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IRS Proposes Sample Forms to Standardize Retirement Plan Rollovers: What Retirement Plans Should Know About Notice 2026-49
Why Did the IRS Issue Notice 2026-49?
Section 324 of the SECURE 2.0 Act directs Treasury to issue sample forms, procedures, and protocols that make rollovers easier to complete and more consistent across plans. Congress enacted Section 324 in response to administrative issues affecting plan-to-plan rollovers.
On August 12, 2026, the Internal Revenue Service (IRS) issued Notice 2026-49, which proposes sample forms and a five-step process to simplify and standardize the completion of rollovers to eligible retirement plans and trustee-to-trustee transfers from IRAs. Comments are due October 23, 2026. Plans may wish to address implementation timing, limits on paper checks, the proposed safe harbors, or other operational concerns.
The forms are intended to make rollover procedures more consistent and reduce administrative burdens. Use of the forms is voluntary. Treasury and the IRS are, however, considering additional guidance that could require electronic transfers and provide safe harbors for plans that use forms similar to the samples. Plan should review the Notice and monitor further developments.
Background and Purpose: What Problems Do the Rollover Forms Solve?
The U.S. Government Accountability Office (GAO) issued reports in 2013 and 2024 which described several challenges that participants currently face with the rollover process. For example, plans do not use uniform procedures to verify and complete rollovers, which can leave participants responsible for coordinating between the distributing and receiving plans. The GAO also found paper checks remain common and participants who change jobs may accumulate multiple retirement accounts that are difficult to track and consolidate.
Although IRA-to-IRA transfers can be completed through the Automated Customer Account Transfer Service (“ACATS”), no comparable standardized process has applied to plan-to-plan rollovers. The sample forms and procedures in the Notice are intended to address that gap, and for this reason, they are not designed to address IRA-to-IRA rollovers or transfers.
What Are the Current Rollover Requirements?
Qualified 401(a) plans, 403(b) plans, and governmental 457(b) plans are required to offer a direct rollover of an eligible rollover distribution from the plan. The plan may transfer the amount by wire or issue a check payable to the receiving plan for the distributee’s benefit. Current regulations permit the distributing plan to give that check to the distributee for delivery to the receiving plan. The amount transferred in a direct rollover generally is not included in the distributee’s gross income and is not subject to mandatory 20% withholding.
A plan administrator may require reasonable documentation showing that the receiving plan is an eligible retirement plan that will accept the rollover. The procedures cannot, however, be so burdensome that they eliminate or substantially impair the distributee’s ability to elect a direct rollover. The Notice notes that the current Treasury Regulations under Code Section 401(a)(31) identify an opinion of counsel, an automatic-return-guarantee letter, and an indemnification letter from the receiving plan as examples of impermissible requirements.
What Are the Proposed Sample Forms and Five-Step Rollover Process?
The Appendix includes four sample forms that the participant, receiving plan, and distributing plan may use in the following order:
Participant Requests the Rollover. The participant submits Form 1, Participant’s Rollover Request, to the receiving plan. The form includes the participant’s authorization for the receiving plan to contact the distributing plan.
Receiving Plan Sends the Request. The receiving plan assigns a unique Rollover Identification Number (RIN) and completes Form 2, Receiving Plan’s Request to Distributing Plan. It sends Forms 1 and 2, including the participant’s authorization, to the distributing plan.
Distributing Plan Reviews the Request. The distributing plan verifies the information on Form 1, including the participant’s identity and eligibility for the rollover. Although not all public and governmental plans require spousal consent, it should be included on the form if spousal consent is required under the plan. It then completes Form 3, Distributing Plan’s Rollover Certification, and sends it to the receiving plan.
Receiving Plan Accepts the Rollover. The receiving plan confirms that it can accept the rollover, selects a transfer method, and completes Form 4, Receiving Plan’s Rollover Acceptance. It sends the completed form to the distributing plan.
Distributing Plan Transfers the Funds. The distributing plan transfers the rollover to the receiving plan using the method selected in Form 4.
What Protocols Does the Proposed Procedure Include?
