ERISA § 4233 (29 U.S.C. § 1413)

By using this site, users agree to the Terms of Use on the Welcome page.

Partitions of eligible multiemployer plans

USC 2013 ed., current through 2014-01-16 · superseded Jan 5, 2015 · last amended by Pub. L. 96-364

PrintCompare dates Ask AI about this section Official source ↗

(a) Authority of corporation The corporation may order the partition of a multiemployer plan in accordance with this section.

(b) Authority of plan sponsor upon application to corporation for partition order; procedures applicable to corporation A plan sponsor may apply to the corporation for an order partitioning a plan. The corporation may not order the partition of a plan except upon notice to the plan sponsor and the participants and beneficiaries whose vested benefits will be affected by the partition of the plan, and upon finding that—

(1) a substantial reduction in the amount of aggregate contributions under the plan has resulted or will result from a case or proceeding under title 11 with respect to an employer;

(2) the plan is likely to become insolvent;

(3) contributions will have to be increased significantly in reorganization to meet the minimum contribution requirement and prevent insolvency; and

(4) partition would significantly reduce the likelihood that the plan will become insolvent.

(c) Authority of corporation notwithstanding pendency of partition proceeding The corporation may order the partition of a plan notwithstanding the pendency of a proceeding described in subsection (b)(1) of this section.

(d) Scope of partition order The corporation's partition order shall provide for a transfer of no more than the nonforfeitable benefits directly attributable to service with the employer referred to in subsection (b)(1) of this section and an equitable share of assets.

(e) Nature of plan created by partition The plan created by the partition is—

(1) a successor plan to which section 1322a of this title applies, and

(2) a terminated multiemployer plan to which section 1341a(d) of this title applies, with respect to which only the employer described in subsection (b)(1) of this section has withdrawal liability, and to which section 1368 of this title applies.

(f) Authority of corporation to obtain decree partitioning plan and appointing trustee for terminated portion of partitioned plan The corporation may proceed under section 1342(c) through (h) of this title for a decree partitioning a plan and appointing a trustee for the terminated portion of a partitioned plan. The court may order the partition of a plan upon making the findings described in subsection (b)(1) through (4) of this section, and subject to the conditions set forth in subsections (c) through (e) of this section.

Source credit, amendments & notes

(Pub. L. 93–406, title IV, §4233, as added Pub. L. 96–364, title I, §104(2), Sept. 26, 1980, 94 Stat. 1246.)

ERISA § 4233 (29 U.S.C. § 1413) — Partitions of eligible multiemployer plans · USC 2013 ed., current through 2014-01-16 · https://pensionresource.website/EAMain?content=EAMain.Law&id=usc29-1413&asof=1995-01-04 · printed Oct 16, 2026

Cited by (code & regs)

29 C.F.R. § 4233.2 Definitions.
Treas. Reg. § 1.432(e)(9)-1 Benefit suspensions for multiemployer plans in cr…
29 C.F.R. § 4233.11 Notice of application for partition.
29 C.F.R. § 4233.14 Partition order.
ERISA § 305 (29 U.S.C. § 1085) Additional funding rules for multiemployer plans …
I.R.C. § 432 Additional funding rules for multiemployer plans …
29 C.F.R. § 4233.17 Continuing jurisdiction.
29 C.F.R. § 4233.13 Coordinated application process for partition and…
29 C.F.R. § 4233.12 PBGC action on application for partition.
29 C.F.R. § 4262.9 Application for a plan with a partition.
29 C.F.R. § 4219.1 Purpose and scope.
29 C.F.R. § 4281.1 Purpose and scope.
ERISA § 4262 (29 U.S.C. § 1432) Special financial assistance by the corporation
29 C.F.R. § 4041A.1 Purpose and scope.
29 C.F.R. § 4233.10 Initial review.

