Use the following customer education and outreach 

information and services that are available at: 

www.irs.gov/retirement. 

 Retirement Plans Community web page – 

includes information on: 

• specific customer segments (plan sponsors/employers, 

 plan participants/employees and benefits practitioners) 

• frequently asked questions 

• correcting plan errors 

• EP Examination Process Guide 

• latest guidance explaining retirement plan law 

• details on EP programs and services 

 Two free electronic newsletters: 

• Employee Plans News – for benefits practitioners 

• Retirement News for Employers – for small business owners 

 and other employers 

 Benefit conferences – Check the Employee Plans News

for the dates of conferences in your area. 

 Speakers – Go online to find how organizations can 

request an educational speaker. 

 IRS forms and publications – Request your free copy of 

an IRS publication or form by calling (800) 829-3676 or 

download these publications and forms from our website. 

These retirement plan-related publications include: 

• Publication 4460 The Retirement Plan Products Navigator 

• Publication 3998 Choosing a Retirement Solution for Your 

 Small Business 

• Publication 4484 Choose a Retirement Plan for Employees 

 of Tax Exempt and Government Entities 

• Publication 4224 Retirement Plan Correction Programs 

• Publication 560 Retirement Plans for Small Business (SEP, 

 SIMPLE, and Qualified Plans) 

• Publication 571 Tax-Sheltered Annuity Plans (403(b) Plans) 

 For Employees of Public Schools and Certain Tax-Exempt 

 Organizations 

• Publication 575 Pension and Annuity Income 

• Publication 590 Individual Retirement Arrangements (IRAs) 

TE/GE CUSTOMER SERVICES

Call (877) 829-5500 toll-free with retirement plan-related 

questions, such as technical issues and questions dealing with 

the completion of applications and returns 

EMPLOYEE PLANS

Robert S. Choi (202) 283-2100

Director robert.s.choi@irs.gov 

Monika A. Templeman (410) 962-4092 

Director monika.a.templeman@irs.gov 

Examinations

Andrew E. Zuckerman (202) 283-9515

Director andrew.e.zuckerman@irs.gov

Rulings and Agreements

• Janet Mak (718) 488-2383

 Manager janet.mak@irs.gov 

 Voluntary Compliance

• Vickie Surguy (513) 263-3583

Manager vickie.a.surguy@irs.gov

Determinations

Mark O’Donnell (202) 283-9532 

Director mark.f.o’donnell@irs.gov 

Customer Education and Outreach

EMPLOYEE PLANS

INTERNAL REVENUE SERVICE 

TAX EXEMPT AND GOVERNMENT 

ENTITIES (TE/GE)

Examinations/Enforcement 

Determinations 

Voluntary Correction 

Technical Rulings/Guidance

Customer Education & Outreach 

Customer Service

Publication 3636 (Rev. 10-2011) Catalog Number 30288U

Department of the Treasury Internal Revenue Service www.irs.gov
 Shutting down abusive transactions or schemes involving 

retirement plans. Such abuses usually involve ways to shelter 

all or most of the employer’s business income from tax or 

take excessively large deductions. 

 Examining plans with the highest risk for noncompliance. 

Risk assessments are conducted to determine the level of 

risk of specific plan types involving various business/industry 

groups. 

 Monitoring pension funding in conjunction with the U.S. 

Department of Labor and the Pension Benefit Guaranty 

Corporation. 

 Increasing compliance contacts via specialized initiatives 

and through the Employee Plans Compliance Unit (EPCU). 

EPCU identifies returns for compliance activities and uses 

soft contact approaches to question return items, which may 

resolve issues without a full examination. 

You can access information on EP’s examination/enforcement results at www.irs.gov/retirement. Plus, the website has an 

Examination Process Guide that gives plan sponsors/employers and benefits practitioners a better understanding of our 

examination process from start to finish. This guide includes 

sections on resolving issues, communications, and the appeals 

process.

RULINGS AND AGREEMENTS 

EP’s Rulings and Agreements offers three types of services to 

help you understand retirement plan law: voluntary compliance; determination letters; and technical guidance.

 Voluntary compliance - If you sponsor a qualified retirement plan and you fail to satisfy the requirements of applicable law, our system of correction programs – the Employee 

Plans Compliance Resolution System (EPCRS) – may enable 

you to correct a problem, ensure that proper benefits are 

provided to your employees, and preserve the tax benefits 

of your plan.

 EPCRS includes: 

• a program under which you may self-correct a failure to 

satisfy the pension law without pre-approval from the IRS 

and without paying the government any fee or sanction; 

• a program that provides correction with IRS approval, 

 under which an employer pays a limited fee; and 

• a program that applies on audit, under which an employer 

 corrects and pays a reasonable sanction. 

You can access a detailed description of these programs at 

www.irs.gov/retirement. 

 Determination letters — Through our Determination 

Letter Program, you may get advance assurance that the 

terms of your retirement plan satisfy the qualification 

requirements of applicable law. Instructions for filing a 

determination letter application are found on the Forms 

5300, 5307 and 5310. You can avoid the need to file for a 

determination letter if you use a pre-approved plan (standardized master or prototype plan). A description of our 

master and prototype programs and determination letter 

procedures can be accessed at www.irs.gov/retirement. 

 Technical guidance — EP provides guidance that explains 

how certain laws may apply to you. Guidance items of 

general application are published in the weekly Internal Revenue 

Bulletin, such as regulations, revenue rulings, revenue 

procedures, notices and announcements. Please go to 

www.irs.gov/retirement for useful guidance and access to the 

Internal Revenue Bulletin. 

CUSTOMER EDUCATION & OUTREACH 

Through our partnership efforts with government and private 

industry, EP works to meet your changing needs. We want 

to keep you informed and promote a better understanding 

of retirement plans for easier compliance with applicable law. 

 he office of Employee Plans (EP) under the Tax Exempt 

 & Government Entities (TE/GE) operating division of 

the Internal Revenue Service conducts examinations as 

part of an ongoing, robust enforcement program. EP also 

offers various programs (such as the Determination Letter 

Program and Voluntary Correction Program) and services 

to help the retirement plans community comply with 

applicable law. The retirement plans community includes 

plan sponsors/employers, plan participants/employees and 

benefits practitioners. 

Retirement plan law provides significant tax benefits for 

sponsors of certain retirement plans (such as 401(k) plans) 

and the employees who participate in them. EP’s programs 

and services help conserve plan benefits until an employee’s 

retirement, and help preserve the tax benefits associated 

with these plans. 

This brochure highlights EP’s unique programs and services of: 

Examinations

Rulings and Agreements – voluntary compliance, determination 

letter program, and technical guidance (IRS regulations, 

revenue rulings, revenue procedures, notices, announcements, 

private letter rulings). 

Customer Education & Outreach 

TE/GE Customer Services 

EXAMINATIONS

EP has a strong and effective Examinations Program which 

is vital in combating noncompliance in retirement plans. 

This prominent enforcement presence in the retirement 

plans community encourages voluntary compliance in plan 

operations. Examinations uses a centralized case selection process to identify plans to analyze their books and 

records relating to the plans’ operational features. If plan 

mistakes are identified during an examination, help may be 

available through the Audit Closing Agreement Program. 

Examples of EP Examinations’ critical areas of focus include: 

EMPLOYEE PLANS

T