Possible 436 Amendment Extension

Nothing’s official yet, but there are rumors circulating in the benefits community that the IRS may extend the deadline for amending defined benefit pension plan documents for the IRC 436 benefit restriction rules.

So, what’s the practical implication for pension plan sponsors? Perhaps not much. Many plan documents were already amended late in 2009 since deadline relief came so late last year. Presumably even more plan sponsors have drafted 436 amendments since then, so there may not be many who need the relief if the IRS ever delivers it. A more realistic scenario: The IRS will finally issue additional guidance in 2011 (or later) and plan sponsors will have to amend their current 436 amendments to recognize any clarifications. We’ll just have to wait and see.