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The IRS recently announced an additional delay to the anticipated applicability date for final regulations on required minimum distributions (RMD) under Section 401(a)(9). The announcement provides that the regulations, to be finalized at some point in the future, are now anticipated to apply for the distribution calendar year that begins no earlier than six months after final regulations are issued in the Federal Register.
The RMD rules generally require distributions from certain tax-favored retirement plans (e.g., Section 401(k) plans, Section 403(b) plans, individual retirement accounts (IRAs) and eligible Section 457(b) plans) after an employee/account owner reaches a specific age and after death. The rules set forth a required beginning date (RBD) for distributions and identify the period over which the employee’s or account owner’s entire interest must be distributed.
In July 2024, the IRS issued final regulations implementing legislative changes to the RMD rules pursuant to both the SECURE Act of 2019 and the SECURE 2.0 Act of 2022. The IRS also issued proposed regulations for various provisions that were reserved in the 2024 final regulations, primarily involving certain changes made by the SECURE 2.0 Act of 2022. The 2024 proposed regulations were proposed to apply for calendar years beginning on or after Jan. 1, 2025, which was the same general applicability date for the regulations that were finalized on the same day.
The most recent guidance continues an earlier delay announced (PDF - 104.47KB) in 2025, which provided that the final regulations would not apply earlier than the 2026 distribution calendar year. The earlier announcement explained that the IRS was extending the anticipated applicability date of the future final regulations because commenters had raised issues regarding some of the proposed provisions that would make implementation difficult in a timely manner pending resolution.
In the latest announcement, the IRS also indicated that for periods before the applicability date of the final RMD rules under Section 401(a)(9), taxpayers should continue to apply a reasonable, good-faith interpretation of the statutory provisions underlying the RMD rule amendments.
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