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GUST Restatement Deadline Extended 11/20/2002
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Today the IRS issued an extension of the GUST remedial amendment period for certain pre-approved plans. Under Revenue Procedure 2002-73, employers who are entitled to use the "12 month rule" that applies to certain master and prototype (M&P) and volume submitter plans will now have until the later of September 30, 2003 (prior to the issuance of this Rev. Proc. the date was December 31, 2002), or the last day of the twelfth month beginning after the date of the latest opinion or advisory letter issued to the M&P sponsor or volume submitter practitioner.

The Revenue Procedure also extends the date by which certain other model amendments need to be adopted. The date to adopt the model amendment in Rev. Proc. 2001-62 (for the 94 GAR mortality table) is extended to the later of the end of the 2002 plan year or the end of the GUST remedial amendment period. The date for adopting the model amendment in Rev. Proc. 2002-27 (dealing with the inclusion of "deemed" cafeteria plan deferrals) is the later of the end of the GUST remedial amendment period or the date specified in Rev. Proc. 2002-27 (which is the later of the end of the 2002 plan year or the end of the plan year in which the change is first effective). Lastly, the date by which the model amendment in Notice 2001-37 (dealing with the inclusion in income of qualified transportation fringes (also known as the Community Renewal Tax Relief Act amendment)) is extended to the later of (1) the end of the GUST remedial amendment period, (2) the last day of the first plan year beginning in 2002, or (3) June 30, 2003. Note that this extension for the adoption of the amendment that includes transportation fringes in the definition of compensation is extended for ALL plans (even those not entitled to use the "12 month" rule).

It is important to keep in mind that the extension to September 30, 2003, only applies to those employers entitled to use the "12 month rule." We have updated our GUST deadline worksheet take into account this latest extension. The worksheet can be found in the Other Resources section of our Web site.

Finally, it is important to note that the deadline to adopt the EGTRRA good faith amendment was already tied to the GUST remedial period. However, due to the application of IRC Section 411(d)(6), it is advisable to have this amendment adopted by the end of the 2002 plan year. An explanation of this issue can be found in the Technical Updates section of our Web site.

View Revenue Procedure 2002-73