IRS Issues Determination Letter Statistics

WASHINGTON - Determination letter statistics for various employee benefit plans for the period October 1994 through September 1995 were released today by the Internal Revenue Service.

The attached table contains statistics on determination letters issued to employee benefit plans regarding their qualified status under the Internal Revenue Code. These statistics are in categories by defined contribution plans such as stock bonus, money purchase, profit-sharing, 401(k), target benefit and employee stock ownership plans (ESOPs as described in Code sections 409A and 4975(e)(7)) and defined benefit plans. The plans cover common-law employees, shareholder employees and self-employed individuals.

The statistics indicate only those determination letters issued by employee plans/exempt organizations divisions in key district offices and do not include figures for plans of employers who have adopted standardized plans previously approved by the IRS National Office. These figures cannot be used to compute the total number of plans in existence, because employers do not have to apply to the IRS for an advance determination to obtain favorable tax benefits for qualified plans.

      Determination Letters Issued for Employee Benefit Plans
                   October 1994 - September 1995

Types of         Stock   Money    Target   Profit
Application      Bonus  Purchase  Benefit  Sharing     ESOP

A) Initial
   Applications    112      5,767     578   30,907        608

1) Qualified
   Participating
   Employees2     39,901    399,669 112,326  5,808,806  475,171

2) Not Qualified    0          0       0        0           0

B) Amendment
   Applications     495     13,302   1,266   54,471       1,614

1) Qualified
   Participating
   Employees2   251,679  1,816,051  62,500  12,180,865  1,209,474

2) Not Qualified    0          0       0        0           0



                 Stock   Money   Target   Profit
                 Bonus Purchase  Benefit  Sharing      ESOP

C) Termination
   Applications   46    1,862      248    4,714         181

1) Qualified
   Participating
   Employees2    1,005   39,226    3,611  254,610      41,543

2) Not Qualified     0        0        0        1           0



                Other        Total
Types of        Defined      Defined       Defined
Application     Contribution Contribution  Benefit      Total

A) Initial
   Applications    2,299       40,271      4,118     44,389

1) Qualified
   Participating
   Employees2    1,464,889    8,300,762    657,531  8,958,293

2) Not Qualified    0            0          0          0

B) Amendment
   Applications    3,905       75,053      21,098    96,151

1) Qualified
   Participating
   Employees2     2,739,519  18,260,088   17,078,600 35,338,688

2) Not Qualified     0            0           0         0


                     Other       Total
                     Defined     Defined       Defined
                     Contribution Contribution  Benefit      Total

C) Termination
   Applications         154       7,205        4,089       11,294

1) Qualified
   Participating
   Employees2          22,369     362,364      387,135    749,499

2) Not Qualified           0         1            1          2




Types of Application:  401(K)
A) Initial
   Applications        21,078

1) Qualified
   Participating
   Employees2      5,936,944

2) Not Qualified      0

B) Amendment
   Applications      30,498

1) Qualified
   Participating
   Employees2     13,215,159

2) Not Qualified      0


                      401(k)

C) Termination
   Applications      1,185

1) Qualified
   Participating
   Employees2       96,076

2) Not Qualified      0

1. IRC 401(k) arrangements and participants are reported and counted under the types of plans to which they are attached (e.g., profit sharing, stock bonus, etc.); therefore, they are included in the totals.

2. These figures may include employees that are counted as participants in more than one plan.

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