n-17-49.pdf

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Hurricane Harvey and Hurricane Irma Disaster Relief

Notice 2017-49

I. PURPOSE
The Internal Revenue Service (IRS), the Department of Labor’s Employee Benefits
Security Administration (EBSA), and the Pension Benefit Guaranty Corporation (PBGC)
are providing relief in connection with certain employee benefit plans because of
damage caused by Hurricane Harvey and Hurricane Irma. The relief provided by this
notice is in addition to any relief already provided by the IRS, EBSA, and PBGC to
victims of Hurricanes Harvey and Irma. For additional information relating to disaster
relief, see https://www.irs.gov/newsroom/help-for-victims-of-hurricane-harvey
and
https://www.pbgc.gov/prac/other-guidance/dr/updates.
II. BACKGROUND
A. Provisions Relating to Disaster Relief.
Under § 7508A(b) of the Internal Revenue Code (Code), in the case of a pension or
other employee benefit plan, or any sponsor, administrator, participant, beneficiary, or
other person with respect to such a plan affected by a federally declared disaster or a
terroristic or military action, the Secretary of the Treasury may prescribe a period of up
to 1 year that may be disregarded in determining the date by which any action is
required or permitted to be completed. No plan is to be treated as failing to be operated
in accordance with its terms solely because the plan disregards any period by reason of

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this relief. Sections 518 and 4002(i) of the Employee Retirement Income Security Act of
1974, Pub. L. No. 93-406, 88 Stat. 829 (1974), as amended (ERISA), authorize the
provision of parallel relief under Titles I and IV of ERISA.
B. Funding-related Provisions for Single-employer Defined Benefit Plans.
Section 412(a) of the Code and section 302(a) of ERISA require that an employer
that sponsors a single-employer pension plan satisfy the minimum funding standard for
a plan year. For most single-employer plans, the minimum funding standard is satisfied
for a plan year if the employer contributes the minimum required contribution
determined under § 430 of the Code and section 303 of ERISA (or, in the case of a
money purchase plan, the contributions that are required under the terms of the plan)
for the plan year. Section 430(j)(1) of the Code and section 303(j)(1) of ERISA provide
that the due date for payment of the minimum required contribution for a plan year is
8-1/2 months after the close of the plan year.
Section 430(f) of the Code provides rules regarding a plan’s maintenance of a
prefunding balance and a funding standard carryover balance, including rules permitting
the use of those balances to offset the minimum required contribution. Section 1.430(f)-
1(f)(2) sets forth timing rules regarding elections with respect to a plan’s prefunding
balance and funding standard carryover balance.
Section 412(c) of the Code and section 302(c) of ERISA provide for waivers of the
minimum funding requirements in the event of temporary substantial business hardship.
In order for a plan other than a multiemployer plan to receive such a waiver, § 412(c)(5)
of the Code and section 302(c)(5) of ERISA provide that an application for such a

3
waiver must be submitted no later than the 15th day of the 3rd month beginning after
the close of the plan year for which the waiver is sought.
Section 430(j)(3) of the Code and section 303(j)(3) of ERISA impose a higher rate of
interest with respect to late quarterly installments for a plan with a funding shortfall for
the prior plan year. Section 430(j)(4) of the Code and section 303(j)(4) of ERISA
increase the quarterly installments to the amount needed to prevent a liquidity shortfall
(as defined in those sections). For a plan year, the due dates for the required
installments are the 15
th
day of the 4
th
plan month, the 15
th
day of the 7
th
plan month,
the 15
th
day of the 10
th
plan month, and the 15
th
day after the end of the plan year.
Section 430(k) of the Code and section 303(k) of ERISA provide, for certain plans
with a funding target attainment percentage of less than 100 percent for the plan year,
that a lien arises in favor of the plan if the required installments or any other payment
required under § 430 of the Code and section 303 of ERISA are not made to the plan
before the due date for the required installment or other payment and if the aggregate
unpaid balance of required installments and other payments exceeds $1,000,000. If
this lien arises, the plan sponsor is required to notify PBGC within 10 days of the failure.
Section 436 of the Code and section 206(g) of ERISA impose certain benefit
restrictions that are applied based on a plan’s adjusted funding target attainment
percentage for the plan year. For this purpose, § 436(h)(2) of the Code and section
206(g)(7)(B) of ERISA provide that a plan’s adjusted funding target attainment
percentage for the plan year is conclusively presumed to be less than 60 percent from
the first day of the 10th month of the plan year through the end of the plan year if no

