "Waiver of conditions of Participants NOT employed on the last day of the Plan Year." (emphasis in original)

I'd say it's okay to change now.

Are they having a lot of people retire before the end of each year?

Side note:  I always draft my "everyone in own group" plans with no allocation requirements at all.  As you mentioned, you can artificially create those conditions anyway.  Plus, it allows you to pick and choose for whom you want to waive those conditions.  For example, if Mary was a long-time, valued employee who decided to finally retire during the year, you could give her an allocation (under my document conditions) without having to do an -11(g) amendment.

I think perhaps they are anticipating a retirement or retirements? I don't know the motivating factor here.