rp-10-52.pdf

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Rev. Proc. 2010-52

SECTION 1. PURPOSE

This revenue procedure describes the procedure by which the plan sponsor of a
multiemployer pension plan may request and obtain approval of an extension of
an amortization period in accordance with § 431(d) of the Internal Revenue Code
of 1986 (Code).

SECTION 2. BACKGROUND INFORMATION

.01 Section 431(d)
.--Section 431(d) was added to the Code as part of a
significant revision of the funding rules for pension plans qualified under § 401(a)
made by the Pension Protection Act of 2006 (PPA). Parallel provisions to §
431(d) can be found at § 304(d) of the Employee Retirement Income Security Act
of 1974 (ERISA). The Secretary of the Treasury has interpretive and
enforcement jurisdiction over both provisions.

Section 431(d)(1) provides that if the plan sponsor of a multiemployer plan
submits to the Secretary of the Treasury an application for an extension of the
amortization period for any unfunded liability described in § 431(b)(2)(B) or
431(b)(4) (referred to in this revenue procedure as a “charge base”), and
includes the certification by the plan’s actuary described in § 431(d)(1)(B), the
Secretary shall extend the amortization period for the period (not in excess of five
years) requested in the application. An extension under § 431(d)(1) is referred to
as an automatic extension. In addition, § 431(d)(2)(A) provides that the plan
sponsor of a multiemployer plan may submit an application for an extension of
the amortization period for any such charge base, and the Secretary may extend
the amortization period for a period of time not in excess of 10 years less the
number of years of any automatic extension with respect to such charge base, if
the Secretary makes the determination described in § 431(d)(2)(B). An
extension under § 431(d)(2) is referred to as an alternative extension. Section
431(d)(3) requires that an applicant provide notice of the extension application to
each affected party described in § 4001(a)(21) of ERISA.

.02 Rev. Proc. 2008-67
.--Rev. Proc. 2008-67, 2008-48 I.R.B. 1211, provided the
procedure for submitting an application for a ruling on an amortization extension
with respect to plan years starting after December 31, 2007. This revenue
procedure differs from Rev. Proc. 2008-67 in a number of ways. The major
differences include: modifications to the list of affected parties to whom
notification must be made (adding the Pension Benefit Guaranty Corporation
(PBGC) and removing contributing employers); extension of the period for
submission of an application; and modification of the treatment of automatic
extension applications for purposes of certifying a plan’s status under § 432(b)(3)
of the Code. This revenue procedure also clarifies certain other aspects of Rev.
Proc. 2008-67. In addition, the model notice in this revenue procedure now

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includes a plain language explanation section and a Comment and IRS
Acknowledgement Sheet.

.03 Section 431(b)(8)
.--Section 211(a)(2) of the Preservation of Access to Care
for Medicare Beneficiaries and Pension Relief Act of 2010 (PRA 2010), Pub. L.
No. 111-192, added § 431(b)(8) to the Code. Section 431(b)(8)(A) provides a
special amortization rule for certain net investment losses in the case of a
multiemployer plan that meets a solvency test. The special rule applies to the
portion of the plan’s experience loss or gain for a plan year attributable to net
investment losses (if any) incurred in either or both of the first two plan years
ending after August 31, 2008 (an eligible loss year). This portion of the
experience loss or gain may be treated as an item separate from other
experience losses, to be amortized in equal annual installments (until fully
amortized) over the period beginning with the plan year in which such portion is
first recognized in the actuarial value of assets and ending with the last plan year
in the 30-plan-year period beginning with the eligible loss year. Under §
431(b)(8)(A)(ii)(I), the amortization period under the special amortization rule
cannot be further extended under § 431(d). In addition, under §
431(b)(8)(A)(ii)(II), if an extension of an amortization period was granted under
§ 431(d) for any plan year before a decision to apply the special amortization rule
for the plan year, that extension cannot result in the amortization period under
the special amortization rule exceeding 30 years.

