Most private sector defined contribution plans and 403(b) plans must adopt amendments reflecting the SECURE Act and SECURE 2.0 Act (and the CARES Act, if needed and not yet adopted) by December 31, 2026. In a September 18 clarification, the IRS confirmed that this deadline is driven by the optional features your plan has actually put into operation. Several required changes that still await final regulations will get later deadlines. If you have not yet received an amendment from your plan document provider, you should contact them now. Ten weeks is not much time to review, correct, and sign.
The December 31, 2026 Deadline Applies to Optional Features Already Implemented
SECURE and SECURE 2.0 gave plans many optional features, for example, Roth employer contributions, qualified birth or adoption distributions, emergency personal expense distributions, distributions for domestic abuse victims, employee self-certification of hardship, and the increased $7,000 involuntary cash-out limit. If your plan has implemented any of these features, the plan document must be amended by December 31, 2026, retroactively effective to the date the feature was implemented. The IRS’s September 18 Employee Plans News article confirms the December 31, 2026 deadline applies to discretionary amendments. That article is informal guidance, but the IRS has said it will repeat the position in the 2026 Required Amendments List.
Plans should ensure that the amendment accurately reflects plan operations. Any inconsistency between plan operations and the amendment is likely an operational failure that must be corrected under the IRS correction program (EPCRS).
Later deadlines apply to collectively bargained plans (December 31, 2028), governmental plans, and public-school 403(b) plans (December 31, 2029).
Required Changes Awaiting Final Guidance Get More Time
For changes the law requires (rather than optionally permits), the amendment deadline is set by the IRS’s annual Required Amendments List. A required change does not go on that list until the IRS issues applicable guidance. The September 18 article identifies four pending items: mandatory Roth catch-up contributions for higher earners (expected on the 2027 list, with a general amendment deadline of December 31, 2029); mandatory automatic enrollment for newer plans under Code Section 414A; long-term part-time employee eligibility; and the remaining required minimum distribution changes. The IRS also said sponsors may reasonably assume that any required change not yet listed will appear on a future list.
Remember, though, that the delayed deadline applies only to the written amendment. These rules are operationally effective now (for example, the Roth catch-up requirement, which applies in 2026 under a reasonable good-faith standard before the final regulations take effect in 2027, and long-term part-time eligibility, which is already in effect).
Further, some document providers are including “good faith” language for these required changes in their 2026 amendments anyway. The adoption of a good faith amendment for required changes now, although not yet due, is nonetheless often helpful because it documents how the plan is actually being operated today and generally means summary plan descriptions (SPDs) are also updated, which is helpful for communicating with participants.
Action Items If You Have Not Heard From Your Document Provider
1. Confirm whether you have already adopted the necessary amendments. Review your plan document records to confirm whether your plan has already adopted a SECURE and SECURE 2.0 amendment. If so, confirm with your service providers whether an additional amendment is necessary.
2. Contact your document provider. If you have not yet adopted the necessary amendment, ask whether and when your document provider will deliver the SECURE/SECURE 2.0 amendment, whether it includes good-faith language for pending required changes, and what elections or information they need from you.
3. Inventory what has changed in operation since 2020. List every optional feature your recordkeeper or payroll provider has implemented since 2020, with effective dates. This is the operational checklist the amendment must match to accurately conform the document to plan operations. Raise any discrepancies with counsel and/or other advisors before signing.
4. Adopt the amendment by December 31, 2026. Make sure to keep the signed amendment with your permanent plan records.
5. Update participant communications. A summary of material modifications is generally due within 210 days after the end of the plan year in which the amendment is adopted (so July 2027, if adopted in 2026), unless the SPD is updated first.
Looking Ahead: Cycle 4 Restatements in 2027 and 2028
Separately, sponsors of pre-approved 401(k) and other defined contribution plans will hear from their providers during 2027 and 2028 about the required six-year restatement (“Cycle 4”). These restatements must be adopted by September 30, 2028. The Cycle 4 restatement does not replace the December 31, 2026 amendment, and the Cycle 4 documents will almost certainly not be ready for adoption prior to the end of the year so that they will need to be adopted separately.
This alert is provided by ERISA Benefits Law Group, PLLC for informational purposes only and does not constitute legal advice. The information contained herein should not be relied upon or used as a substitute for consultation with legal counsel. If you have questions about how these developments affect your practice, please contact us directly.
ERISA Benefits Law Group, PLLC | Phoenix & Tucson, Arizona | erisabenefitslaw.com
Kristi Hill | KHill@ERISABenefitsLaw.com | (602) 613-0786
Erwin Kratz | Ekratz@ERISABenefitsLaw.com (520) 245-8864