PBGC Regulations

29 C.F.R. § 4233.1 Purpose and scope.
29 C.F.R. § 4233.2 Definitions.
29 C.F.R. § 4233.3 Application filing requirements.
29 C.F.R. § 4233.4 Information to be filed.
29 C.F.R. § 4233.5 Plan information.
29 C.F.R. § 4233.6 Partition information.
29 C.F.R. § 4233.7 Actuarial and financial information.
29 C.F.R. § 4233.8 Participant census data.
29 C.F.R. § 4233.9 Financial assistance information.
29 C.F.R. § 4233.10 Initial review.
29 C.F.R. § 4233.11 Notice of application for partition.
29 C.F.R. § 4233.12 PBGC action on application for partition.
29 C.F.R. § 4233.13 Coordinated application process for partition and benefit suspension.
29 C.F.R. § 4233.14 Partition order.
29 C.F.R. § 4233.15 Nature and operation of successor plan.
29 C.F.R. § 4233.16 Coordination of benefits under original plan and successor plan.
29 C.F.R. § 4233.17 Continuing jurisdiction.

Guidance addressing this section

PBGC

Final Rules

80 FR 79687 Dec 23, 2015 — Partitions of Eligible Multiemployer Plans (a)(a)(1)(a)(2)(a)(3)(a)(3)(iii)(b)
80 FR 35220 Jun 19, 2015 — Partitions of Eligible Multiemployer Plans (a)(a)(1)(a)(2)(a)(3)(b)(b)(1)

Also cited in 17 other documents

PBGC

Final Rules

90 FR 39320 Aug 15, 2025 — Miscellaneous Corrections, Clarifications, and Improvements
87 FR 57824 Sep 22, 2022 — Change of Address; Technical Amendments
87 FR 40968 Jul 8, 2022 — Special Financial Assistance by PBGC (b)(b)(2)(d)(2)(d)(3)
86 FR 36598 Jul 12, 2021 — Special Financial Assistance by PBGC (b)(b)(2)(d)(2)
84 FR 18715 May 2, 2019 — Terminated and Insolvent Multiemployer Plans and Duties of Plan Sponsors
83 FR 46642 Sep 14, 2018 — Mergers and Transfers Between Multiemployer Plans (b)(4)

Proposed Rules

90 FR 6894Proposed Jan 21, 2025 — Miscellaneous Corrections, Clarifications, and Improvements Comments due Mar 24, 2025
83 FR 32815Proposed Jul 16, 2018 — Terminated and Insolvent Multiemployer Plans and Duties of Plan Sponsors Comments due Sep 14, 2018
81 FR 36229Proposed Jun 6, 2016 — Mergers and Transfers Between Multiemployer Plans Comments due Aug 5, 2016

Department of Labor (EBSA)

Proposed Rules

81 FR 47534Proposed Jul 21, 2016 — Proposed Revision of Annual Information Return/Reports Comments due Oct 4, 2016

IRS / Treasury

Revenue Procedures

Rev. Proc. 2016-27 May 9, 2016 — This revenue procedure contains revised procedures for applications for a suspension of benefits under a multiemployer defined benefit pension plan that is in …
Rev. Proc. 2015-34 Jul 6, 2015 — This revenue procedure prescribes the application process for proposed suspensions of benefits for certain multiemployer defined benefit pension plans that are…

Final Rules

81 FR 25540 Apr 28, 2016 — Suspension of Benefits Under the Multiemployer Pension Reform Act of 2014 (c)
80 FR 46795 Aug 6, 2015 — Suspension of Benefits Under the Multiemployer Pension Reform Act of 2014; Correction
80 FR 35207 Jun 19, 2015 — Suspension of Benefits Under the Multiemployer Pension Reform Act of 2014

Proposed Rules

80 FR 35262Proposed Jun 19, 2015 — Suspension of Benefits Under the Multiemployer Pension Reform Act of 2014 Comments due Aug 18, 2015
80 FR 8578Proposed Feb 18, 2015 — Request for Information on Suspensions of Benefits Under the Multiemployer Pension Reform Act of 2014 Comments due Apr 6, 2015

No court rulings in the library cite this provision yet.

No private letter rulings in the library cite this provision yet.

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.

Effective	Through	Source	Amended by
Jan 4, 1995	Jan 4, 2015	USC 2013 ed., current through 2014-01-16 run 13	Pub. L. 96-364	View
Jan 5, 2015	current	USC 2024 ed., current through 2025-01-06 run 1	Pub. L. 113-235	View · Redline (sign in)

Provision-level history (blame)