SECTION 3. APPLICATIONS TO EXTEND AN AMORTIZATION PERIOD – IN
GENERAL

.01 Who may submit
.--An application for approval to extend the period of years
required to amortize any unfunded liability must be submitted by the plan sponsor
(i.e., the board of trustees of the plan, and referred to in this revenue procedure
as the applicant or Board) or by an authorized representative of the applicant.
The application must be signed by an authorized trustee who is a current
member of the Board or by an authorized representative of the applicant who
either must be identified in (a), (b), or (c) of subsection 9.02(11) of Rev.
Proc. 2010-4, 2010-1 I.R.B. 122, or must be an enrolled actuary within the
meaning of § 7701(a)(35). Where an authorized representative signs the
application or will appear before the Service in connection with the application, a
Form 2848, Power of Attorney and Declaration of Representative, must be
submitted with the application. An individual is not an authorized representative
of the applicant merely on account of being an administrator or trustee of the
plan.

.02 Submission
.--An application must be submitted to:

Employee Plans
Internal Revenue Service
Commissioner, TE/GE

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Attention: SE:T:EP:RA
P.O. Box 27063
McPherson Station
Washington, D.C. 20038

The user fee required by Rev. Proc. 2010-8, 2010-1 I.R.B. 234, must be sent with
such an application.

.03 Required Information
.--An application must contain the information required
by § 4 and/or § 5 of this revenue procedure, as applicable. Applications must
include the plan name, the plan sponsor’s employer identification number, and
the plan number. Applications must also include a statement that the notice
required by § 3.05 of this revenue procedure has been provided, a description of
the method of delivery used to satisfy the notice requirement, and a copy of the
notice.

.04 Necessary Procedural Documents
.--An application will not be considered
unless it complies with (1) and (2) below.

(1) The application must contain a declaration in the following form: “Under
penalties of perjury, I declare that I have examined this request, or this
modification to the request, including accompanying documents, and, to the best
of my knowledge and belief, the request or the modification contains all the
relevant facts relating to the request or the modification, and such facts are true,
correct, and complete.” This declaration must be signed by an authorized trustee
who is a current member of the Board. The signature of an individual with a
power of attorney will not suffice for the declaration. See § 9.02(13) of Rev.
Proc. 2010-4.

(2) Because the application constitutes a request for a ruling, compliance with §
6110 is also required. Section 601.201 of the Statement of Procedural Rules
sets forth the requirements applicable to requests for rulings and determination
letters which are subject to § 6110. Section 601.201(e) furnishes specific
instructions to applicants.

The applicant must provide with the application either a statement of proposed
deletions and the statutory basis for each proposed deletion, or a statement that
no information other than names, addresses, and taxpayer identifying numbers
need be deleted.

.05 Notification
.--Within 14 days prior to the date of an application, the applicant
must provide a copy of a written notice to each affected party (within the meaning
of § 4001(a)(21) of ERISA) stating that an application for an extension of the
amortization period under § 431(d) is being submitted to the Service. This
includes each employee organization representing employees covered by the
plan, each participant, beneficiary, and alternate payee (within the meaning of §

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414(p)(8)) of the Code), and the PBGC. The original of the notice must bear a
signature by an authorized trustee who is a current member of the applicant’s
Board and must be in substantially the form set forth in the Model Notice found in
Appendix A to this revenue procedure. The Service does not require the
applicant to furnish any information to affected parties in addition to that required
by the Model Notice in Appendix A as part of the extension application process,
but additional information may be provided by the applicant pursuant to the
collective bargaining process or otherwise.

The notice must be hand-delivered or mailed to the last known address of each
employee organization, participant, beneficiary, and alternate payee.
Alternatively, the notice may be delivered electronically in accordance with the
requirements of § 1.401(a)-21 of the Income Tax Regulations. Merely posting
the notice on a bulletin board is not sufficient to satisfy this notice requirement. If
the applicant makes a reasonable effort to carry out the provisions of this
paragraph, then failure of an employee organization, participant, beneficiary, or
alternate payee to receive the notice will not cause the applicant to fail the notice
requirement.

