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Americans moving retirement savings from one account to another could eventually face a simpler, more standardized process under new guidance from the Internal Revenue Service (IRS) and Treasury Department.

On Aug. 12, the agencies issued Notice 2026-49, which includes sample forms and proposed procedures for direct rollovers involving retirement plans and individual retirement accounts. The guidance was required under Section 324 of the SECURE 2.0 Act. 

The goal is to reduce some of the complexity that workers and retirement plan administrators can encounter when transferring retirement savings.

The sample forms apply when money is rolled over from one retirement plan to another or between a retirement plan and an IRA. They don’t apply to transfers from one IRA directly to another IRA.

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What the change could mean for retirement savers

A direct rollover generally allows retirement savings to move from one eligible account to another without the account holder taking possession of the money. The newly released sample forms are intended to give participants and plan administrators a more consistent way to handle those transactions.

According to the IRS, the forms were designed to limit the amount of personal identifying information that participants have to provide and reduce the burden involved in completing a rollover. 

For consumers, greater standardization could make it easier to understand what information is needed when moving retirement savings after changing jobs or consolidating accounts.

The forms aren’t mandatory, however. Retirement plan sponsors can choose whether to use the sample forms and proposed procedures. 

“The sample forms will make compliance simpler and easier for both plan participants and administrators,” IRS Chief Executive Officer Frank J. Bisignano said in announcing the guidance.

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IRS wants feedback before moving forward

The government is also asking retirement-plan stakeholders and other interested parties to weigh in on the proposed procedures.

The Treasury and the IRS said they are considering additional guidance that could further speed up and simplify retirement-account rollovers. Comments on the sample forms, proposed procedures, and other issues raised in the notice are due Oct. 23, 2026. 

For retirement savers, there is no immediate requirement to use a new form or change how they handle a rollover. Instead, the guidance provides a framework that retirement plans can voluntarily adopt while the government considers feedback and possible additional rules.

Consumers considering a rollover should still check the requirements of both the account sending the money and the account receiving it before initiating a transfer.