"Plan sponsors should review and inventory the changes implemented for their retirement plans over the last six years as a result of the CARES Act, SECURE Act, and SECURE 2.0 Act. Each change will need to be accurately reflected in an applicable plan amendment.... Plan sponsors with pre-approved plans should work with their pre-approved plan provider to ensure that their amendments are drafted with sufficient time to enable review and adoption before December 31, 2026." MORE >>
"Common amendment areas include: [1] Coronavirus-related distributions and loan provisions; [2] Waiver or treatment of 2020 RMDs; [3] Increased RMD age (now up to 73, with future increases); [4] Long-term part-time employee eligibility rules; [5] Automatic enrollment and escalation features; [6] Updated required distribution timing rules; [7] Cash-out thresholds for small balances; [8] Roth catch-up provisions." MORE >>
"Notice 2026-34 identifies recent changes in plan qualification requirements that the IRS will consider when reviewing defined benefit-qualified (DB-qualified) pre-approved plans for the fourth remedial amendment cycle (Cycle 4).... DB-qualified pre-approved plan document providers seeking Cycle 4 IRS opinion letters for the updated pre-approved plans they will ultimately offer for adoption by plan sponsors may submit applications from August 1, 2026, through July 31, 2027." MORE >>
"Two critical deadlines are converging. Calendar year plans must adopt amendments reflecting the SECURE Act, CARES Act, and SECURE 2.0 by December 31, 2026... and must complete pre-approved plan restatements within the current IRS cycle (anticipated to be July 2026-2028). Missing either deadline can jeopardize the tax-qualified status of the plan -- triggering immediate taxation of all plan assets to participants." MORE >>
11 pages. "This notice sets forth the 2026 Cumulative List of Changes in Plan Qualification Requirements for Defined Benefit Qualified Pre-approved Plans. The 2026 Cumulative List will assist providers applying to the [IRS] for opinion letters for the fourth remedial amendment cycle for defined benefit qualified pre-approved plans (Cycle 4) under the IRS's pre-approved plan program. Cycle 4 began on April 1, 2025. The Cycle 4 submission period begins on August 1, 2026, and ends on July 31, 2027. The 2026 Cumulative List identifies recent changes in the qualification requirements of the Internal Revenue Code that were not taken into account during the first three remedial amendment cycles for defined benefit qualified pre-approved plans and that will be taken into account by the IRS with respect to the form of a plan submitted to the IRS for Cycle 4."MORE >>
"[1] Check your eligibility and vesting rules.... [2] Not all plans offer the same options from which to select or benefit options may be structured differently.... [3] If you are only comparing the boxes that are selected in the adoption agreements, you might end up with provisions that do not match how your plan actually operates due to different language in the underlying basic plan document." MORE >>
"Employers that sponsor 403(b) plans should: [1] Confirm whether their plan uses a preapproved IRS plan document. [2] Coordinate with their plan vendor, third‑party administrator and legal counsel to obtain the Cycle 2 restated plan document. [3] Formally adopt the updated plan document by Dec. 31." MORE >>
"By doing nothing more than signing termination amendments, JJDD has created several problems. Mr. Icicle is particularly alarmed that they did not amend the cash balance plan to freeze benefits or tell participants about the termination, which means benefits have been accruing to plan participants all this time.... [W]hile the 401(k) plan does not suffer from the benefit accrual problem (and there was no obligation to provide participant notice), it has issues of its own.... And, not incidentally, no Forms 5500 had been filed for the two plans since they were 'terminated.' " MORE >>
"Recordkeepers tend to do a good job preserving the design of customers' retirement plans during restatement and other update processes. But mistakes do occur, and the significant number of changes being made as part of the CARES/SECURE restatement process may increase the risk of unintended changes to the written terms of the plan.... [P]lan document updates provide an excellent opportunity to reaffirm that the employer's administrative practices are aligned with the written terms of the plan document." MORE >>
"By December 31, 2026, plan sponsors of certain qualified retirement plans, including 401(k) and defined benefit plans, must amend the plans to incorporate required and discretionary changes under the [CARES] Act, the Setting Every Community Up for Retirement Enhancement (SECURE) Act, and the SECURE 2.0 Act of 2022." MORE >>
"[S]ponsors of qualified and Section 403(b) plans have until December 31, 2027, to amend their plans for the RMD changes included in the 2025 RAL. The SECURE 2.0 RMD changes that were not included in the 2024 final regulations are expected to be included in a later RAL ... The 2025 RAL also states that the final regulations issued in 2025 regarding SECURE 2.0's Roth catch-up requirement for high earners are expected to be included in the 2027 RAL. If that proves to be the case, plan sponsors will have until December 31, 2029, to amend their plans to include the Roth catch-up provisions." MORE >>
