This announcement provides that the IRS intends to issue opinion and advisory letters for master and prototype and volume submitter defined benefit plans (pre-approved) that were restated for changes in plan qualification requirements listed in Notice 2012–76, 2012–52 I.R.B. 775 (2012 Cumulative List) and that were filed with the IRS during the submission period for the second remedial amendment cycle. The IRS intends to issue the letters on March 30, 2018 or as soon as possible thereafter. The period for employer adoption of these plans will end on April 30, 2020. Starting May 1, 2018, and ending April 30, 2020, the IRS will accept applications for individual determination letters from employers who adopt such plans and are otherwise eligible to submit a determination letter request. This announcement also provides that a delayed beginning date for the third six-year remedial amendment cycle will be announced in future guidance.

Interest rates: underpayments and overpayments. The rates for interest determined under Section 6621 of the code for the calendar quarter beginning April 1, 2018, will be 5 percent of overpayments (4 percent in the case of a corporation), 5 percent for underpayments, and 7 percent for large corporate underpayments. The rate of interest paid on the portion of a corporate overpayment exceeding $10,000 will be 2.5 percent.

This final regulation modifies the current regulations at 26 CFR 801.5 to permit the IRS to measure employee satisfaction at levels higher than the first-level supervisory level which will, in turn, allow the IRS to use data obtained from government-wide surveys to measure employee satisfaction and eliminate the need for the IRS to administer is own separate internal survey.