IRS Allows Remote Notarization Of Participant Elections For 2020

On June 3, the Internal Revenue Service ("IRS") issued Notice 2020-42 to provide temporary relief for certain participant elections required to be witnessed in the "physical presence" of a plan representative or notary public, including spousal consents. The Notice is a welcomed response to the major challenges posed by the social distancing measures put in place due to the COVID-19 pandemic, and it provides plan administrators with additional flexibility to use remote notarization and similar services for all of 2020.

Background

In response to the pandemic, Congress gave participants greater access to their retirement benefits via the COVID-19 relief bill, known as the CARES Act (Pub. L. 116-36). Specifically, Section 2202(a) of the CARES Act provides two key economic relief mechanisms for plan participants: coronavirus-related hardship distributions and a temporary expansion of plan loans. With regard to distributions, the Act allows certain individuals to