The ERISA Industry Committee is asking the IRS to consider expanding its voluntary compliance programs so employers can fix problems and continue running their pension plans without facing stiff fines and the threat of losing their tax-favored status.
Specifically, the committee wants the IRS to redefine ``significant'' problems so they are based on importance, rather than on the sheer numbers of people affected by a problem. Thus, if an employer owes $1 to each of the 500 participants in a plan as a result of a problem, it might not be a ``material'' change the employer needs to worry about.
The group also is asking the IRS for permission to let employers amend their plans to fix problems and allow them to ignore trivial problems, as well as change the starting point for penalties resulting from IRS audits.
