On August 12, the Treasury Department and the Internal Revenue Service (IRS) issued Notice 2026-49, which includes sample forms for retirement savings plan rollovers to be used by both distributing and receiving retirement plans; and sample forms, including the procedures and protocols, to be used in trustee-to-trustee transfers, again for both transferring and receiving plans.

The forms are intended to “simplify, standardize, facilitate, and expedite” the process of rolling over retirement plan funds from one financial services company to another, the Notice said. The Notice includes four sample forms designed to protect plan participants’ personal identifying information by requiring use of encrypted data transfers, to require coordination and communication between plans, to utilize a standard set of data and common terms throughout the rollover process, to require plans to verify the accuracy of information and legitimacy of the rollover request prior to transferring funds, and to require electronic communication and rollover transfers to the maximum extent possible.

Notice 2026-49 encourages but does not require use of these forms and procedures. It does not propose a safe harbor for the use of the sample forms, but said it is willing to consider a safe harbor, based on comments the agency receives on the Notice.

The Notice is subject to a comment period that closes October 23, 2026.

Prospects: Treasury said it is seeking comments on the forms and procedures and also on the rule that allows paper checks to be sent to participants to complete a direct rollover, whether to require electronic transfer or to allow use of paper checks, whether to require or not require withholding when necessary, and adding procedures that are not permitted in the rollover process (e.g., certain signature, distribution or other “burdensome requests.”)

NAIFA Staff Contact: Jayne Fitzgerald – Director – Government Relations, at jfitzgerald@naifa.org