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Pension Resource

Treas. Reg. § 1.411(d)-3

Section 411(d)(6) protected benefits.
CFR 1998 annual edition (revised as of 1998-04-01) · superseded Apr 1, 1999 · last amended by 53 FR 48534, Dec. 1, 1988
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(a) Class year plans— (1) General rule. Under section 411(d)(4), the requirements of section 411(a)(2) for a class year plan shall be deemed to be satisfied if such plan provides that each employee's rights to or derived from employer contributions on his behalf for any plan year are nonfor­feitable no later than the end of the 5th plan year following the plan year for which such contributions were made. For purposes of section 411 and the regulations thereunder, the term “class year plan” means a profit-sharing, stock bonus, or money purchase plan which provides that the nonforfeitable rights of employees to or derived from employer contributions are determined separately for each plan year. “See § 1.411(d)-5 for rules that apply to class year plans for contributions made for plan years beginning after October 22, 1986.”
(2) Other rules— (i) Prohibited forfeiture on withdrawals. In the case of a class year plan, section 401(a)(19) and the regulations thereunder shall be applied separately to each plan year.
(ii) Distribution rules. The rules of § 1.411(a)-7(d) apply to a class year plan. For example, under the rule in § 1.411(a)-7(d)(2)(ii)(D), a class year plan would be permitted to limit the time of repayment to a 5-year period beginning on the date of withdrawal, or under the rule in § 1.411(a)-7(d)(2)(iii), a class year plan would restore the amount of the forfeited account balance in the event of repayment. For purposes of applying subparagraphs (2) and (3) of § 1.411(a)-7(d), relating to withdrawal of mandatory contributions, a withdrawal of employee contributions shall be treated as a withdrawal of such contributions on a plan year by plan year basis in succeeding order of time. Any repayments shall be treated as being on account of plan years in succeeding order of time. For purposes of applying any rule of such paragraph (e.g., paragraph (d)(2)(ii)(C)) the term “one-year break in service” means any plan year in which under subparagraph (1) of this paragraph a class year plan may forfeit an employee's rights.
(iii) Computation of years for withdrawals. In applying the requirement of paragraph (a)(1) of this section that rights must be nonforfeitable no later than the end of the fifth plan year following the plan year for which contributions are made, any plan year for which there has been a withdrawal of contributions and no repayment of such contributions (determined as of the last day of the plan year) is not required to count toward the five years. For example, assume that contributions are made for A in 1981 to a calendar year plan. Under the general rule of paragraph (a)(1) of this section, the contributions must be nonforfeitable on December 31, 1986. If in 1982, A withdraws the contributions for 1981, and repays these contributions in 1984, 1982 and 1983 are not required to be counted toward the five years because at the end of each year there is a withdrawal and no repayment of such withdrawal. Accordingly, the plan must provide that A's interest in the contribution for 1981 will be vested on December 31, 1988.
(b) Prohibition against accrued benefit decrease. Under section 411(d)(6) a plan is not a qualified plan (and a trust forming a part of such plan is not a qualified trust) if a plan amendment decreases the accrued benefit of any plan participant, unless the plan amendment satisfies the requirements of section 412(c)(8) (relating to certain retroactive amendments) and the regulations thereunder. For purposes of determining whether or not any participant's accrued benefit is decreased, all the provisions of a plan affecting directly or indirectly the computation of accrued benefits which are amended with the same adoption and effective dates shall be treated as one plan amendment. Plan provisions indirectly affecting accrued benefits include, for example, provisions relating to years of service and breaks in service for determining benefit accrual, and to actuarial factors for determining optional or early retirement benefits.
(c) Rules applicable to section 414(k) plan. For special rules applicable to defined benefit plans which provide a benefit derived from employer contributions which is based partly on a participant's separate account, see section 414(k) and the regulations thereunder.

(Sec. 411 (88 Stat. 901; 26 U.S.C. 411))

Source credit, amendments & notes

[T.D. 7501, 42 FR 42340, Aug. 23, 1977, as amended by T.D. 8038, 50 FR 29375, July 19,1985; T.D. 8219, 53 FR 31854, Aug. 22, 1988; 53 FR 48534, Dec. 1, 1988]

