The tax bill signed by President Bush on June 7 - the Economic Growth and Tax Relief and Reconciliation Act of 2001 (Public Law 107-16) makes a significant number of changes to the tax and ERISA rules governing retirement plans. Most of the bill's retirement provisions apply to years beginning after December 31, 2001. However, many of the bill's increased limits are phased in over a number of years in order to accommodate federal budget constraints. All provisions will "sunset", or revert to current law, as of December 31, 2010, unless a subsequent law is passed to extend them.

Below is an outline of many of the applicable provisions. More detail will follow at the Annual Educational Conference.

ALL QUALIFIED PLANS (DEFINED CONTRIBUTION & DEFINED BENEFIT)

• Increased compensation limits
• Expanded rollovers
• 402(f) written rollover notice
• Rollovers excluded from cashout calculations
• Default rollover of mandatory cashouts to IRAs
• 60 day rollover deadline
• Amendments reducing rate of future benefit accrual - notice requirements
• Deemed IRAs under employer plans
• De minimis exception to anti-cutback protection
• Fringe benefits: retirement planning service
• Modified top-heavy rules

• Increased 415 dollar limits
• Increased elective deferral limits
• Additional catch-up contributions
• "Qualified Roth contribution program" in qualified plans
• Individual tax credit for elective deferrals
• Increased employer deduction limits
• Waiver of nondeductible contribution tax for domestic or similar workers
• Employer deductions for reinvested dividends
• Repeal the 401(k)(m) multiple use test
• 401(k) coverage test - exclusion of 403(b) - eligible employees
• Faster vesting of employer matching contributions
• 401(k) plan investment diversification
• Owner-employee loans
• 401(k) hardship distributions - safe harbor relief
• Qualified rollover distributions and hardship distributions
• Minimum distributions
• Repeal "same desk" rule for 401(k) plans
• Elimination of optional forms
• Allocations of S corporation stock

• Increased 415 dollar limits
• Phase out current liability full funding limit
• Excise tax relief
• Plan valuations
• Increased employer deduction limits

• Increased 415 percentage-of-comp limits
• Accounting method and deductions for employers contributing to multiemployer plans

• Modify key employee definition
• Modify top-heavy determination
• Matching contributions and the minimum benefit requirement
• Safe harbor 401(k) plans
• Frozen defined benefit plans and the minimum benefit requirement

• Increased 403(b) dollar limits
• Repeal exclusion allowance and apply 415 limits
• Transition from exclusion allowance to 415 limits
• Additional catch-up contributions
• Deemed IRAs under 403(b) plans
• Qualified Roth contribution program
• Individual tax credit for elective deferrals to 403(b) plans
• Minimum distributions
• Repeal "same desk" rule
• Expanded rollovers
• 402(f) written rollover notice
• 60 day rollover deadline
• Purchase service credits under governmental defined benefit plans
• Fringe benefits: retirement planning service

• Increased 457(b) dollar limits
• No coordination of 457(b) contributions with other elective deferrals
• Increased percentage-of-compensation deferral limits
• Additional catch-up contributions
• Individual tax credit for elective deferrals to governmental 457(b) plans
• Deemed IRAs under 457(b) plans
• Minimum distributions
• Repeal "same desk" rule
• Expanded rollovers
• 402(f) written rollover notice
• 60 day rollover deadline
• Taxation of distributions
• QDROs
• Purchase service credits under governmental defined benefit plans

• Owner-employee loans
• Increased dollar limits for simple retirement accounts
• Additional catch-up contributions
• Waiver of user fees
• Tax credit for small employer pension plan start up costs

• Increased contribution limits
• Additional catch-up contributions
• Individual tax credit for IRA contributions
• Minimum distributions