Justification for Emergency Processing

DEPARTMENT OF THE TREASURY
WASHINGTON, D.C. 20220

TO:

Alex Goodenough, Office of Information and Regulatory Affairs

FROM:

Ryan Law
Deputy Assistant Secretary
for Privacy, Transparency, and Records

Digitally signed by
Ryan A. Law
Date: 2020.05.18
16:29:17 -04'00'

SUBJECT: Justification for Emergency Processing: New Technologies in Retirement Plans,
OMB Control No. 1545-1632

The Department of the Treasury and its Internal Revenue Service (IRS) are requesting
reinstatement of OMB Control No. 1545-1632 under emergency procedures in connection with
provisions of the Coronavirus Aid, Relief, and Economic Security Act, Pub. L. 116-136, 134
Stat. 281 (2020) (CARES Act). On March 13, 2020, the President of the United States issued an
emergency declaration under the Robert T. Stafford Disaster Relief and Emergency Assistance
Act in response to the ongoing Coronavirus Disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic, beginning
March 1, 2020 (COVID-19 Emergency).
In response to this unprecedented public health emergency, and the related social distancing that
has been implemented, the Internal Revenue Service (IRS) plans to issue a Notice, “Temporary
Relief from the Physical Presence Requirement for Spousal Consents Under Qualified
Retirement Plans.” This notice provides temporary relief from the physical presence requirement
in § 1.401(a)-21(d)(6) of the Income Tax Regulations for participant elections required to be
witnessed by a plan representative or a notary public, such as a spousal consent required under §
417 of the Internal Revenue Code (the Code). While this temporary relief, which covers the
period from January 1, 2020, through December 31, 2020, is intended to facilitate the use of
coronavirus-related distributions and plan loans to qualified individuals, as permitted by section
2202 of the CARES Act, the temporary relief applies to any participant election that requires the
signature of the individual making the election to be witnessed in the physical presence of a plan
representative or notary.
One of the conditions for receiving the temporary relief from the physical presence requirement
in § 1.401(a)-21(d) is for the plan representative to acknowledge that he or she has witnessed the
signature and transmit the signed document, including the acknowledgement, back to the person
under a system that satisfies the applicable notice requirements under § 1.401(a)-21. This is
similar to the confirmation requirement for participant elections in § 1.401(a)-21(d), requiring
that the individual making a participant election, within a reasonable time period, receive a
confirmation of the election through either a written paper document or an electronic medium
under a system that satisfies the applicable notice requirements under § 1.401(a)-21(c). The IRS
has determined that the plan representative’s acknowledgment that he or she witnessed the
signature of the participant election is a minor modification to the control number 1545–1632

and should not result in any additional paperwork burden from that which was previously
approved. The agency is requesting reinstatement in order to ensure compliance with the CARES
Act, as well as to ensure that compliance with the underlying regulations is maintained.
In light of the short timelines to implement the new legislation, the IRS plans to issue the
Temporary Relief notice on May 22, 2020, and thus requests approval of the control number’s
reinstatement by May 21, 2020. Given the inability to seek public comment during such a short
timeframe, IRS requests a waiver from the requirement to publish notice in the Federal Register
seeking public comment during the period of Office of Management and Budget review.
However, public comment will be solicited in conjunction with a subsequent extension of the
approval to collect this information.