The IRS has extended the public comment period on its Employee Plans Compliance Resolution System (EPCRS) information collection through September 25, 2026. The extension provides plan sponsors, benefit administrators, and practitioners additional time to weigh in on an important correction program in the qualified retirement plan space. If you sponsor or administer a retirement plan or advise clients who do, this extension is an opportunity you should review seriously.

What Is EPCRS?

The IRS developed EPCRS as a framework for correcting failures in tax-qualified retirement plans. The program permits correction of certain operational and document failures to preserve the tax-qualified status of the plan. Without a program like EPCRS, a single failure in the operation of a retirement plan could jeopardize a plan’s tax-qualified status, with potentially serious tax consequences for both employers and their employees. EPCRS is comprised of the Self Correction Program (SCP) (under which certain failures are corrected outside of IRS purview and without a user fee), Voluntary Correction Program (VCP) (correction with IRS approval and payment of a user fee), and Audit Closing Agreement Program (correction under IRS audit and payment of a sanction).

VCP allows plan sponsors, who are ineligible for SCP, or want IRS approval of the correction, to file an application with the IRS requesting a compliance statement approving the proposed correction. The application includes disclosure of substantial information, including a description of the failures, proposed corrections, and changes to administrative processes; completion of several required forms (e.g., Forms 8950 (Application for VCP) and 8951 (User Fee for Application for VCP), as well as the appropriate schedule in the Form 14568-A series); and the payment of a user fee currently ranging from $2,000 to $4,000 based on net plan assets (but with  higher fees for group submissions). The IRS updated model compliance statement forms for certain failures in 2024 and is now seeking comments on other forms and the VCP process.

What Is the IRS Asking?

The IRS is seeking comments on the following areas:

• Whether the information collection through the application process is necessary and useful; 

• The accuracy of the IRS’s estimate (8 hours, 48 minutes per response) of the burden of collecting information; 
• Ways to enhance the quality, utility, and clarity of the information collected;
• Ways to minimize the burden of collecting information on plan sponsors and administrators, including through automation or other technology; and
• Capital, startup, and operational cost estimates for providing the information.

Action Items           

This comment period presents a valuable opportunity for plan sponsors, administrators, practitioners, and other stakeholders to weigh in on the administrative burden associated with VCP filings and offer suggestions for ways to streamline the information collection process and reduce costs.

The comment period also serves as a helpful reminder for plan sponsors, administrators, and service providers to review their plans for compliance, and, if errors are discovered, to timely correct operational or document failures. If corrected timely, certain failures may be self-corrected without a filing or user fee.

If you have filed a VCP within the last several years, consider your experience, including the administrative time, legal and operational costs associated with filing, negotiating and completing the submission, and whether your experience would be helpful for consideration of changes to VCP.

Written comments must be received by September 25, 2026, and can be submitted to:

• Mail: Andres Garcia, Internal Revenue Service, Room 6526, 1111 Constitution Avenue NW, Washington, D.C. 20224
• Email: pra.comments@irs.gov with “OMB Control No. 1545-1673” in the subject line

If you have questions about EPCRS, qualified plan corrections, or how to participate in the comment process, please contact a member of the Employee Benefits and Executive Compensation group at Troutman Pepper Locke LLP.