Division II · Retirement Plans
Part 7. Defined Benefit and Hybrid Plans
This Part covers ongoing single-employer DB and hybrid plan compliance: §§412/430 minimum funding, §436 benefit restrictions and AFTAP certifications, §430(i) at-risk status, funding waivers/§4971, cash balance and pension equity design (§411(a)(13), §411(b)(5), market rate of return, conversions), §417(e) lump-sum assumptions, §415(b) DB limits, actuarial equivalence, PBGC coverage/premiums, §4043 reportable events, §4010, §4062(e), and pension risk transfer (annuity buyouts/buy-ins/lift-outs, lump-sum windows, IB 95-1).
Chapters
Chapter 1. Minimum Funding and §436 Benefit Restrictions
This chapter covers single-employer defined benefit plan minimum funding (Code §§412/430; ERISA §§302–303), the §436/ERISA §206(g) funding-based benefit restrictions and AFTAP certification mechanics, the §430(i) at-risk rules, funding waivers, the §4971 excise tax, and the DB-side deduction rules.
Law stated as of October 3, 2026
Chapter 2. Cash Balance and Hybrid Plan Design, and §417(e) Lump-Sum Assumptions
This chapter covers statutory hybrid plans (cash balance and pension equity designs) — the §411(b)(5) age-discrimination and market-rate-of-return rules, §411(a)(13) vesting/whipsaw relief, conversion protections, and the SECURE 2.0 §348 backloading fix — plus the §417(e) minimum-present-value assumptions, the §415(b) limit as applied to DB benefits, and the active actuarial-equivalence litigation.
Law stated as of October 3, 2026
Chapter 3. PBGC Premiums, Reportable Events, and Title IV Ongoing Compliance
This chapter covers ongoing PBGC/Title IV compliance for single-employer DB plans: coverage and the guarantee, premiums (flat-rate and variable-rate), §4043 reportable events, §4010 financial/actuarial reporting, and §4062(e) substantial-cessation liability.
Law stated as of October 3, 2026
Chapter 4. Pension Risk Transfer
This chapter covers pension risk transfer (PRT) from ongoing single-employer DB plans — transaction structures, the settlor/fiduciary line, the DOL Interpretive Bulletin 95-1 "safest available annuity" standard, the SECURE 2.0 §321 review, the 2024–2026 PRT litigation wave, and the transaction and participant-protection issues.
Law stated as of October 3, 2026
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