The Internal Revenue Service (IRS) has issued Revenue Procedure 2019-20, which provides for a limited expansion of the IRS determination letter program for qualified retirement plans for statutory hybrid plans and certain plan mergers.

Under the expanded determination letter program, the IRS will accept determination letter applications for (i) individually designed statutory hybrid plans (e.g., cash balance plans) during the 12-month period beginning September 1, 2019, and (ii) individually designed merged plans of unrelated entities in connection with a corporate merger, acquisition, or similar business transaction on an ongoing basis. The IRS notes that under Revenue Procedure 2016-37 a plan sponsor "continues to be permitted to submit a determination letter application for initial plan qualification and for qualification upon plan termination."

Today's guidance also "provides for a limited extension of the remedial amendment period under § 401(b) of the Internal Revenue Code and Revenue Procedure 2016-37, and for special sanction structures that apply to certain plan document failures discovered by the IRS" during the review of statutory hybrid plans and merged plans that are submitted for determination letters pursuant to Revenue Procedure 2019-20.

The nine-page text of Revenue Procedure 2019-20 is posted here. It takes effect on September 1, 2019.

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