To err is human. To fix complex errors is, well, complex.

I've received several phone calls over the past couple of days about the recent procedure issued by the Internal Revenue Service that impacts the system for correcting retirement plan compliance mistakes. That system is called the Employee Plans Compliance Resolution System (EPCRS).

Mostly, the calls are coming from people who have read that the procedure—known as Internal Revenue Procedure 2013-12 or Rev. Proc. for short—somehow affects 403(b) plans. But the callers are struggling to understand how. They have found the Rev. Proc., and the summaries about the procedure, are overwhelming and highly technical. The fact is that the Rev. Proc. is highly technical because it covers a highly technical issue. Even the shortcut terminology—Rev. Proc., EPCRS—tends to make eyes glaze over.