Treas. Reg. § 1.411(d)-3 — Section 411(d)(6) protected benefits. · CFR 1998 annual edition (revised as of 1998-04-01) · https://pensionresource.website/EAMain?content=EAMain.Law&id=cfr26-1.411%28d%29-3&asof=1981-08-24 · printed Oct 16, 2026
On this page
  • (a) (a) Class year plans— (1) General rule. Under section 411(d…
  • (b) Prohibition against accrued benefit decrease.
  • (c) Rules applicable to section 414(k) plan.
Implements
I.R.C. § 411 Minimum vesting standards
Cited by (code & regs)
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Also cited in 38 other documents
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Treasury Decisions
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Notices
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  • Notice 2008-108 Dec 15, 2008 — Retirement plans; qualification, list of changes. This notice sets forth a list of changes referred to in Rev. Proc. 2007-44, 2007-2 C.B. 54, pertaining to the…
  • Notice 2008-30 Mar 24, 2008 — Distributions; various issues; Pension Protection Act of 2006 (PPA ’06). This notice provides guidance in the form of questions and answers with respect to cer…
  • Notice 2007-94 Dec 17, 2007 — Retirement plans; qualification, list of changes. This notice sets forth a list of changes referred to in Rev. Proc. 2007-44, 2007-28 I.R.B. 54, pertaining to …
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  • Notice 2007-7Modified Jan 29, 2007 — Distribution issues; multiple issues; Pension Protection Act of 2006. This notice provides guidance in the form of questions and answers with respect to certai… (c)(g)
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  • Notice 2007-8 Jan 16, 2007 — In-service distributions; section 905 of Pension Protection Act of 2006; request for comments. This notice states that the Treasury Department and the Service … (g)(g)(6)
  • Notice 2007-3Modified Jan 8, 2007 — Retirement plans; qualification, list of changes. This notice sets forth a list of changes referred to in Rev. Proc. 2005-66, 2005-2 C.B. 509, pertaining to th…
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Revenue Procedures
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Proposed Rules
  • 81 FR 40548Proposed Jun 22, 2016 — Deferred Compensation Plans of State and Local Governments and Tax-Exempt Entities Comments due Sep 20, 2016 (g)(6)(i)
  • 81 FR 4976Proposed Jan 29, 2016 — Nondiscrimination Relief for Closed Defined Benefit Pension Plans and Additional Changes to the Retirement Plan Nondiscrimination Requirements Comments due Apr 28, 2016 (g)(4)
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  • 77 FR 37349Proposed Jun 21, 2012 — Amendment of Prohibited Payment Option Under Single-Employer Defined Benefit Plan of Plan Sponsor in Bankruptcy Comments due Aug 20, 2012 (g)(4)(g)(6)(i)(g)(6)(ii)(g)(6)(ii)(A)(g)(6)(iv)
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  • 75 FR 64197Proposed Oct 19, 2010 — Additional Rules Regarding Hybrid Retirement Plans Comments due Jan 12, 2011 (g)(14)(g)(8)
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  • REG-156518-04Proposed Sep 19, 2005 — Proposed regulations under section 411(d)(6) of the Code provide guidance relating to the anti-cutback rules. A public hearing is scheduled for December 6, 200… (a)(3)(c)(1)(ii)(e)(f)(g)(3)(g)(8)
  • REG-152914-04Proposed Feb 28, 2005 — Proposed regulations under section 417 of the Code would revise final regulations (T.D. 9099, 2004-2 I.R.B. 255) under section 417(a)(3) concerning content req…
  • REG-128309-03Proposed Apr 19, 2004 — Proposed regulations under section 411(d)(6) of the Code provide guidance on the conditions under which a plan amendment may eliminate or reduce an early retir… (c)(4)(e)(e)(6)(f)(2)
Revenue Rulings
  • Rev. Rul. 2008-40Modified Jul 28, 2008 — Transfer of amounts; nonqualified foreign trust; transition relief. This ruling provides that the transfer of amounts from a trust under a plan qualified under… (a)(1)(a)(2)(i)
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Announcements
  • Ann. 2004-58 Jul 19, 2004 — Relative value regulations; effective dates; notices; qualified joint and survivor annuities. This announcement postpones, in certain circumstances, the effect…

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Each row is a version of the text as published by the official source. Code dates are the edition/release point that first reflected the change; regulation dates are eCFR effective dates. The library checks the official sources automatically, so new versions appear here on their own; “run” opens the sync that recorded a version.

EffectiveThroughSourceAmended by
Apr 1, 1997Mar 31, 1999CFR 1998 annual edition (revised as of 1998-04-01) run 12753 FR 48534, Dec. 1, 1988View
Apr 1, 1999Mar 31, 2006CFR 2005 annual edition (revised as of 2005-04-01) run 12753 FR 48534, Dec. 1, 1988View · Redline (sign in)
Apr 1, 2006Mar 31, 2007CFR 2006 annual edition (revised as of 2006-04-01) run 127T.D. 9219, 70 FR 47116, Aug. 12, 2005View · Redline (sign in)
Apr 1, 2007Mar 31, 2010CFR 2009 annual edition (revised as of 2009-04-01) run 12771 FR 55108, Sept. 21, 2006View · Redline (sign in)
Apr 1, 2010Jan 18, 2024eCFR editorial change effective 2016-09-09 run 26T.D. 9472, 74 FR 61276, Nov. 24, 2009View · Redline (sign in)
Jan 19, 2024currenteCFR editorial change effective 2024-01-19 run 2T.D. 9987, 89 FR 3357, Jan. 19, 2024View · Redline (sign in)
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