Notice to the PBGC may be submitted electronically to
MultiemployerProgram@pbgc.gov or may be sent to the following address:

Pension Benefit Guaranty Corporation
Attn: Multiemployer Program Division
1200 K Street, N.W.
Washington, D.C. 20005-4026

.06 Providing Information
.--Employers who have difficulty in furnishing the
information specified in this revenue procedure may call the Employee Plans
Customer Assistance Service at 1-877-829-5500 (a toll-free number), or write for
guidance to the following address:

Internal Revenue Service
Commissioner, TE/GE
Attention: SE:T:EP:RA:T:A2
1111 Constitution Avenue, N.W.
Washington, D.C. 20224

In appropriate instances, pre-submission conferences may be afforded in
addition to conferences available under Rev. Proc. 2010-8.

.07 Coordination of Extension Applications
.--The total length of an amortization
period extension permitted under paragraphs (1) and (2) of § 431(d) of the Code
for a charge base is limited to 10 years. Section 4 of this revenue procedure
relates to automatic extensions under § 431(d)(1). Section 5 of this revenue
procedure relates to alternative extensions under § 431(d)(2). An automatic

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extension for a charge base may not exceed five years. An alternative extension
for a charge base may be for up to 10 years less any automatic extension
approved for that charge base. An applicant requesting both types of extension
may do so in a single application. However, such an application must include the
information specified in § 4.01 below (including the actuarial certification
described in § 4.01(4)), the information specified in § 5.01 below, and a
completed copy of the checklist that appears as Appendix B of this revenue
procedure. Such a combined application will be considered a single ruling
request. If the applicant requests both types of extension in a single application,
the Service may approve the automatic extension without approving the
alternative extension.

.08 Modification of Existing Extension
.--If a plan has already received under
§ 431(d), or under § 412(e) as in effect before the effective date of PPA, an
extension for less than 10 years of the amortization period on any charge base,
an application for an alternative extension may be submitted modifying the
extension on such charge base to a total of 10 years (taken together with the
original extension). Even if the original extension was for less than five years, no
such modification of an extension may be requested as an automatic extension.

.09 Interim Effect of Application.--Whether the Service has ruled on an
application does not affect the 90-day deadline for certification of a multiemployer
plan’s status under § 432(b)(3) of the Code. In making this certification, if the
plan has submitted an application for an automatic extension under § 431(d)(1)
and the Service has not yet ruled on the application, the actuary must treat the
application as approved. However, for certifications made before January 1,
2011, the actuary may, but is not required to, treat as approved an application for
an automatic extension on which the Service has not yet ruled. The provisions in
the preceding two sentences do not apply if the application was submitted after
the deadline specified in Section 6, or if the actuary has reason to believe that
the standards of this revenue procedure have not been met for the application
submitted.

SECTION 4. APPLICATION FOR AUTOMATIC EXTENSION

.01 Information to be provided
.--An applicant for an automatic extension must
furnish the following information:

(1) A list of the charge bases for which an extension of the amortization
periods is requested.
(2) The length of the extension of the amortization period being requested for
each of the charge bases listed in (1) above (up to a maximum of five years). No
extension will be granted with respect to an amortization period for net
investment losses described under § 431(b)(8)(A)(i).
(3) Whether a prior application for an automatic or alternative amortization
extension under § 431(d), or amortization extension under § 412(e) as in effect

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before the effective date of PPA, was or was not approved with respect to any of
the charge bases for which an extension is requested, including, if approved, the
length of the extension, and, if denied, the reason for the denial and an
explanation of why the reason for the denial no longer applies.
(4) A certification by the plan’s actuary that, based on reasonable
assumptions:
1. Absent the extension for which the plan is applying, the plan would
have an accumulated funding deficiency in the current plan year or any of
the nine succeeding plan years,
2. The plan sponsor has adopted a plan to improve the plan’s funding
status,
3. The plan is projected to have sufficient assets to timely pay
expected benefits and anticipated expenditures over the amortization
period as extended, and
4. The notice required under § 431(d)(3)(A) has been provided, in
accordance with § 3.05 of this revenue procedure.

.02 Ruling
.--Upon receipt of the application with the necessary information, and
verification that the criteria stated above have been met, the Secretary shall
issue a statement to the applicant providing approval for the requested
extension.

