IRS Extends Deadline to Alter Defined Benefit Plans

The Internal Revenue Service has extended the deadline to Dec. 31, 2011, for employers to formally amend their defined benefit pension plans to reflect plan design changes mandated by several recent federal laws.

The one-year extension granted by the IRS, in Notice 2010-77, does not change the effective dates of various requirements, such as one that requires full vesting of benefits earned by employees in cash balance plans after three years of service.

The one-year extension will give employers more time to prepare plan documents, which will be very welcome, said Alan Glickstein, a senior consultant with Towers Watson & Co. in Dallas.

Notice 2010-77 may be viewed online at www.irs.gov. 

Filed by Jerry Geisel of Business Insurance, a sister publication of Workforce Management. To comment, e-mail editors@workforce.com.

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