02-8964. Required Distributions From Retirement Plans

AGENCY:

Internal Revenue Service (IRS), Treasury.

ACTION:

Notice of proposed rulemaking by cross-reference to temporary regulations.

SUMMARY:

In the Rules and Regulations section of this issue of the Federal Register, the IRS is issuing temporary regulations that provide guidance concerning required minimum distributions for defined benefit plans and annuity contracts providing benefits under qualified plans, individual retirement plans, and section 403(b) contracts. The regulations will provide the public with guidance necessary to comply with the law and will affect administrators of, participants in, and beneficiaries of qualified plans; institutions that sponsor and individuals who administer individual retirement plans, individuals who use individual retirement plans for retirement income, and beneficiaries of individual retirement plans; and employees for whom amounts are contributed to section 403(b) annuity contracts, custodial accounts, or retirement income accounts and beneficiaries of such contracts and accounts. The text of those temporary regulations also serves as the text of these proposed regulations.

DATES:

Written or electronic comments must be received by July 16, 2002.

ADDRESSES:

Send submissions to: CC:ITA:RU (REG-108697-02), room 5226, Internal Revenue Service, POB 7604, Ben Franklin Station, Washington, DC 20044. Submissions may be hand delivered Monday through Friday between the hours of 8 a.m. and 5 p.m. to: CC:ITA:RU (REG-108697-02), Courier's Desk, Internal Revenue Service, 1111 Constitution Avenue, NW., Washington, DC. Alternatively, taxpayers may submit comments electronically directly to the IRS Internet site at http://www.irs.gov/​regs.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT:

Cathy Vohs at 622-6090.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:

Background

Final and Temporary regulations in the Rules and Regulations portion of this issue of the Federal Register amend the Income Tax Regulations (26 CFR part 1) relating to section 401(a)(9). The temporary regulations (§ 1.401(a)(9)-6T) contain rules relating to minimum distribution requirements for defined benefit plans and annuity contracts purchased with an employee's account balance under a defined contribution plan. The text of those temporary regulations also serves as the text of these proposed regulations. The preamble to the temporary regulations explains the temporary regulations.

Special Analyses

It has been determined that this notice of proposed rulemaking is not a significant regulatory action as defined in Executive Order 12866. Therefore, a regulatory assessment is not required. It also has been determined that section 553(b) of the Administrative Procedure Act (5 U.S.C. chapter 5) does not apply to these regulations. Because § 1.401(a)(9)-6 imposes no new collection of information on small entities, a Regulatory Flexibility Analysis under the Regulatory Flexibility Act (5 U.S.C. chapter 6) is not required. Pursuant to section 7805(f) of the Internal Revenue Code, this notice of proposed rulemaking will be submitted to the Chief Counsel for Advocacy of the Small Business Administration for comment on its impact on small business.

Comments and Requests for a Public Hearing

Before these proposed regulations are adopted as final regulations, consideration will be given to any written comments (a signed original and eight (8) copies) that are submitted timely to the IRS. All comments will be available for public inspection and copying.

A public hearing may be scheduled if requested in writing by a person that timely submits written comments. If a public hearing is scheduled, notice of the date, time, and place for the hearing will be published in the Federal Register.

Drafting Information

The principal authors of these regulations are Marjorie Hoffman and Cathy A. Vohs of the Office of the Division Counsel/Associate Chief Counsel (Tax Exempt and Government Entities). However, other personnel from the IRS and Treasury participated in their development.

List of Subjects 26 CFR Part 1

• Income taxes
• Reporting and recordkeeping requirements

Proposed Amendments to the Regulations

Accordingly, 26 CFR part 1 is proposed to be amended as follows:

PART 1—INCOME TAXES

Paragraph 1. The authority citation for part 1 is amended by an entry in numerical order to read in part as follows:

Authority: 26 U.S.C. 7805 * * * § 1.401(a)(9)-6 is also issued under 26 U.S.C. 401(a)(9).* * *

Par. 2. Section 1.401(a)(9)-6 is added to read as follows:

§ 1.401(a)(9)-6

Required minimum distributions from defined benefit plans.

[The text of proposed § 1.401(a)(9)-6 is the same as the text of § 1.401(a)(9)-6T published elsewhere in this issue of the Federal Register].

Robert E. Wenzel,

Deputy Commissioner of Internal Revenue.