.03 Applicable Period
.--The procedures of this § 4 shall not apply with respect to
any application submitted after December 31, 2014, in accordance with §
431(d)(1)(C).

SECTION 5. APPLICATION FOR ALTERNATIVE EXTENSION

.01 Information to be provided
.--An applicant for an alternative extension must
furnish appropriate evidence that the extension of the amortization period would
carry out the purposes of ERISA and PPA and would provide adequate
protection for participants and their beneficiaries, and that the failure to permit the
extension would (I) result in a substantial risk to the voluntary continuation of the
plan, or a substantial curtailment of pension benefit levels or employee
compensation, and (II) be adverse to the interests of plan participants in the
aggregate. What constitutes appropriate evidence will depend on the facts and
circumstances of each case. A response must be furnished for each of
paragraphs (1) through (5) below. In certain cases, some of the material
described in paragraphs (1) through (5) may be inapplicable, unavailable,
inappropriate, or burdensome to furnish. In such cases, the applicant must
furnish a statement indicating why the material for a particular paragraph is
inapplicable, unavailable, inappropriate, or burdensome.

(1) General facts concerning the participating employers
.

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A brief statement should be submitted concerning: (a) the history of the
contributing employers and the industry or industries covered by the plan;
(b) the ownership of the principal employers (as identified below) and any
recent or contemplated changes (such as acquisitions, mergers, or
discontinuances of operations) which might have a bearing on the
employers’ organizations or general financial condition; (c) any recently
withdrawn principal employers with the applicable withdrawal liability
amounts and dates; and (d) a general description of the financial state of
the industry in which employees covered by the plan are employed.

(2) The financial condition of the principal employers
.

For purposes of this revenue procedure, the principal employers are those
employers who (1) are directly represented on the applicant board of
trustees, (2) made five percent or more of the total contributions to the
plan during the preceding plan year, or (3) for the current plan year, are
required to make five percent or more of the total required contributions
under the collective bargaining agreements relating to the plan for which
the extension is requested. Each of the principal employers must submit
the latest available annual financial report of the employer and each of the
other entities included within the controlled group of which the employer is
a member. This submission must include at least the balance sheet, profit
and loss statement, cash flow statement, and notes to the financial
statement. Recent interim financial reports for each of the controlled
group members, if available, must also be submitted along with an interim
financial report covering the corresponding period for the previous year. If
the employer submits financial reports to the Securities and Exchange
Commission, these reports must be submitted for the same period as the
annual financial report. Preferably, the financial report should include
certified financial statements. If certified financial statements have not
been prepared, an uncertified report is acceptable. If neither certified nor
uncertified reports are available, a copy of the company’s latest available
federal income tax return, including all of the supporting schedules, must
be submitted. The required financial information of the principal
employers should be submitted directly from each employer to the Service
at the following address, at the same time that the application is made:

Employee Plans
Internal Revenue Service
Commissioner, TE/GE
Attention: SE:T:EP:RA
P.O. Box 27063
McPherson Station
Washington, D.C. 20038

(3) Information concerning the extension of the amortization period
.

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Information concerning the extension of the amortization period must
include the following.

1. A list of the charge bases for which the extension is requested, the
amount of each such base, and the number of years remaining in the
amortization period for the charge base. A favorable ruling will not be
granted on an application with respect to which the total amount subject to
the requested extension is not yet established.
2. The reasons why an extension of the amortization period is
needed.
3. The length of the extension of the amortization period desired (up
to a maximum of 10 years less any automatic or previously approved
alternative extension). No extension will be granted with respect to an
amortization period for net investment losses described under §
431(b)(8)(A)(i).
4. Whether a prior application for an automatic or alternative
amortization extension under § 431(d), or amortization extension under §
412(e) as in effect before the effective date of PPA, was or was not
approved with respect to any of the charge bases for which an extension
is requested, including, if approved, the length of the extension, and, if
denied, the reason for the denial and an explanation of why the reason for
the denial no longer applies.
5. Information concerning the actions taken by the applicant, before
the application for an extension has been made, to reduce the plan’s
unfunded liability. Such actions would include the reduction of future plan
benefit accruals and increases in employer contribution rates. Also
describe any benefit reductions, contribution rate increases, or other
actions that are intended to be taken in the future.
6. Projections of (i) funding standard account credit
balance/accumulated funding deficiencies, (ii) actuarial value of assets
and market value of assets, (iii) current liabilities, and (iv) funding ratios
(determined in accordance with § 432(i)) for the length of the extension of
the amortization period requested and for the period 10 years afterwards.
For example, if the applicant requests an extension of 10 years (including
a five-year automatic extension), the projections must be for a 20-year
period. These projections must be prepared by an enrolled actuary.
7. The first plan year for which the extension would apply, i.e., the first
plan year for which the extension of the amortization period will be
reflected in the determination of the minimum funding standard for the
plan (e.g., 1/1/2011-12/31/2011).

