On February 23rd, the IRS issued a memorandum to its examiners instructing them not to challenge a 403(b) plan for failing to satisfy the required minimum distribution (“RMD”) rules with respect to missing participants or beneficiaries if the plan sponsor has taken certain specific steps to find them.
Generally, the RMD rules require that a 403(b) participant must begin taking minimum distributions by the April 1st following the year the participant reaches age 70 ½ or, if the plan allows, the April 1st following the year that the participant retires, if later. Questions frequently arise regarding whether the IRS may challenge a plan for failing to timely commence benefit payments to participants that the plan is unable to locate.