ERISA Benefits Law Desk ReferenceERISA Benefits Tech, LLC

Part 2 · Chapter 1

Plan Amendments, Mergers, and Terminations

Law stated as of October 3, 2026 · Plan Documents, Amendments, Mergers, and Terminations

Scope and status

Amendment deadlines, the determination-letter program scope, and PBGC figures change frequently — verify current deadlines, the Required Amendments List, the determination-letter procedure, and PBGC premium/termination rules before relying on them.

Citations are to primary authority (Code §§401(a), 411(d)(6), 411(a)(10), 414(l), 4980F, 4980; ERISA §204(h) and Title IV; Treasury regulations; PBGC regulations; and the governing revenue procedures). Related questions are treated elsewhere: vesting/service-crediting detail in Part 5 (Qualified Plan Testing, Eligibility, and Vesting); transaction overlay in Part 25 (Employee Benefits in Mergers and Acquisitions); Form 5310-A and PBGC filings in Part 4 (Reporting, Disclosure, Recordkeeping, and Claims); nonamender/late-amendment correction in Part 21 (Plan Corrections: EPCRS, VFCP, and DFVCP); and the determination-letter program, the pre-approved plan cycles and opinion letters, the §401(b) remedial amendment periods, the Required Amendments List, and the Form 5300 series (including the Form 5310 termination determination letter) in this Part's The Determination Letter Program, Pre-Approved Plans, Opinion Letters, and the Six-Year Cycles, and Remedial Amendment Periods, the Required Amendments List, and Amendment Deadlines — units A2 and A3 below are retained as orientation only.

Sections

The opening sections of Part A are shown in full. The other sections are listed by title; their text is available to subscribers.

Part A — Plan Documents, Qualification, and the Amendment System

A1.The written-plan and document-qualification baseline

Part 2, ch. 1, § A1

A qualified plan must be a definite written program, maintained for the exclusive benefit of employees, communicated to employees, and containing all provisions necessary for qualification (definitely determinable benefits, the §401(a) requirements, the §411(d)(6) protected benefits, anti-alienation, etc.). Statute: Code §401(a); Final reg: Treas. Reg. §1.401-1. A plan's form and its operation must both qualify; a discrepancy is an operational or document failure correctable under EPCRS.

A2.The post-2017 amendment and determination-letter regime (individually designed plans) — overview; detail routed out

Part 2, ch. 1, § A2

Since 2017 an individually designed plan (IDP) can obtain a determination letter only in limited windows (initial qualification, termination, a qualifying Merged Plan, an individually designed §403(b) plan, and other IRS-announced windows); ongoing document compliance runs through the annual Required Amendments List, and interim amendments are no longer required. Rev. Proc. 2022-40; Rev. Proc. 2019-20; the annual Employee Plans procedure.

A3.Preapproved plans and the six-year cycle — overview; detail routed out

Part 2, ch. 1, § A3

A preapproved plan (standardized or nonstandardized) runs on a six-year restatement cycle (separate DC, DB, and §403(b) cycles), and the adopting employer may rely on the provider's opinion letter within its scope. Rev. Proc. 2023-37.

A4.The SECURE/SECURE 2.0 amendment deadlines

Part 2, ch. 1, § A4

Currency item (Notice 2024-2 and predecessors). Amendments for the SECURE Act, the CARES Act, the Taxpayer Certainty Act, the Miners Act, and SECURE 2.0 share an extended adoption deadline: generally Dec. 31, 2026 (a fixed date, including for non-calendar-year plans; Notice 2024-2 Q&A J-1) for non-governmental qualified plans and most 403(b) plans; Dec. 31, 2028 for collectively bargained plans; and Dec. 31, 2029 for governmental plans and public-school 403(b) plans. IRS Notice: Notice 2024-2; Notice 2022-33/45. Critical caveat: the deadline is for the document amendment only — the plan must be operated in compliance with each provision from its actual effective date, and the amendment must reflect that operation. Agency guidance — informal: IRS Employee Plans News (Sept. 18, 2026); IRS Notice: Notice 2025-60, n.10; Rev. Proc.: Rev. Proc. 2022-40 §§5.03, 6.01–6.02. The article's "second plan year" phrasing differs from Rev. Proc. 2022-40 §5.03's "second calendar year" — see Remedial Amendment Periods, the Required Amendments List, and Amendment Deadlines E1.

  1. A5Retroactive adoption of a new planSubscribers

Part B — Section 411(d)(6) Anti-Cutback

  1. B1The rule and the three protected categoriesSubscribers
  2. B2What is and is not a cutbackSubscribers
  3. B3Exceptions and the limited reliefSubscribers
  4. B4Vesting-schedule amendments — §411(a)(10)Subscribers

Part C — Section 204(h) Notice

  1. C1Trigger, timing, content, and penaltySubscribers

Part D — Mergers and Spinoffs (§414(l))

  1. D1The minimum-benefit requirementSubscribers
  2. D2Carryover of protected benefits; transfer vs. rollover vs. elective transferSubscribers

Part E — Plan Terminations

  1. E1Full termination and the §411(d)(3) full-vesting ruleSubscribers
  2. E2Partial terminationSubscribers
  3. E3Defined contribution termination mechanicsSubscribers
  4. E4The §401(k) successor-plan ruleSubscribers
  5. E5Defined benefit termination (PBGC)Subscribers
  6. E6Reversion of surplus and the §4980 excise taxSubscribers
  7. E7Missing participants, abandoned plans, permanency, and nondiscrimination timingSubscribers

Part F — Filings and Corrections (cross-references)

The first Part of each chapter is open to everyone. The remaining sections, with their authority and practice points, are available to subscribers and to clients of ERISA Benefits Law Group, PLLC whose engagement includes access.

Sign inSubscribe