n-15-84.pdf

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2015 Cumulative List of Changes in Plan Qualification Requirements

Notice 2015-84

I. PURPOSE

This notice contains the 2015 Cumulative List of Changes in Plan Qualification
Requirements (2015 Cumulative List) described in section 4 of Rev. Proc. 2007-
44, 2007-2 C.B. 54. The 2015 Cumulative List is to be used by plan sponsors
and practitioners submitting determination letter applications for plans during the
period beginning February 1, 2016 and ending January 31, 2017.

Plans using this Cumulative List will primarily be single employer individually
designed defined contribution plans and single employer individually designed
defined benefit plans that are in Cycle A. Generally an individually designed plan
is in Cycle A if the last digit of the employer identification number of the plan
sponsor is 1 or 6.

The list of changes in section IV of this notice does not extend the deadline by
which a plan must be amended to comply with any statutory, regulatory, or
guidance changes. The general deadline for timely adoption of an interim or
discretionary amendment can be found in section 5.05 of Rev. Proc. 2007-44.

II. BACKGROUND

Rev. Proc. 2007-44 sets forth procedures for issuing opinion, advisory, and
determination letters and describes the five-year remedial amendment cycle for
individually designed plans and the six-year remedial amendment cycle for pre-
approved plans. In addition, section 5.05 of Rev. Proc. 2007-44 provides the
deadline for timely adoption of an interim amendment or discretionary
amendment.

Under section 4 of Rev. Proc. 2007-44, the Internal Revenue Service (the
Service) announced its intention to annually publish a Cumulative List to identify
statutory, regulatory, and guidance changes that must be taken into account in
submissions by plan sponsors to the Service requesting opinion, advisory, and
determination letters whose submission period begins on February

1st following
issuance of the Cumulative List.

2

In Notice 2014-77, 2014-52 I.R.B. 974, the Service published the 2014
Cumulative List of Changes in Plan Qualification Requirements (2014 Cumulative
List).
1

III. APPLICATION OF 2015 CUMULATIVE LIST

This notice relates to the determination letter program for individually designed
plans eligible for Cycle A. In accordance with Rev. Proc. 2007-44, the Service
will start accepting determination letter applications for Cycle A individually
designed plans beginning on February 1, 2016. The 12-month submission
period for Cycle A plans will end on January 31, 2017.

The 2015 Cumulative List, set forth in section IV of this notice, informs plan
sponsors of issues the Service has specifically identified for review in
determining whether a plan filing in Cycle A has been properly updated.
Specifically, the 2015 Cumulative List reflects law changes under the Pension
Protection Act of 2006 (PPA ’06), Pub. L. 109-280; the Worker, Retiree, and
Employer Recovery Act of 2008 (WRERA), Pub. L. 110-458; the Small Business
Jobs Act of 2010 (SBJA), Pub. L. 111-240; the Preservation of Access to Care
for Medicare Beneficiaries and Pension Relief Act of 2010 (PRA 2010), Pub. L.
No. 111-192; the Moving Ahead for Progress in the 21
st
Century Act (MAP-21),
Pub. L. 112-141; the American Taxpayer Relief Act of 2012 (ATRA), Pub. L. 112-
240; the Highway and Transportation Funding Act of 2014 (HATFA), Pub. L. No.
113-159; the Cooperative and Small Employer Charity Pension Flexibility Act
(CSEC Act), Pub. L. 113-97; the Consolidated and Further Continuing
Appropriations Act, 2015, Pub. L. No. 113-235; and the Surface Transportation
and Veterans Health Care Choice Improvement Act of 2015, Pub. L. 114-41.