The Service may request additional information as needed.

(4) Facts concerning the pension plan
.

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For each pension plan for which an extension is requested, the following
information must be supplied.

1. The date the plan was adopted.
2. The effective date of the plan.
3. The classes of employees covered.
4. The number of active participants and the number of total
participants.
5. A copy of the current plan document and the most recent summary
plan description.
6. A copy of the most recent determination letter issued to the plan.
7. A brief description of all plan amendments adopted during the first
plan year for which the extension would apply and the previous four years
which affect plan costs, including the approximate effect of each
amendment on such costs.
8. The most recent actuarial report plus any available actuarial reports
for the preceding two plan years. Also, if not shown in the most recent
actuarial report, the present value of accrued benefits, present value of
vested benefits, and fair market value of assets (excluding contributions
not yet paid).
9. A description of how the plan is funded (i.e., trust fund, individual
insurance policies, etc.).
10. A list of the contributions actually paid to the plan in each month,
from the twenty-fourth month prior to the beginning of the first plan year for
which the extension would apply through the date of the application
(including the plan year to which each of the contributions was applied),
with the employee contributions and the employer contributions listed
separately.
11. The approximate contribution required to meet the minimum
funding standard for the first plan year for which the extension would
apply. This amount must be determined by the plan’s enrolled actuary.
12. A copy of the most recently completed Annual Return/Report of
Employee Benefit Plan (Form 5500 series, as applicable) and a copy of
the corresponding Actuarial Information schedule (Schedule MB).
13. A copy of each ruling letter for the plan that waived the plan’s
minimum funding standard during the last 15 plan years, a statement of
the amount waived for each plan year, and a statement of the outstanding
balance of the amortization base for each waived funding deficiency. The
outstanding balance of the amortization base for each waiver is to be
calculated as of the first day of the first plan year for which an extension
would apply.
14. A copy of each ruling letter for the plan that granted under § 431(d),
or under § 412(e) of the Code as in effect before the effective date of the
PPA, an extension of time to amortize any unfunded liability which
became applicable at any time.

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15. A copy of the certification of whether or not the plan is in critical
status or endangered status, in accordance with the requirements of §
432(b)(3), for the first plan year for which the extension would apply.
16. A copy of any funding improvement plan or rehabilitation plan to
which the plan is currently subject in accordance with § 432, or to which
the plan has been subject at any time within the 10 years preceding the
date of the application and all updates to the funding improvement plan or
rehabilitation plan.

(5) Other information
.

1. Describe the nature of any matters pertaining to the plan which are
currently pending with, or are intended to be submitted to, the Service, the
Department of Labor, or the PBGC.
2. Furnish details of any existing arbitration, litigation, or court
procedure which involves the plan.

.02 Checklist
.--A checklist has been provided in Appendix B for the use of an
applicant submitting an application for an alternative extension. The checklist
must be signed and dated by the applicant or authorized representative and
placed on top of the application.

