403(b) Final Regulations
Rev. 09/29/05, E-mail Alert 2005-19

This Article Updated by Article on the Final 403(b) Regulations

The IRS has announced that the effective date for the final 403(b) regulations will be for plan years beginning after December 31, 2006.

403(b) Proposed Regulations Effective Date Delayed to After 2006.
IRS representatives have indicated in recent conferences that there would be a delay in the effective date of the new 403(b) regulations until after the 2006. The IRS has stated this in writing in its Fall Edition of Employee Plans News:

“Ever since the proposed 403(b) regulations were issued, a popular question has been: Will the “years beginning after December 31, 2005” proposed effective date be changed to a later date?

Here’s the answer: Entities sponsoring section 403(b) arrangements – including employers, insurance carriers, and mutual funds – will need a reasonable advance period before the proposed 403(b) regulations (including the related proposed regulations regarding controlled groups) go into effect. For example, insurers may need time to change their contract forms and have to follow state insurance law procedures for those revisions. Accordingly, the final regulations will delay the effective date for another year.

EP is actively working to evaluate the various recommendations we’ve received from the public about these proposed regulations and we’re aiming to have the final regulations out in time for them to apply to years beginning after 2006.”

So there, if you will, is the reprieve from the IRS.

Bill Grossman, QPA