SECURE 2.0 amendment deadline extended for IRAs, other retirement plans

The IRS released guidance on Monday in Notice 2026-9 extending the deadline for amending individual retirement arrangements (IRAs), simplified employee pension (SEP) arrangements, and SIMPLE IRA plans to comply with the SECURE 2.0 Act of 2022 (Division T of the Consolidated Appropriations Act, 2023, P.L. 117-328).

The deadline was extended by one year to at least Dec. 31, 2027, because the IRS is still developing model language that IRA trustees, custodians, and issuers can use to amend an IRA for compliance with SECURE 2.0 and earlier laws — the SECURE Act of 2019 (Division O of the Further Consolidated Appropriations Act, 2020, P.L. 116-94); the Coronavirus Aid, Relief, and Economic Security Act, P.L. 116-136; and the Taxpayer Certainty and Disaster Tax Relief Act of 2020 (Division EE of the Consolidated Appropriations Act, 2021, P.L. 116-260). Earlier guidance (Notice 2024-2) set a deadline of Dec. 31, 2026, for IRAs under Sec. 408(a), the notice said.

The date could be extended further if the Treasury secretary decides that is necessary, the notice said.

The new deadline covers the following documents: the written governing instrument for an IRA under Sec. 408(a) or (h); the contract issued by an insurance company with respect to an IRA that is an individual retirement annuity under Sec. 408(b); an employer’s SEP arrangement under Sec. 408(k); or (4) an employer’s SIMPLE IRA plan under Sec. 408(p).

Section 501 of SECURE 2.0 set rules for retroactive plan amendments, allowing a plan or IRA to be treated as being operated in accordance with the plan terms during a specified period by reason of a plan amendment made pursuant to any amendment made by SECURE 2.0 or pursuant to any regulation under the legislation, provided that:

• The required amendment is adopted no later than the last day of the first plan year beginning on or after Jan. 1, 2025, or a later date that Treasury prescribes;

• The amendment is applied retroactively to the effective date of the SECURE 2.0 provision “or the regulations thereunder”; and

• The plan is operated as if the amendment were already in effect during the period beginning on the effective date of the SECURE 2.0 provision “or the regulations thereunder.”

— To comment on this article or to suggest an idea for another article, contact Martha Waggoner at Martha.Waggoner@aicpa-cima.com.