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The U.S. Master Pension Guide reflects the latest regulations, rulings and cases for qualified retirement plans, surveying the different type of plans from which an employer may choose, and describing the procedures for obtaining plan qualification.

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CCH® PENSION AND BENEFITS — 8/29/07

IRS working on model 403(b) plan, official says

The new 403(b) regulations aim to diminish the extent to which tax-sheltered annuities differ from other salary-reduction arrangements, such as 401(k) and 457 plans, according to Robert Architect of the IRS’s Tax Exempt and Government Entities Division. Speaking at an American Law Institute/American Bar Association (ALI-ABA) Webcast on August 9, 2007, Architect discussed the written plan requirements contained in the 403(b) rules and added that the IRS is in the process of drafting a model 403(b) plan, which he described as a “simple plan.” He expects the model plan to be issued in the next two months.

Written plan requirement

The regulations spell out a number of requirements for the plan, Architect said. The plan must be in writing; both the form and the operation of the written plan must comply with the terms and conditions for eligibility, limitations and benefits; and the plan must contain particular language on direct rollovers, nontransferability, minimum distributions and incidental benefits. However, he pointed out that the plan can consist of more than one document.

In Field Assistance Bulletin 2007-02, the Labor Department clarified that the written plan requirement would not automatically subject the plan to ERISA. However, Architect said that certain optional features of a 403(b) plan could subject a plan to ERISA.

For more information on this and related topics, consult the CCH Pension Plan Guide.

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