4
certification of the adjusted funding target attainment percentage for the plan year is
made before the first day of the 10th month of the plan year. Section 436(h)(3) of the
Code and section 206(g)(7)(C) of ERISA require, in certain cases in which no
certification of the adjusted funding target attainment percentage for a plan year is made
before the first day of the 4th month of the plan year, that the plan’s adjusted funding
target attainment percentage is presumed to be equal to 10 percentage points less than
the adjusted funding target attainment percentage for the preceding plan year for a
period beginning on the first day of the 4th month.
Section 101(j)(1) of ERISA provides that the plan administrator of a single-employer
plan is required to provide written notice to participants and beneficiaries within 30 days
after the date the plan has become subject to a benefit restriction under
section 206(g)(1) of ERISA (under which the payment of certain unpredictable
contingent event benefits is restricted) or section 206(g)(3) of ERISA (under which the
payment of certain accelerated benefit distributions is restricted). Section 101(j)(2) of
ERISA provides that, for a single-employer plan under which benefit accruals are
restricted under section 206(g)(4) of ERISA because the plan’s adjusted funding target
attainment percentage is less than 60 percent, the plan administrator is required to
provide written notice to participants and beneficiaries within 30 days after the earlier of
the plan’s valuation date or the date the adjusted funding target attainment percentage
is presumed to be less than 60 percent for the plan year pursuant to
section 206(g)(7)(B) of ERISA.

5
Under PBGC’s premium regulations, contribution receipts for a plan year (as
described in section 303(g)(4) of ERISA) are included in the market value of assets as
of the valuation date to the extent received by the plan by the date the premium is filed.
See 29 CFR section 4006.4(c). In addition, reporting requirements under Title IV of
ERISA arise from certain late contributions. See 29 CFR sections 4043.25 and
4043.81.
C. Funding-related Provisions for Multiemployer Defined Benefit Plans.
Section 432(b)(3)(A) of the Code and section 305(b)(3)(A) of ERISA provide special
rules for certain multiemployer defined benefit plans. For a plan that is subject to those
requirements, the plan actuary must make certain certifications each year regarding the
plan’s funded status. The deadline for these certifications for a plan year is the 90th day
of the plan year. Under § 432(b)(3)(D) of the Code and section 305(b)(3)(D) of ERISA,
in certain circumstances, the plan sponsor is required to provide notice regarding the
plan’s funded status to participants and beneficiaries, the bargaining parties, PBGC, the
Secretary of Labor, and, if applicable, the Secretary of the Treasury. Section 432(c)(1)
of the Code and section 305(c)(1) of ERISA require, for the first plan year that a
multiemployer plan is in endangered status, that the plan sponsor adopt a funding
improvement plan no later than 240 days following the required date for the actuarial
certification of endangered status. Section 432(e)(1) of the Code and section 305(e)(1)
of ERISA require, for the first plan year that a multiemployer plan is in critical status, that
the plan sponsor adopt a rehabilitation plan no later than 240 days following the
required date for the actuarial certification of critical status.

6
III. RELIEF
A. Definition of Affected Plan and Initial Relief Date.
Pursuant to § 7508A(b) of the Code, the relief set forth in this section III applies to an
Affected Plan. A plan is an Affected Plan if any of the following were located in the
Affected Area
1
: the principal place of business of the employer that maintains the plan
(in the case of a plan covering employees of one employer, determined disregarding the
rules of § 414(b) and (c) of the Code); the principal place of business of employers that
employ more than 50 percent of the active participants covered by the plan (in the case
of a plan covering employees of more than one employer, determined disregarding the
rules of § 414(b) and (c)); the relevant office of the plan or the plan administrator; the
relevant office of the primary record keeper serving the plan; or the office of the enrolled
actuary or other advisor that previously had been retained by the plan or the employer
to make funding determinations or certifications for which the due date falls between the
date specified by the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) as the
beginning of the incident period (for example, August 23, 2017, for Texas counties
affected by Hurricane Harvey and September 4, 2017, for Florida counties affected by
Hurricane Irma) and January 31, 2018. For purposes of the preceding sentence, the
term “office” means the worksite of the relevant individuals and the location of any
records necessary to determine the plan’s funding requirements for the relevant period.

1
The Affected Area is defined as any of the Texas counties identified for individual assistance by FEMA
because of Hurricane Harvey, any of the Florida counties identified for individual assistance by FEMA
because of Hurricane Irma, and any other areas identified for individual assistance by FEMA because of
Hurricane Harvey or Hurricane Irma (or Tropical Storm Harvey or Tropical Storm Irma). The areas
identified for individual assistance by FEMA can be found on FEMA’s website at
https://www.fema.gov/disasters.

