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IRS provides relief to retirement plan participants to sign elections remotely
WASHINGTON — The Internal Revenue Service today provided temporary administrative relief to help certain retirement plan participants or beneficiaries who need to make participant elections by allowing flexibility for remote signatures.
The change relates to signatures of the individual making the election to be witnessed in the physical presence of a plan representative or notary public, including a spousal consent (“the physical presence requirement”).
Notice 2020-42 (PDF) provides participants, beneficiaries, and administrators of qualified retirement plans and other tax-favored retirement arrangements with temporary relief from the physical presence requirement for any participant election (1) witnessed by a notary public in a state that permits remote notarization, or (2) witnessed by a plan representative using certain safeguards. The guidance accommodates local shutdowns and social distancing practices and is intended to facilitate the payment of coronavirus-related distributions and plan loans to qualified individuals, as permitted by the CARES Act. Continue reading…