Except as provided below, the Service will not consider in its review of any
determination letter application for the submission period that begins
February 1, 2016, any:

(1) guidance issued after October 1, 2015;

(2) statutes enacted after October 1, 2015;

(3) qualification requirements first effective in 2017 or later;

(4) statutory provisions that are first effective in 2016, for which there is no
guidance identified in this notice; or

1
For previous cumulative lists, see Notice 2013-84, 2013-52 I.R.B. 822; Notice 2012-76, 2012-52
I.R.B. 775; Notice 2011-97, 2011-52 I.R.B. 923; Notice 2010-90, 2010-52 I.R.B. 909; Notice
2009-98, 2009-52 I.R.B. 974; Notice 2008-108, 2008-2 C.B. 1275; Notice 2007-94, 2007-2 C.B.
1179; Notice 2007-3, 2007-1 C.B. 255; Notice 2005-101, 2005-2 C.B. 1219; and Notice 2004-84,
2004-2 C.B. 1030.

3

(5) proposed regulations or other guidance described solely in any
footnote in this notice.

However, in order to be qualified, a plan must comply with all relevant
qualification requirements, not just those on the 2015 Cumulative List.

Terminating plans must include all law changes in effect at the time of
termination. See section 8 of Rev. Proc. 2007-44 regarding plan termination.

IV. 2015 CUMULATIVE LIST OF CHANGES IN PLAN QUALIFICATION
REQUIREMENTS

The following list consists of statutory provisions and associated guidance that
reflect changes to plan qualification requirements. The Service has identified
below the plan qualification requirements that differ from those that were on the
2014 or earlier Cumulative Lists as “(New).”

Items from the 2010 Cumulative List have been deleted from the 2015
Cumulative List. Thus, the 2015 Cumulative List contains the plan qualification
requirements in the 2011, 2012, 2013 and 2014 Cumulative Lists, as well as
additional 2015 plan qualification requirements. The deletions have been made
to enhance the utility of the cumulative list, by removing items that would have
been previously reviewed in the case of a plan that was submitted during the
second Cycle A submission period (February 1, 2011 – January 31, 2012).
However, if a plan has not been previously reviewed for items on earlier
cumulative lists, the items from the earlier cumulative lists must be taken into
account. These items can be found in the 2010 Cumulative List, Notice 2010-90,
2010-52 I.R.B. 909.

1. 401(a):

• Rev. Rul. 2011-1, 2011-2 I.R.B. 251, revises the generally
applicable rules for group trusts and, if certain requirements are
met, permits the participation in group trusts of custodial accounts
under § 403(b)(7), retirement income accounts under § 403(b)(9),
and governmental retiree benefit plans under § 401(a)(24). This
revenue ruling also modifies the transition relief provided in Rev.
Rul. 2008-40. (2011 C. L.)

• Notice 2012-6, 2012-3 I.R.B. 293, extends and expands the
transition relief provided under Rev. Rul. 2011-1 for certain group
trusts, certain retirement trusts that qualify under the Puerto Rico
Internal Revenue Code that participate in group trusts, and certain
qualified retirement plans that benefit Puerto Rico residents. The
notice also provides additional time for governmental retiree benefit

4

plans described in § 401(a)(24) to be amended to satisfy the
applicable requirements of Rev. Rul. 2011-1. (2012 C. L.)

• Notice 2012-29, 2012-18 I.R.B. 872, provides that the Service and
Treasury intend to modify the normal retirement age regulations to
clarify that governmental plans that do not provide for in-service
distributions before age 62 do not need to have a definition of
normal retirement age and to modify the age-50 safe harbor rule for
qualified public safety employees. The notice also provides that the
Service and Treasury intend to amend the normal retirement age
regulations to extend the effective date for governmental plans to
annuity starting dates that occur in plan years beginning on or after
the later of (1) January 1, 2015 or (2) the close of the first regular
legislative session of the legislative body with the authority to
amend the plan that begins on or after the date that is 3 months
after the final regulations are published in the Federal Register.
(2012 C. L.)

• United States v. Windsor, 570 U.S. ___, 133 S. Ct. 2675 (2013).
The Supreme Court found that Section 3 of the Defense of
Marriage Act (DOMA), which provides that in determining the
meaning of any Act of Congress, or of any ruling, regulation, or
interpretation of the various administrative bureaus and agencies of
the United States, the word ‘marriage’ means only a legal union
between one man and one woman as husband and wife, and the
word ‘spouse’ refers only to a person of the opposite sex who is a
husband or a wife, is unconstitutional because it violates the
principles of equal protection. (2013 C. L.)