7
In addition, for purposes of this notice, the date specified by FEMA as the beginning of
the incident period with respect to a plan is referred to as the Initial Relief Date for the
plan.
B. Relief for Single-employer Defined Benefit Plans.
For any single-employer plan (other than a CSEC plan as defined in § 414(y)) that is
an Affected Plan, if the date described in § 430(j)(1) or 430(j)(3) of the Code and section
303(j)(1) or 303(j)(3) of ERISA for making a contribution for a plan year falls within the
period beginning on the Initial Relief Date and ending on January 31, 2018, then the
date for making such a contribution is postponed to January 31, 2018.
2
If the date
specified in § 1.430(f)-1(f)(2) for making an election relating to such a plan’s prefunding
balance or funding standard carryover balance falls within the period beginning on the
Initial Relief Date and ending on January 31, 2018, then the date by which that election
must be made is postponed to January 31, 2018. If the date described in § 436(h)(2) or
436(h)(3) of the Code and section 206(g)(7)(B) or 206(g)(7)(C) of ERISA for certification
of the adjusted funded target attainment percentage falls within the period beginning on
the Initial Relief Date and ending on January 31, 2018, then the date by which that
certification must be made is postponed to January 31, 2018.
For any CSEC plan that is an Affected Plan, if the date described in § 433(c)(9) or
§ 433(f) of the Code and section 306(c)(9) or section 306(f) of ERISA for making a
contribution for a plan year falls within the period beginning on the Initial Relief Date and
ending on January 31, 2018, then the date for making such a contribution is postponed

2
This extension also applies to contributions that are due during this period to plans described in
section 104 of the Pension Protection Act of 2006, Pub. L. No. 109-280, 120 Stat. 780 (2006).

8
to January 31, 2018. For any such plan that is an Affected Plan, if the date described in
§ 433(j)(4) of the Code and section 306(j)(4) of ERISA by which the plan actuary must
make the required certification falls within the period beginning on the Initial Relief Date
and ending on January 31, 2018, then the date by which that certification must be made
is postponed to January 31, 2018. If the deadline described in § 433(j)(3) of the Code
and section 306(j)(3) of ERISA by which a plan sponsor of such an Affected Plan that is
in funding restoration status must adopt a funding restoration plan falls within the period
beginning on the Initial Relief Date and ending on January 31, 2018, then that deadline
is postponed to January 31, 2018.
With respect to any single-employer plan that is an Affected Plan, if the deadline for
furnishing a notice required under section 101(j)(1) or (2) of ERISA falls within the
period beginning on the Initial Relief Date and ending on January 31, 2018, then the
date by which that notice must be furnished is postponed to January 31, 2018.
The relief set forth in this section III.B applies under Title IV of ERISA for purposes of
determining the timeliness of a contribution and whether that contribution is included in
market value of assets. For example, for any plan for which this notice extends a due
date described in § 430(j)(1) of the Code and section 303(j)(1) of ERISA, contribution
receipts are taken into account in determining the variable rate premium if made on or
before the date the plan’s premium is filed.
C. Relief for Mult iemployer Defined Benefit Plans.
For any multiemployer plan that is an Affected Plan, if the date described in
§ 432(b)(3)(A) of the Code and section 305(b)(3)(A) of ERISA by which the plan actuary

9
must make any certification required under § 432(b)(3)(A) falls within the period
beginning on the Initial Relief Date and ending on January 31, 2018, then the date by
which that certification must be made is postponed to January 31, 2018. If the deadline
described in § 432(c)(1) or 432(e)(1) of the Code and section 305(c)(1) or 305(e)(1) of
ERISA by which a plan sponsor of such an Affected Plan that is in endangered or
critical status must adopt or update a funding improvement plan or a rehabilitation plan
falls within the period beginning on the Initial Relief Date and ending on January 31,
2018, then that deadline is postponed to January 31, 2018. If, however, the date by
which a certification of such an Affected Plan’s status is postponed in accordance with
this section III.C, then the date described in § 432(c)(1) or 432(e)(1) of the Code and
section 305(c) or 305(e) of ERISA by which the plan sponsor of such an Affected Plan
that is in critical or endangered status must adopt a funding improvement plan or a
rehabilitation plan nonetheless continues to be determined based on the original
deadline for the certification of the plan’s status.

D. Relief Related to Funding Waivers.
With respect to a plan that is an Affected Plan, if the date described in § 412(c)(5) of
the Code and section 302(c)(5) of ERISA for applying for a waiver for an Affected Plan
falls within the period beginning on the Initial Relief Date and ending on January 31,
2018, then that deadline is postponed to January 31, 2018.
DRAFTING INFORMATION
The principal author of this notice is Tom Morgan of the Office of the Associate Chief
Counsel (Tax Exempt and Government Entities). However, other personnel from the

10
IRS participated in the development of this guidance. For further information regarding
this notice, contact Mr. Morgan at 202-317-6700 (not a toll-free call). For further
information regarding the relief in this notice relating to Title IV of ERISA, contact Amy
Viener at (202) 326 4000 extension 3919 (not a toll-free call).