As the trifecta of holiday madness approaches, maintaining retirement plans can fall by the wayside. Benefit Plans Plus recently published a year-end retirement plan checklist outlining major annual notices plan sponsors are required to give to maintain the tax-qualified status of their plans.
Safe-Harbor 401(k) annual plan notice – Traditional safe-harbor 401(k) plans must provide an annual safe-harbor notice to all plan participants describing the safe-harbor contribution and other material plan features.
Qualified default investment alternative notice – Participant-directed 401(k) or profit sharing plans must provide an annual notice to all participants that have been defaulted into a QDIA. One of the QDIA notice requirements is that it be "separate" from other notices provided. However, the QDIA notice may be (but is not required to be) combined with the safe-harbor notice and the automatic enrollment notice.
Recommended For You
401(k) plan annual automatic enrollment notice – Sponsors of 401(k) plans that automatically enroll participants must provide annual notices to all eligible participants describing the circumstances under which contributions will be automatically contributed to the plan. The notice may be combined with the QDIA notice.
Defined benefit pension plan annual funding notice – Plan sponsors of single and multiemployer defined benefit pension plans must provide an annual funding notice to participants, beneficiaries and labor organizations representing participants. The notice must contain certain information about the plan, including the plan's funding status for the previous two years, and a statement of the plan's assets and liabilities.
Participant benefit statements – Depending on which type of qualified plan you offer, specific participant benefit statement requirements apply:
- Defined benefit pension plan sponsors must either provide participant benefit statements every three years to vested participants who are active employees, or provide an annual notice to participants describing how a benefit statement may be obtained.
- Participant-directed defined contribution plans must provide quarterly participant statements within 45 days of the end of the calendar quarter.
- Non-participant-directed defined contribution plans are required to provide statements at least once each calendar year.
Discretionary plan changes – Plan amendments for discretionary changes (i.e., changes not required by law, such as plan design changes) must be adopted by the end of the plan year in which the amendment is effective.
IRS determination letter program – Under the IRS's determination letter program, individually designed plans have staggered, five-year remedial amendment cycles.
Written plan document deadline for code Section 403(b) plans – Final regulations under Code Section 403(b) were issued last year and require that all 403(b) arrangements be maintained pursuant to a written plan document.
Read more at www.bpp401k.com.
© 2025 ALM Global, LLC, All Rights Reserved. Request academic re-use from www.copyright.com. All other uses, submit a request to [email protected]. For more information visit Asset & Logo Licensing.
