The IRS has issued final 401(a)(9) required minimum distribution regulations pertaining to defined benefit plans and annuity contracts here (via Benefitslink.com.) The preamble states that these final regulations make a number of “significant modifications” to the proposed and temporary section 401(a)(9) regulations. Effective Date:
As provided in the temporary and proposed regulations, these final regulations apply for purposes of determining required minimum distributions for calendar years beginning on or after January 1, 2003. However, in order to fulfill the commitment in Notice 2003-2 [via Benefitslink.com] to allow plans to continue to use certain provisions from the pre-existing proposed regulations and to provide plan sponsors sufficient time to make any adjustments in their plans needed to comply with these regulations, a distribution from a defined benefit plan or annuity contract for calendar years 2003, 2004, and 2005 will not fail to satisfy section 401(a)(9) merely because the payments do not satisfy the rules in these final regulations, provided the payments satisfy section 401(a)(9) based on a reasonable and good faith interpretation of the provisions of section 401(a)(9). For a plan that satisfies the parallel provisions of the 1987 proposed regulations, the 2001 proposed regulations, the 2002 temporary and proposed regulations, or these final regulations, a distribution will be deemed to satisfy a reasonable good faith interpretation of section 401(a)(9).