The proposed procedure includes the following protocols:
Protecting PII: Plans would use encrypted data transfers and a unique RIN in communications about the rollover to protect participants’ personal identifying information (PII).
Direct Coordination: The distributing and receiving plans would communicate directly, reducing the participant’s role in coordinating the rollover.
Standard Data: The plans would use common terms and data fields throughout the process.
Verification: Before transferring funds, the plans would verify the rollover information and confirm that the rollover is valid.
Electronic Transfers: The Notice encourages plans to transfer rollover funds electronically. If that is not possible, the distributing plan would make the check payable to the receiving plan for the participant’s benefit and send it directly to the receiving plan.
Electronic Platforms: Plans may incorporate the forms, procedures, and data fields into an API, clearinghouse, or other electronic platform.
Use of Sample Forms Is Currently Voluntary
Importantly, use of the sample forms and proposed rollover procedures is voluntary. The IRS has not yet provided safe harbors based on use of the forms. However, after considering public comments, Treasury and the IRS will consider establishing safe harbors and potentially mandatory requirements.
What Additional Guidance Is Under Consideration?
Section IV of the Notice identifies several issues that Treasury and the IRS may address in future guidance:
Paper Checks Delivered to Participants: Treasury is considering whether to amend Treas. Reg. § 1.401(a)(31)-1, Q&A-4, which permits a direct rollover check to be delivered to the participant, and whether to remove the related safe harbor in Revenue Ruling 2014-9.
Transfer Method: Future guidance could require a rollover to be completed by electronic transfer or by a paper check sent directly to the receiving plan.
Limited Safe Harbors: Treasury and the IRS are considering safe harbors for plans that use forms similar to the samples. A receiving plan could rely on the forms, absent contrary evidence, to conclude that the distributing plan is qualified and the rollover is valid. A distributing plan could similarly conclude that withholding is not required. The safe harbors would not address other distribution requirements, including spousal consent and required minimum distributions.
Impermissible Requirements: Future guidance could clarify that plans may not require a Medallion Signature Guarantee (a special stamp certification to confirm identity in order to transfer securities), distribution letter, or similarly burdensome documentation. It also could prohibit a plan from denying an electronic transfer when both plans can complete one.
Effective Date: Any electronic transfer requirement would take effect only after administrators have had sufficient time to update their systems.
What Are the Considerations for Plans?
Although the proposed forms and procedures are voluntary, plan sponsors should begin assessing how the approach would affect current operations. Plan sponsors should consider the following steps:
Compare current procedures with the proposed process. Identify differences in the information collected, verification steps, communications between plans, and transfer methods. Even if plan sponsors choose not to adopt these procedures for their plans, they (or their recordkeepers) are likely to encounter other plans and IRAs that seek to engage with them through these forms to complete a rollover to or from the other plan or IRA.
Consult service providers. Ask recordkeepers and third-party administrators whether their systems can support encrypted data exchanges, unique rollover identifiers, electronic transfers, and the proposed forms, including how the service provider will respond to the receipt of the proposed forms from other plans and IRAs.
Review documentation requirements. Determine whether current procedures require Medallion Signature Guarantees, distribution letters, or other documentation that future guidance may restrict.
Consider commenting. Comments are due October 23, 2026. Plan sponsors may wish to address implementation timing, limits on paper checks, the proposed safe harbors, or other operational concerns.
Monitor further guidance. The Notice does not require immediate changes, but later guidance could affect transfer methods, documentation standards, and available safe harbors.
Contact Our Employee Benefits Team
If you have questions about IRS Notice 2026-49 or how this guidance may affect your retirement plan, contact Audra J. Ferguson, Robert L. Gauss, Nicole Giambarrese, Lisa Erb Harrison, Lindsay Knowles, Rachel Mattingly Phillips, Stanley D. Prybe, Shalina Ann Schaefer, or the Ice Miller Employee Benefits lawyer with whom you regularly work.
This publication is intended for general information purposes only and does not and is not intended to constitute legal advice. The reader should consult with legal counsel to determine how laws or decisions discussed herein apply to the reader's specific circumstances.
