Disaster Area Restatement Extension
Rev. 07/01/10; E-mail Alert 2010-10

Due to damage caused by the federally declared disasters, Plan Sponsors that maintain M&P (master and prototype) or VS (volume submitter) defined contribution plans may have missed the April 30, 2010, deadline to adopt an Economic Growth and Tax Relief Reconciliation Act of 2001, (Pub. L. 107-17) EGTRRA-approved M&P or VS defined contribution plan and/or to submit, if applicable, a determination letter application to the Internal Revenue Service (“IRS”). The deadline by which an employer that maintains an Affected Plan must adopt an EGTRRA-approved M&P or VS defined contribution plan and submit a determination letter application, if applicable, is extended to July 30, 2010 pursuant to IRS Notice 2010-48. The remedial amendment period is also extended to July 30, 2010.

A Plan is an Affected Plan only if any of the following locations relating to the plan were in the federally declared disaster areas (identified below) at the time of the disasters:

1.   The principal place of business of the employer that maintains the plan (in the case of a single-employer plan, determined by disregarding the rules of §414(b) and (c) of the Code);

2.   The principal place of business of the employer that employs more than 50% of the active participants covered by the plan [in the case of a plan covering employees of more than one employer, determined by disregarding the rules of §414(b) and (c)];

3.   The office of the plan or the plan administrator;

4.   The office of the primary recordkeeper serving the plan; or

5.   The office of any advisor that had been retained by the plan or the employer at the time of the storms or other severe weather that is directly involved with the adoption of the EGTRRA-approved M&P or VS defined contribution plan or that is directly involved in submitting a determination letter application to the IRS by the due date of April 30, 2010.

For purposes of items 3, 4, and 5, above, the term “office” includes only the worksite of those individuals, and the location of any records, necessary to adopt the EGTRRA-approved M&P or VS defined contribution plan or to submit the plan’s determination letter application to the IRS.

In addition to the general requirements for submitting a determination letter application set forth in Revenue Procedure 2010-6, 2010-1 I.R.B. 193, an employer submitting a determination letter application pursuant to this notice should write “Extension Relief per Notice 2010-48” in the upper margin of the cover letter (do not write this on the determination letter application form).

States and Counties Affected

Alabama
DeKalb, Marshall and Walker counties

Connecticut
Fairfield, Middlesex, New Haven, New London and Windham counties

Massachusetts
Bristol, Essex, Middlesex, Norfolk, Plymouth, Suffolk and Worcester counties

Mississippi
Attala, Choctaw, Holmes, Monroe, Oktibbeha, Union, Warren and Yazoo counties

New Jersey
Atlantic, Bergen, Burlington, Cape May, Cumberland, Essex, Gloucester, Mercer, Middlesex, Monmouth, Morris, Ocean, Passaic, Somerset, and Union counties

Rhode Island
Bristol, Kent, Newport, Providence and Washington counties

Tennessee
Benton, Cannon, Carroll, Cheatham, Chester, Clay, Crockett, Davidson, Decatur, DeKalb, Dickson, Dyer, Fayette, Gibson, Giles, Hardeman, Hardin, Haywood, Henderson, Hickman, Houston, Humphreys, Jackson, Lauderdale, Lawrence, Lewis, Macon, Madison, Marshall, Maury, McNairy, Montgomery, Obion, Perry, Putnam, Robertson, Rutherford, Shelby, Smith, Stewart, Sumner, Tipton, Trousdale, Wayne, Williamson and Wilson counties

West Virginia
Fayette, Greenbrier, Kanawha, Mercer and Raleigh counties

For more on this subject come to either our Retirement Plan Insights or Practitioner seminars.