• Rev. Rul. 2013-17, 2013-38 I.R.B. 201, provides that for Federal
tax purposes, the terms “spouse,” “husband and wife,” “husband,”
and “wife” include an individual married to a person of the same sex
if the individuals are lawfully married under state law, and the term
“marriage” includes such a marriage between individuals of the
same sex and the Service adopts a general rule recognizing a
marriage of same-sex individuals that was validly entered into in a
state whose laws authorize the marriage of two individuals of the
same sex even if the married couple is domiciled in a state that
does not recognize the validity of same-sex marriages. (2013 C. L.)

• Rev. Rul. 2014-9, 2014-17 I.R.B. 975, provides procedures a plan
administrator may use in order to reasonably conclude that an
amount is a valid rollover contribution. (2014 C.L.)

• Notice 2014-19, 2014-17 I.R.B. 979, provides guidance on the
application (including the retroactive application) of the decision in

5

United States v. Windsor, and the holdings of Rev. Rul. 2013-17, to
retirement plans qualified under § 401(a). (2014 C.L.)
2

• Rev. Rul. 2014-24, 2014-37 I.R.B. 529, modifies the list of group
trust retiree benefit plans eligible to participate in group trusts
described in Rev. Rul. 81-100, as modified by Rev. Rul. 2011-1 and
Notice 2012-6, to include trusts of certain retirement plans qualified
only under the Puerto Rico Code, clarifies that assets held by
certain separate accounts maintained by insurance companies may
be invested in those group trusts, and provides limited transition
relief. (2014 C.L.)

2. 401(a)(4):

• Notice 2014-5, 2014-2 I.R.B. 276, provides temporary
nondiscrimination relief for certain "closed" defined benefit pension
plans. (2014 C.L.)

• Notice 2014-66, 2014-46 I.R.B. 820, provides a special
nondiscrimination rule for a qualified defined contribution plan that
provides lifetime income by offering, as investment options, a series
of target date funds (TDFs) that include deferred annuities among
their assets, even if some of the TDFs within the series are
available only to older participants. (2014 C.L.)

• Notice 2015-28, 2015-14 I.R.B. 848, extends the temporary
nondiscrimination relief previously established in Notice 2014-5 for
certain “closed” defined benefit pension plans. (New)

3. 401(a)(9):

• Final regulations that provide a limited modification of the required
minimum distribution rules for tax-qualified defined contribution
plans holding qualifying longevity annuity contracts were published
on July 2, 2014 (79 Fed. Reg. 37633). (2014 C.L.)

• Notice 2015-49, 2015-30 I.R.B. 79, informs taxpayers that the
Treasury Department and the IRS intend to propose amendments

2
Retirement plans qualified under § 401(a) were required to recognize marriages of same-sex
couples pursuant to United States v. Windsor, 570 U.S. ___, 133 S. Ct. 2675 (2013) and Notice
2014-19. Notice 2015-86, which will appear in 2015-52 I.R.B, provides that qualified retirement
plans are not required to make additional changes as a result of the decision in Obergefell v.
Hodges, 576 U.S.___, 135 S. Ct. 2584 (2015). However, a plan sponsor may decide to amend
its plan following Obergefell to make certain discretionary amendments (also described in Notice
2015-86).

6

to the required minimum distribution regulations under §401(a)(9) to
address the use of lump sum payments to replace annuity
payments being paid by a qualified defined benefit pension plan
and that these amendments are intended to apply as of July 9,
2015 except with respect to certain accelerations of annuity
payments described in the notice. (New)

4. 401(a)(22):

• Notice 2011-19, 2011-11 I.R.B. 550, provides that the terms readily
tradable on an established securities market and readily tradable
on an established market mean employer securities that are readily
tradable on an established securities market within the meaning of
§ 1.401(a)(35)-1(f)(5) for purposes of § 401(a)(22). Notice 2011-19
is effective for plan years that begin on or after January 1, 2012,
except for certain plans that have a delayed effective date.
(2011 C. L.)