SECTION 6. DEADLINE FOR REQUESTING AN EXTENSION

All extension applications must be submitted by the 15
th
day of the third calendar
month following the last day of the first plan year for which the extension is
intended to take effect. The Service will consider applications for extensions
submitted after this date only upon a showing of good cause. In seeking an
alternative extension of an amortization period with respect to a plan year which
has not yet ended, the applicant may have difficulty in furnishing sufficient current
information in support of the application. For this reason, it is generally advised
that an application not be submitted earlier than 90 days prior to the end of the
plan year for which the extension is requested. This 90-day period does not
apply to applications for an automatic extension. Section 431(d)(2)(C) of the
Code requires that the Service act on an application for an alternative extension
within 180 days of receiving the application. An application will not be
considered received until the applicable information required by §§ 4.01, 5.01,
and 5.02 of this revenue procedure has been received. The Service will provide
notification to the applicant of the date upon which it has full receipt of all
required information. The Service will close, without issuing a ruling, the file on a
submission for which not all of the required documentation is provided in a timely
manner.

SECTION 7. BANKRUPTCY PETITIONS

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If a significant number of contributing employers or any of the principal employers
file a bankruptcy petition after the application for an extension of an amortization
period is submitted to the Service, the applicant must provide to the Service an
update to the information required to be submitted in § 5 of this revenue
procedure, especially the financial information in §§ 5.01(2) and 5.01(3).

SECTION 8. EFFECTIVE DATE

This revenue procedure is effective for all ruling requests submitted on or after
January 1, 2011. Ruling requests submitted before January 1, 2011, may use
this revenue procedure or Rev. Proc. 2008-67.

SECTION 9. EFFECT ON OTHER REVENUE PROCEDURES

Rev. Proc. 2010-4, 2010-1 I.R.B. 122, is modified to the extent that this revenue
procedure provides special procedures for issuing rulings with respect to
applications for an extension of an amortization period.

Rev. Proc. 2008-67 is superseded effective for applications submitted on or after
January 1, 2011.

SECTION 10. PAPERWORK REDUCTION ACT

The collection of information contained in this revenue procedure has been
reviewed and approved by the Office of Management and Budget in accordance
with the Paperwork Reduction Act (44 U.S.C. § 3507) under control number
1545-1890.

An agency may not conduct or sponsor, and a person is not required to respond
to, a collection of information unless the collection of information displays a valid
OMB control number.

The collection of information in this revenue procedure is in §§ 3, 4 and 5, and
Appendix B. This collection of information is required to evaluate, process, and
obtain approval of the application for an extension of an amortization period.
This information will be used to make determinations on extensions of the
amortization period under § 431(d). The likely respondents are businesses or
other for-profit institutions and nonprofit institutions.

The estimated total annual reporting/recordkeeping burden is 2,500 hours.

The estimated annual burden per respondent/recordkeeper varies from 71 to 129
hours, depending on individual circumstances, with an estimated average burden
of 100 hours. The estimated number of respondents/recordkeepers is 25.

The estimated annual frequency of responses is one.

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Books or records relating to a collection of information must be retained as long
as their contents may become material in the administration of any internal
revenue law. Generally, tax returns and tax return information are confidential,
as required by 26 U.S.C. § 6103.

DRAFTING INFORMATION

The principal author of this revenue procedure is Tony Montanaro of the
Employee Plans, Tax Exempt and Government Entities Division. Questions
about this revenue procedure and its application may be directed by email to
RetirementPlanQuestions@irs.gov.

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APPENDIX A: Model Notice

Notice of Application For Amortization Extension
Plan: [INSERT PLAN NAME]

Part I. Plain Language Explanation

This notice is to inform you that the [Insert plan name] is requesting a ruling from
the IRS to extend certain amortization period(s).

Why is the pension plan sending you this notice?
Pension plans are required by
law to send out notices to affected parties when certain events happen, such as
when the plan requests a ruling from the IRS for certain purposes.

What the notice does: The notice alerts you to a ruling the pension plan is
requesting from the IRS. You are not required to take any action at all. The
reason for the notice is to tell you about an action being taken by the pension
plan, and to inform you that you have a right to comment on the ruling the plan is
requesting from the IRS. If you wish, you may comment to the IRS on the ruling
request, in accordance with the terms stated in Technical Provisions, Part II
below. Or, if you wish, you may take no action at all. Also, Information about
Funded Status of Plan, Part III, explains how you may obtain more information
regarding the plan from the plan administrator, or from the Department of Labor.

