Sign your plan document, warns the IRS

Description

Abstract: When the IRS audits a retirement plan, it expects the sponsor to produce a plan document and amendments that have been signed by the relevant fiduciaries. Except under extraordinary circumstances, an unsigned plan document won’t suffice. This article highlights a recent IRS “advice memorandum” issued by its general counsel’s office out of concern that sponsors might misinterpret a Tax Court ruling in which the IRS was told it could accept some unsigned documentation, reversing a decision by the IRS to disqualify a plan whose sponsor failed to produce a signed plan document during an audit.