5. 401(a)(28)(C):

• Notice 2011-19 provides that the terms readily tradable on an
established securities market and readily tradable on an
established market mean employer securities that are readily
tradable on an established securities market within the meaning of
§ 1.401(a)(35)-1(f)(5) for purposes of § 401(a)(28)(C). Notice
2011-19 is effective for plan years that begin on or after
January 1, 2012, except for certain plans that have a delayed
effective date. (2011 C. L.)

6. 401(a)(35):

• Notice 2013-17, 2013-20 I.R.B. 1082, provides relief from anti-
cutback rules for an amendment to an ESOP that becomes subject
to the diversification requirements of § 401(a)(35) to eliminate all in-
service distribution options previously used to satisfy the
diversification requirements of § 401(a)(28)(B)(i). (2013 C. L.)

7. 401(k) & 401(m):

• Final regulations that provide guidance on permitted mid-year
reductions or suspensions of safe harbor nonelective contributions
in certain circumstances for amendments adopted after May 18,
2009 and revise the requirements for permitted mid-year reductions
or suspensions of safe harbor matching contributions for plan years
beginning on or after January 1, 2015 were published on November
15, 2013 (78 Fed. Reg. 68735). (2013 C. L.)

7

• Notice 2014-37, 2014-24 I.R.B. 1100, provides guidance on a mid-
year amendment to a § 401(k) safe harbor plan or § 401(m) safe
harbor plan to reflect the outcome of United States v. Windsor,
pursuant to Notice 2014-19. (2014 C.L.)

8. 402(a):

• Final regulations clarifying the rules regarding the tax treatment of
payments by qualified retirement plans for accident or health
insurance were published on May 12, 2014 (79 Fed. Reg. 26838).
(2014 C.L.)

9. 402(c)(2):

• Notice 2014-54, 2014-41 I.R.B. 670, provides rules for allocating
pretax and after-tax amounts among disbursements that are made
to multiple destinations from a qualified plan described in § 401(a).
(2014 C.L.)

10. 402A:

• ATRA § 902 added § 402A(c)(4)(E), which provides that rollovers
from a plan account to the plan’s designated Roth account can
include a rollover of an otherwise nondistributable amount. (2013
C. L.)

• Notice 2013-74 provides guidance regarding § 402A(c)(4)(E) and
also provides guidance that applies to all in-plan Roth rollovers
under § 402A(c)(4). (2013 C. L.)

• Notice 2014-54, 2014-41 I.R.B. 670, provides rules for allocating
pretax and after-tax amounts among disbursements that are made
to multiple destinations under tax-favored retirement plans. (2014
C.L.)

• Proposed regulations under § 402A were published on September
19, 2014 (79 Fed. Reg. 56310) with respect to the tax treatment of
distributions from designated Roth accounts under tax-favored
retirement plans. (2014 C.L.)

11. 409:

• Notice 2011-19 provides that the terms readily tradable on an
established securities market and readily tradable on an
established market mean employer securities that are readily

8

tradable on an established securities market within the meaning of
§ 1.401(a)(35)-1(f)(5) for purposes of § 409(h)(1)(B) and § 409(l).
Notice 2011-19 is effective for plan years that begin on or after
January 1, 2012, except for certain plans that have a delayed
effective date. (2011 C. L.)

12. 411(a):

• Rev. Rul. 2012-4, 2012-8 I.R.B. 386, describes whether a qualified
defined benefit pension plan that accepts a direct rollover of an
eligible rollover distribution from a qualified defined contribution
plan maintained by the same employer satisfies §§ 411 and 415 in
a case in which the defined benefit plan provides an annuity
resulting from the direct rollover. (2012 C. L.)