What kind of ruling is the plan requesting?
The plan’s participating employers
are required to pay sufficient contributions to the retirement fund, over a specified
period of years, to bring the level of funding equal to the plan’s long term
obligations. The ruling request is to extend the period of years required to fund
the obligations.

What the notice does not do
: This notice does not obligate you to do anything. It
gives you an opportunity to comment if you wish. This notice does not enable
the IRS to explain your benefits, or to adjust them in any way. The IRS does not
maintain data about your benefits under the plan. If you wish to obtain
information about your benefits, you should ask the plan administrator. The
notice does not allow the IRS to give you information about a requested ruling.
Disclosure laws prohibit the IRS from giving out such information. However, see
Information about Funded Status of Plan, Part III below, for an explanation of
your right under § 101(k) of the Employee Retirement Income Security Act of
1974, as amended (ERISA), to request information from the plan administrator
that is relevant to the amortization extension application.

What the requested ruling would not do
: The ruling the pension plan is
requesting would not change your accrued benefit. If the IRS were eventually to
decide in favor of the requested ruling, the ruling would neither reduce your
accrued benefit nor eliminate the obligation of the contributing employers to

14
continue to fund benefits. If the ruling request is approved by the IRS, your
pension plan remains obligated to pay your benefits as determined under the
plan documents.

Part II. Technical Provisions

This notice is to inform you that an application for an extension of an amortization
period for unfunded liability under § 431(d) of the Internal Revenue Code (Code)
and § 304(d) of ERISA will be submitted by [INSERT APPLICANT’S NAME] to
the Internal Revenue Service (IRS) for the [INSERT PLAN NAME] for the plan
year beginning [INSERT DATE].

The IRS will grant an automatic extension if the plan’s actuary certifies that the
plan’s funded status meets certain standards described in § 431(d)(1) of the
Code. The IRS may also grant an alternative extension if it determines (A) that
the extension would carry out the purposes of ERISA and the Pension Protection
Act of 2006 and would provide adequate protection for participants, and (B) that
failure to permit the extension would result in substantial risk to the continuation
of the plan, and would be adverse to the interests of the plan participants in the
aggregate. The plan is applying for (check one or both, as appropriate):

__ an automatic extension, and/or

__ an alternative extension.

The IRS has received a copy of this notice. The IRS will consider any relevant
information that it receives concerning the application for an extension. Any
additional information that you may have should be submitted using the attached
Comment and IRS Acknowledgment Sheet. You may send this information to
the following address:

Director, Employee Plans
Internal Revenue Service
Attn: SE:T:EP:RA:T:A2
1111 Constitution Avenue, N.W.
Washington, D.C. 20224

If you intend to submit comments, any such information should be submitted as
soon as possible after you receive this notice. Due to the disclosure restrictions
of § 6103 of the Code, the IRS cannot provide any information with respect to the
extension application itself. In particular, the IRS cannot disclose that it has
received such a ruling request. As a result, the only response the IRS can make
to any information you send is an acknowledgement that it has received your
comments. Therefore, the IRS will respond to your letter only if you include a
completed acknowledgement sheet as given below in Part IV of this notice.

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Part III. Information about Funded Status of Plan

As required by § 104(b)(2) and (4) of ERISA, the plan administrator must furnish
a copy of the latest annual plan report upon written request and make the annual
report available for inspection at its principal office, which is located at [INSERT
ADDRESS]. Under § 101(k)(1) of ERISA, any application for an extension of the
amortization period under § 304(d) of ERISA or § 431(d) of the Code (including
the application for extension described in this notice) and the determination made
by the IRS with respect to such application may be obtained upon request by
writing to the plan administrator at the above address. Such documents must be
furnished by the plan administrator no later than 30 days after receipt of the
written request. Section 502(c)(4) of ERISA grants the Department of Labor the
authority to assess civil penalties not to exceed $1,000 per day for each violation
of § 101(k).

[Instruction: If the plan administrator makes a reasonable charge to cover
copying, mailing, and other costs of furnishing copies permitted under § 101(k) of
ERISA, the amount of such charge should be stated in the notice.]