"SECURE 2.0 continues to dominate the landscape.... Continued monitoring of class action litigation developments against fiduciaries, and engaging in (and documenting) a strong fiduciary process.... Attention to Form 5500 filing requirements, and participation in 'DFVC' as warranted.... Consideration of developing products and features relative to offering lifetime income and alternative investments.... Monitoring of plan activities to identify and correct qualification failures." MORE >>
"This article walks through the amendment process employers should expect in 2026 to help clarify what decisions matter, which ones don’t, and when action is required." MORE >>
"Besides making routine revisions for dates, cross-references and citations to other revenue procedures, Rev. Proc. 2026-4 includes an update regarding refunds of user fees, clarification of the electronic filing requirement for all Form 5300 series determination letter requests and increases in certain user fees." MORE >>
"This year brings several important updates, including the 2025 Required Amendments List (RAL), updated IRS tax tables, and annual TEFRA notice obligations that should be addressed early to avoid year‑end bottlenecks. ... [This article breaks] down the key updates you need to know as you kick off 2026, along with practical reminders to help keep your plan on track throughout the year." MORE >>
"Many 401(k) plans likely need to be amended to reflect the RMD applicable age change. Whether a plan needs to be amended to reflect the changes to post-death distributions will depend on the terms of the plan -- some may already provide for distribution of a participant's benefit earlier than required under this provision." MORE >>
"[T]his year's list includes changes to the rules for required minimum distributions (RMDs) made by the [SECURE Act] of 2019 (SECURE 1.0) and certain RMD changes made by the SECURE 2.0 Act of 2022. These provisions now have a plan amendment deadline that is one year later than the deadline that applies to most other SECURE 1.0 and 2.0 provisions." MORE >>
"The SECURE 2.0 changes that have most commonly been put into effect for such plans are [1] an increase in the small balance distribution limit from $5,000 to $7,000 and [2] an increase in the required minimum distribution age from age 72 under the SECURE Act of 2019 ... If a calendar year non-governmental 457(b) plan has operationalized either change, or both, a plan amendment will be needed to reflect the relevant changes by December 31, 2025[.]" MORE >>
"[1] Changes in requirements that generally would require an amendment to most plans or to most plans of the type affected by the change and do not relate to optional plan provisions previously adopted: Modification of required minimum distribution rules ... [2] Changes in requirements that may require an amendment because of an unusual plan provision in a particular plan and do not relate to optional plan provisions previously adopted: Reform of partnership and trust attribution rules ... [3] Changes in requirements that relate to optional plan provisions previously adopted: None." MORE >>
"[N]on-governmental 457(b) deferred compensation plans must be amended ... to account for: [1] Extensions relating to commencement of required minimum distributions (RMDs) ... [2] Implementation of the 10-year RMD Rule ... the December 31, 2025 deadline is unique to non-governmental 457(b) plans. " MORE >>
"[P]lan sponsors that made discretionary changes to their plans during the 2025 plan year should ensure that such amendments are documented in a formal plan amendment before the end of the year.... The general deadline to amend a qualified plan (that is neither a government plan nor a collectively bargained plan) to reflect changes adopted under several recent federal laws (including the SECURE Act, the CARES Act, and SECURE. 2.0) is December 31, 2026." MORE >>
"Sponsors will need to amend plan documents implementing the Roth catch-up rule no later than December 31, 2026 ... With respect to safe harbor 401(k) plans, the IRS indicated that a midyear plan amendment implementing this feature does not constitute a prohibited midyear change that would jeopardize safe harbor status." MORE >>
"The most immediate operational problem is for 401(k), 403(b) and other DC plans that allow catch-up contributions.... Sponsors of tax-exempt governmental plans must make their changes by December 31, 2025, regardless of plan year. The Roth catch-up rule applies on a calendar-year basis, regardless of your plan year. Consequently, operational changes are needed by January 1, 2026 for all affected plans." MORE >>
"In 2022, employers were required to amend T-E 457(b) Plans to reflect changes to the required minimum distribution (RMD) rules made by the SECURE Act of 2019, known as SECURE 1.0, including the increase in a participant’s required beginning date (RBD) to age 72.... SECURE 2.0 made additional changes to the RMD rules[.]" MORE >>
