The following terms are defined in
§ 4001.2 of this chapter:
annuity, Code, EIN, ERISA, fair market value, guaranteed benefit, IRS, multiemployer plan, normal retirement age, PBGC, plan, plan sponsor, plan year, and
PN. In addition, the following terms are defined for purposes of this part:
Actuarial valuation means a valuation of assets and liabilities performed by an enrolled actuary using the actuarial assumptions used for purposes of determining the charges and credits to the funding standard account under
section 304 of ERISA and
section 431 of the Code.
Effective date means, with respect to a merger or transfer, the earlier of—
(1) The date on which one plan assumes liability for benefits accrued under another plan involved in the transaction; or
(2) The date on which one plan transfers assets to another plan involved in the transaction.
Financial assistance means periodic or lump sum financial assistance payments from PBGC under
section 4261 of ERISA.
Merged plan means a plan that is the result of the merger of two or more multiemployer plans.
Merger means the combining of two or more plans into a single plan. For example, a consolidation of two plans into a new plan is a merger.
Significantly affected plan means a plan that—
(1) Transfers assets that equal or exceed 15 percent of its assets before the transfer,
(2) Receives a transfer of unfunded accrued benefits that equal or exceed 15 percent of its assets before the transfer,
(3) Is created by a spinoff from another plan, or
(4) Engages in a merger or transfer (other than a de minimis merger or transfer) either—
(ii) With another plan that has so terminated.
Transfer and transfer of assets or liabilities mean a diminution of assets or liabilities with respect to one plan and the acquisition of these assets or the assumption of these liabilities by another plan or plans (including a plan that did not exist prior to the transfer). However, the shifting of assets or liabilities pursuant to a written reciprocity agreement between two multiemployer plans in which one plan assumes liabilities of another plan is not a transfer of assets or liabilities. In addition, the shifting of assets between several funding media used for a single plan (such as between trusts, between annuity contracts, or between trusts and annuity contracts) is not a transfer of assets or liabilities.
Unfunded accrued benefits means the excess of the present value of a plan's accrued benefits over the plan's fair market value of assets, determined on the basis of the actuarial valuation required under
§ 4231.5.
29 C.F.R. § 4231.2 — Definitions. · eCFR editorial change effective 2018-10-15 · https://pensionresource.website/EAMain?content=EAMain.Law&id=cfr29-4231.2 · printed Oct 16, 2026