In accordance with § 104 of ERISA, annual financial reports for this plan, which
include employer contributions made to the plan for any plan year, are available
for inspection at the Department of Labor in Washington, D.C. Copies of such
reports may be obtained upon request and upon payment of copying costs from
the following address:

Public Disclosure Room
Room N-1513
Employee Benefits Security Administration
U.S. Department of Labor
200 Constitution Avenue, N.W.
Washington, D.C. 20210

For 2009 and subsequent plan years, you may obtain an electronic copy of the
plan’s annual report at www.efast.dol.gov
and accessing the Form 5500 search
function.

The following information is provided pursuant to § 304(d)(3) of ERISA and §
431(d)(3) of the Code:

Present value of accrued benefits $_______________

Present value of benefits that are guaranteed by the PBGC, calculated as though
the plan terminated $_______________

Fair market value of plan assets $_______________

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The above calculations were as of [INSERT DATE]. The above present values
were calculated using an interest rate or rates of [INSERT INTEREST RATE(S)].

[SIGNATURE OF AUTHORIZED TRUSTEE OF THE APPLICANT BOARD]
[INSERT NAME]
[INSERT TITLE]

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Part IV. Response to Comments

Comment and IRS Acknowledgement Sheet

For Comments on Application for Amortization Extension

If you send any comments about the application for an amortization extension,
including whether the plan meets the criteria stated in Part II above, you should
provide your name and address below and include this acknowledgement sheet
with your comments. The IRS will complete the acknowledgment below, and
return it to you. Since the IRS cannot disclose to you any information about any
other taxpayer, the IRS cannot tell you anything about any plan’s request for a
ruling. Therefore, this acknowledgement sheet will constitute the only response
the IRS will make to your comments.

1. To be completed by the person submitting comments to the IRS:

Submitter’s Name and Address:

Plan with respect to which you are making comments:

[INSERT PLAN NAME]

2. To be completed by IRS:

Date your comments were received:

Signature:

Director, Employee Plans

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APPENDIX B. APPLICATION FOR ALTERNATIVE EXTENSION OF AN
AMORTIZATION PERIOD CHECKLIST

IS YOUR SUBMISSION COMPLETE?

Instructions

The Service will be able to respond more quickly to your application for an
alternative extension of an amortization period if it is carefully prepared and
complete. To ensure your application is in order, use this checklist. Answer
each question in the checklist by inserting Y for yes, N for no, or N/A for not
applicable, as appropriate, in the blank next to the item. Sign and date the
checklist (as applicant or authorized representative) and place it on top of your
application.

You must submit a completed copy of this checklist with your application. If a
completed checklist is not submitted with your application, substantive
consideration of your submission will be deferred until a completed checklist is
received.

__________ 1. If you want to designate an authorized representative, have
you included a properly executed Form 2848 (Power of Attorney and Declaration
of Representative)?

__________ 2. Have you satisfied all the requirements of Rev. Proc. 2010-4
(especially concerning signatures and penalties of perjury statement)? (See §
3.04(1))

__________ 3. Have you included a statement of proposed deletions? (See
§ 3.04(2))

__________ 4. Have you included the user fee required under Rev.
Proc. 2010-8? (See § 3.02)

__________ 5. Have you included a copy of the written notice that an
application for an extension of an amortization period is being submitted, a
statement that such notice was delivered to each affected party, and a
description of the method used to satisfy the notice requirement? (See § 3.03
and Appendix A)

__________ 6. Have you included the general facts concerning the
participating employers? (See § 5.01(1))

__________ 7. Have you included a description of the industry’s financial
state? (See § 5.01(1))

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__________ 8. Have you included information concerning the extension of
the amortization period, including coordination with any extension under §
431(b)(8)(A)(i) of the Code ? (See § 5.01(3))

__________ 9. Have you included information concerning the pension plan?
(See § 5.01(4))

__________ 10. Have you included information concerning other matters
pertaining to the plan? (See § 5.01(5))

__________________________ ____________
Signature Date
Typed or printed name of person signing checklist
Title or Authority