Qualified Plan
Restatement Guide
Five steps to restate your plan by July 31, 2022 (as required by law)
Restating your qualified retirement plan is an essential part of keeping your plan current with all the applicable
rules and regulations—and is necessary for preserving your plan’s tax-qualified status. It may also be an opportunity
to add or revise provisions to your plan, such as eligibility, vesting, and new safe harbor rules. We’ve put together
this step-by-step guide to help you complete the restatement process with confidence.
First, a little background: Every six years (an interval referred to as a “cycle” by the Pension Protection Act), the IRS
requires employers with retirement plans using IRS pre-approved documents to restate their plan documents for
compliance with legislative and regulatory changes since the last restatement. This requirement applies to several
types of qualified plans, including Individual 401(k) Plans, Roth Individual 401(k) Plans, Profit-Sharing Plans, and
Money Purchase Plans. We are currently entering the third six-year restatement cycle.
For this cycle, you must complete the restatement of your qualified plan by July 31, 2022. Here’s how:
1. Download your documents.
Go to etrade.com/restatement to download the Adoption Agreement and Plan Documents for your plan type.
If you have more than one plan (e.g., Individual 401(k) and Profit-Sharing Plan), be sure to download the
documents for each.
2. Fill out the Adoption Agreement.
Complete, sign, and keep a copy of the Adoption Agreement(s) in your files. This contains the elective provisions
of your plan. If you’ve made changes to the Adoption Agreement since the last restatement or since your initial
account opening, please provide us with a copy of the document. If we don’t receive it, we will deem that your
selections on the existing Adoption Agreement remain unchanged.
3. Submit your Plan Restatement Certification Form to E*TRADE.
Once you sign the Adoption Agreement, complete your Plan Restatement Certification Form online at
etrade.com/DocuSignPPA. Or, if you prefer, complete the paper form and return it via fax to 866-650-0003
(+1 678 624 6950 from outside the US), securely upload it at documentupload.etrade.com, or mail it to: E*TRADE
Securities LLC, PO Box 484, Jersey City, NJ 07303-0484. Again, if you have more than one plan, be sure to submit
an online or paper form for each.
4. Distribute the Summary Plan Description (SPD) to your participants.
If you have employees participating in the plan, you’ll need to give each of them the updated SPD included at the
beginning of your Basic Plan Document. Regulations require that all eligible employees receive information from
their employer describing all important features of the plan the employer is restating.
5. Print or save the following plan documents along with your completed
Adoption Agreement and a copy of the Plan Restatement Certification Form:
• Basic Plan Document
Keep this in your files. It contains the Summary Plan Description, the non-elective provisions of your plan,
and the IRS favorable opinion letter, which represents IRS approval of this version of your plan document.
Provisions in this new document effectively replace prior plan documents. The IRS has not issued further
updates to the Basic Plan Documents to reflect changes since 2017—e.g., the SECURE Act and the CARES
Act. Once further updates are made by the IRS, we will notify you.
• Trust and Custodial Agreement
If a trustee is associated with your plan (or you name one in the future), complete, sign, and keep this
document in your files. It outlines the relationship of the plan to any trustees and to E*TRADE as the
custodian. E*TRADE does not serve as trustee.
• Cycle 3 Hardship Amendment
Not required for Money Purchase Plans, this document amends Individual 401(k) and Profit-Sharing Plans
to permit certain hardship distributions by participants from their accounts prior to reaching age 59½.
In addition to printing or saving this amendment, you’ll also need to complete the Hardship Distribution
Summary of Material Modifications, provide current participants with a copy, and retain a completed copy
with your other qualified plan documents.
Please note:
• Restatement requirements are set by the IRS, not by E*TRADE or its affiliates.
• If your documents are not updated by the IRS-imposed deadline of July 31, 2022, your plan may be at risk
of losing its tax-qualified status.
• Restatement must be completed by the plan sponsor (the employer). If you are not self-employed or the
plan sponsor, please share this information with your employer for completion.
• If you do not know your plan name, you can find it above your address on your account statements at
etrade.com by going to Accounts > Documents > Brokerage Statements.
Have questions or need assistance? Call an E*TRADE Small Business Plan Specialist at
888-402-0654 from 7 a.m. to 8 p.m. ET, weekdays. We’re here to help.
The E*TRADE FINANCIAL family of companies provides financial services that include trading, investing and banking.
Securities products and services are offered by E*TRADE Securities LLC, Member SIPC.
© 2021 E*TRADE Financial Holdings, LLC, a business of Morgan Stanley. All rights reserved. 0721-PPAINSTR-E66834
3614513.4