13. 411(a)(13):
3

• Notice 2011-85, 2011-44 I.R.B. 605, extends the deadline for
adopting an interim or discretionary amendment under § 411(a)(13)
(other than § 411(a)(13)(A)). (2011 C. L.)

• Notice 2012-61, 2012-42 I.R.B. 479, provides that certain
provisions in the 2010 final hybrid plan regulations will not be
effective for plan years beginning before January 1, 2014.
(2012 C. L.)

14. 411(b)(1):

• Final regulations under § 411(b)(1) with respect to a variable
interest crediting rate that potentially can be negative in any given
year were published on September 19, 2014 (79 Fed. Reg. 56442).

(2014 C.L.)

3
Amendments to the final regulations under § 411(a)(13) (which final regulations were included in
the 2010 C. L.) were published on September 19, 2014 (79 Fed. Reg. 56442) and November 16,
2015 (80 Fed. Reg. 70680). Pursuant to the 2015 amendments, the provisions included in the
2014 and 2015 amendments to the regulations generally apply for plan years beginning on or
after January 1, 2017. Neither of these amendments to the regulations is included in the 2015
Cumulative List. Proposed regulations under § 411(a)(13) were published on October 19, 2010
(75 Fed. Reg. 64197) and can be relied upon until the 2014 and 2015 amendments to the
regulations under § 411(a)(13) apply.

9

15. 411(b)(5):
4

• Notice 2011-85 announces that the Treasury Department and the
Service intend to amend the 2010 final hybrid plan regulations to
postpone the effective/applicability date of § 1.411(b)(5)-1(d)(1)(iii),
(d)(1)(vi), and (d)(6)(i) to plan years that begin on or after a date to
be specified in those regulations that is not earlier than January 1,
2013. This notice also extends the deadline for adopting an interim
or discretionary amendment under § 411(b)(5). (2011 C. L.)

• Notice 2012-61 provides that certain provisions in the 2010 final
hybrid plan regulations will not be effective for plan years beginning
before January 1, 2014. (2012 C. L.)

16. 411(d)(6):

• Final Regulations under § 411(d)(6), which provide an additional
limited exception to the anti-cutback rules in the case of a plan
sponsor who is a debtor in a bankruptcy proceeding, were
published on November 8, 2012 (77 Fed. Reg. 66915). (2012 C.
L.)

• Notice 2013-17 provides relief from anti-cutback rules for an
amendment to an ESOP to eliminate all in-service distribution
options previously used to satisfy the diversification requirements of
§ 401(a)(28)(B)(i). (2013 C. L.)

17. 411(f):

• Division P of the Consolidated and Further Continuing
Appropriations Act, 2015, Pub. L. No. 113-235, section 2 adds §
411(f) which provides a special rule for determining normal
retirement age for certain existing defined benefit plans. (New)

18. 415:

• Rev. Rul. 2012-4 describes whether a qualified defined benefit
pension plan that accepts a direct rollover of an eligible rollover

4
Amendments to the final regulations under § 411(b)(5) (which final regulations were included in
the 2010 C. L.) were published on September 19, 2014 (79 Fed. Reg. 56442) and November 16,
2015 (80 Fed. Reg. 70680). Pursuant to the 2015 amendments, the provisions included in the
2014 and 2015 amendments to the regulations generally apply for plan years beginning on or
after January 1, 2017. Neither of these amendments to the regulations is included in the 2015
Cumulative List. Proposed regulations under § 411(b)(5) were published on October 19, 2010
(75 Fed. Reg. 64197) and can be relied upon until the 2014 and 2015 amendments to the
regulations under § 411(b)(5) apply.

10

distribution from a qualified defined contribution plan maintained by
the same employer satisfies §§ 411 and 415 in a case in which the
defined benefit plan provides an annuity resulting from the direct
rollover. (2012 C. L.)

• Proposed regulations under § 415 were published on November
15, 2013 (78 Fed. Reg. 68780) with respect to amounts paid to an
Indian tribe member as remuneration for services performed in a
fishing rights-related activity. (2014 C.L.)

