[Code of Federal Regulations]
[Title 26, Volume 5]
[Revised as of April 1, 2004]
From the U.S. Government Printing Office via GPO Access
[CITE: 26CFR1.410(d)-1]

[Page 581-582]
 
                       TITLE 26--INTERNAL REVENUE
 
    CHAPTER I--INTERNAL REVENUE SERVICE, DEPARTMENT OF THE TREASURY 
                               (CONTINUED)
 
PART 1_INCOME TAXES--Table of Contents
 
Sec. 1.410(d)-1  Election by church to have participation, vesting, 
funding, etc. provisions apply.

    (a) In general. If a church or convention or association of churches 
which maintains any church plan, as defined in section 414(e), makes an 
election under this section, certain provisions of the Code and Title I 
of the Employee Retirement Income Security Act of 1974 (the ``Act'') 
shall apply to such church plan as if such plan were not a church plan. 
The provisions of the Code referred to are section 410 (relating to 
minimum participation standards), section 411 (relating to minimum 
vesting standards), section 412 (relating to minimum funding standards), 
section 4975 (relating to prohibited transactions), and paragraphs (11), 
(12), (13), (14), (15), and (19) of section 401(a) (relating to joint 
and survivor annuities, mergers and consolidations, assignment or 
alienation of benefits, time of benefit commencement, certain social 
security increases, and withdrawals of employee contributions, 
respectively).
    (b) Election is irrevocable. An election under this section with 
respect to any church plan shall be binding with respect to such plan 
and, once made, shall be irrevocable.
    (c) Procedure for making election--(1) Time of election. An election 
under this section may be made for plan years for which the provisions 
of section 410(d) of the Code apply to the church plan. By

[[Page 582]]

reason of section 1017(b) of the Act section 410(d) does not apply to a 
plan in existence on January 1, 1974, for plan years beginning before 
January 1, 1976. Section 1017(d) of the Act permits a plan administrator 
to elect to have certain provisions of the Code (including section 
410(d)) apply to a plan before the otherwise applicable effective dates 
of such provisions. See Sec. 1.410(a)-2(d). Therefore, for a plan in 
existence on Janurary 1, 1974, an election under section 410(d) of the 
Code may be made for a plan year beginning before January 1, 1976, only 
if an election has been made under section 1017(d) of the Act with 
respect to that plan year.
    (2) By whom election is to be made. The election provided by this 
section may be made only by the plan administrator of the church plan.
    (3) Manner of making election. The plan administrator may elect to 
have the provisions of the Code described in paragraph (a) of this 
section apply to the church plan as it is were not a church plan by 
attaching the statement described in subparagraph (5) of this paragraph 
to either (i) the annual return required under section 6058(a) (or an 
amended return) with respect to the plan which is filed for the first 
plan year for which the election is effective or (ii) a written request 
for a determination letter relating to the qualification of the plan 
under section 401(a), 403(a), or 405(a) of the Code and if trusteed, the 
exempt status under section 501(a) of the Code of a trust constituting a 
part of the plan.
    (4) Conditional election. If an election is made with a written 
request for a determination letter, the election may be conditioned upon 
issuance of a favorable determination letter and will become irrevocable 
upon issuance of such letter.
    (5) Statement. The statement described in subparagraph (3) of this 
paragraph shall indicate (i) that the election is made under section 
410(d) of the Code and (ii) the first plan year for which it is 
effective.

(Sec. 410 (88 Stat. 898; 26 U.S.C. 410))

[T.D. 7508, 42 FR 47198, Sept. 20, 1977]