IRS Provides Retirement Plan Loan and Hardship Distribution Relief for Victims of Hurricane Maria and the California Wildfires

The IRS released Announcement 2017-15 providing relief from some of the loan and hardship distribution requirements for qualified retirement plans (including Code Section 401(a) and 403(b) plans). The relief applies to employees or former employees either (i) whose principal residence was on the island of Puerto Rico or the U.S. Virgin Islands, or in one of the California counties identified by FEMA for individual assistance because of wildfires; or (ii) whose place of employment was in one of those locations. A list of the areas covered by this relief can be found on FEMA?ÇÖs website. Qualified plans that do not have loan or hardship distribution provisions can still make loans or hardship distributions, so long as the plan is amended to provide for them no later than the end of the first plan year beginning after December 31, 2017. View Announcement 2017-15.