19. 417:

• Rev. Rul. 2012-3, 2012-6 I.R.B. 383, describes how the qualified
joint and survivor annuity (“QJSA)”) and the qualified preretirement
survivor annuity (“QPSA”) rules, described in §§ 401(a)(11) and
417, apply when a deferred annuity contract is purchased under a
profit sharing plan. (2012 C. L.)

20. 420:

• MAP-21 §§ 40241 and 40242 amend § 420 to extend the
provisions relating to transfers of excess pension assets to retiree
health accounts and to expand those provisions to allow transfers
to retiree group term life insurance accounts. (2012 C. L.)

• Section 2007 of the Surface Transportation and Veterans Health
Care Choice Improvement Act of 2015 amends § 420 to extend the
provisions relating to transfers to December 31, 2025. (New)

21. 431(b)(8):

• PRA 2010 § 211(a)(2) added § 431(b)(8), which provides two
special funding rules available to multiemployer plans. (2011 C. L.)

• Notice 2010-83, 2010-51 I.R.B. 862, provides guidance with
respect to the special funding rules under § 431(b)(8).
(2011 C. L.)

22. 432(e)(9):

• Section 432(e)(9), as amended by the Multiemployer Pension
Reform Act of 2014 (MPRA), contained in Division O of the
Consolidated and Further Continuing Appropriations Act, 2015,
Pub. L. No. 113-235, permits plan sponsors of multiemployer plans
to suspend benefits if certain conditions are satisfied. (New)

11

• Temporary regulations provide guidance to enable plan
sponsors of multiemployer plans to suspend benefits if certain
conditions are satisfied (80 Fed. Reg. 35207) (New)
5

23. 436:
6

• Section 1.436-1 provides guidance on the application of § 436,
which provides a series of limitations on the accrual and payment of
benefits under underfunded single employer defined benefit plans.
(2012 C. L.)

• Notice 2011-3, 2011-2 I.R.B. 263, provides guidance on the special
rules relating to the relaxation of § 436 rules that were included in
the funding relief for single employer defined benefit pension plans
under PRA 2010. (2012 C. L.)

• Notice 2011-96, 2011-52 I.R.B. 915, provides a sample plan
amendment that plan sponsors may adopt to satisfy § 436
regarding limitations on the accrual and payment of benefits. The
notice also extends both the deadline to amend a plan to satisfy
§ 436 and the period during which such an amendment is eligible
for relief from the anti-cutback requirements of § 411(d)(6).
(2012 C. L.)

• Notice 2012-70, 2012-51 I.R.B. 712, extends the deadline, as set
forth in Notice 2011-96, to amend a defined benefit plan to satisfy
the requirements of § 436 and provides associated relief from the
requirements of § 411(d)(6). (2012 C. L.)

• CSEC Act § 202 exempted certain cooperative and small employer
charity pension plans from the limitations of §§ 436 and 401(a)(33),
and provided new funding rules for these plans. (2014 C.L.)

The following guidance contains sample or model amendments: Rev. Rul. 2011-
1 (group trusts); and Notice 2011-96 (limitations on the accrual and payment of
benefits under underfunded single employer defined benefit plans).

5
See also temporary regulations providing guidance relating to the administration of the required
vote of participants to approve a suspension of benefits (80 Fed. Reg. 52972).
6
Notice 2012-61 and Notice 2014-53, 2014-43 I.R.B.737, provide guidance on the application of
MAP-21 and HATFA. Notice 2012-55, 2012-36 I.R.B. 332, and Notice 2013-11, 2013-11 I.R.B.
610, provide guidance on the 25-year average segment rates under MAP-21.

12

DRAFTING INFORMATION
The principal author of this notice is Maxine Terry of the Office of Associate Chief
Counsel (Tax Exempt and Government Entities). For further information
regarding this announcement, contact Ms. Terry at (202) 317-4102 (not a toll-free
number)