(a) General. When § 4041.42 of this chapter requires a plan administrator to reduce benefits, the plan administrator shall limit benefit payments in accordance with this section.
(b) Accrued benefit at normal retirement. Except to the extent permitted by paragraph (d) of this section, a plan administrator may not pay that portion of a monthly benefit payable with respect to any participant that exceeds the participant's accrued benefit payable at normal retirement age under the plan. For the purpose of applying this limitation, post-retirement benefit increases, such as cost-of-living adjustments, are not considered to increase a participant's benefit beyond his or her accrued benefit payable at normal retirement age.
(c) Maximum guaranteeable benefit. Except to the extent permitted by paragraph (d) of this section, a plan administrator may not pay that portion of a monthly benefit payable with respect to any participant, as limited by paragraph (b) of this section, that exceeds the maximum guaranteeable benefit under section 4022(b)(3)(B) of ERISA and § 4022.22(a)(2) of this part, adjusted for age and benefit form, for the year of the proposed termination date. In a PPA 2006 bankruptcy termination, the maximum guaranteeable benefit is determined as of the bankruptcy filing date, in accordance with §§ 4022.22(b) and 4022.23(g).
(d) Estimated benefit payments. A plan administrator shall pay the monthly benefit payable with respect to each participant as determined under § 4022.62 or § 4022.63, whichever produces the higher benefit.
(e) PBGC authority to modify procedures. In order to avoid abuse of the plan termination insurance system, inequitable treatment of participants and beneficiaries, or the imposition of unreasonable burdens on terminating plans, the PBGC may authorize or direct the use of alternative procedures for determining benefit reductions.
(f) Examples. This section is illustrated by the following examples. (For examples addressing issues specific to a PPA 2006 bankruptcy termination, see §§ 4022.21(e), 4022.22(b), and 4022.23(g).)
On October 10, 1992, a plan administrator files with the PBGC a notice of intent to terminate in a distress termination that includes December 31, 1992, as the proposed termination date. A participant who is in pay status on December 31, 1992, has been receiving his accrued benefit of $2,500 per month under the plan. The benefit is in the form of a joint and survivor annuity (contingent basis) that will pay 50 percent of the participant's benefit amount (i.e., $1,250 per month) to his surviving spouse following the death of the participant. On December 31, 1992, the participant is age 66, and his wife is age 56.
Benefit reductions. Paragraph (b) of this section requires the plan administrator to cease paying benefits in excess of the accrued benefit payable at normal retirement age. Because the participant is receiving only his accrued benefit, no reduction is required under paragraph (b).
Paragraph (c) of this section requires the plan administrator to cease paying benefits in excess of the maximum guaranteeable benefit, adjusted for age and benefit form in accordance with the provisions of subpart B. The maximum guaranteeable benefit for plans terminating in 1992, the year of the proposed termination date, is $2,352.27 per month, payable in the form of a single life annuity at age 65. Because the participant is older than age 65, no adjustment is required under § 4022.23(c) based on the annuitant's age factor. The benefit form is a joint and survivor annuity (contingent basis), as defined in § 4022.23(d)(2). The required benefit reduction for this benefit form under § 4022.23(d) is 10 percent. The corresponding adjustment factor is 0.90 (1.00-0.10). The benefit reduction factor to adjust for the age difference between the participant and the beneficiary is computed under § 4022.23(e). In computing the difference in ages, years over 65 years of age are not taken into account. Therefore, the age difference is 9 years (65-56). The required percentage reduction when the beneficiary is 9 years younger than the participant is 9 percent. The corresponding adjustment factor is 0.91 (1.00-0.09).
The maximum guaranteeable benefit adjusted for age and benefit form is $1,926.51 ($2,352.27 × 0.90 × 0.91) per month. Therefore, the plan administrator must reduce the participant's benefit payment from $2,500 to $1,926.51. If the participant dies after December 31, 1992, the plan administrator will pay his spouse $963.26 (0.50 × $1,926.51) per month.
The benefit of a participant who retired under a plan at age 60 is a reduced single life annuity of $400 per month plus a temporary supplement of $400 per month payable until age 62 (i.e., a step-down benefit). The participant's accrued benefit under the plan is $450 per month, payable from the plan's normal retirement age. On the proposed termination date, June 30, 1992, the participant is 61 years old.
The maximum guaranteeable benefit adjusted for age under § 4022.23(c) of this chapter is $1,693.63 ($2,352.27 × 0.72) per month. Since the benefit is payable as a single life annuity, no adjustment is required under § 4022.23(d) for benefit form.
Benefit reductions. The plan benefit of $800 per month payable until age 62 exceeds the participant's accrued benefit at normal requirement age of $450 per month. Paragraph (b) of this section requires that, except to the extent permitted by paragraph (d), the plan benefit must be reduced to $450 per month. Since the levelized benefit of $404.10 ((0.082 × 50) + $400) per month, determined under § 4022.23(f), is less than the adjusted maximum guaranteeable benefit of $1,693.63 per month, no further reduction in the $450 per month benefit payment is required under paragraph (c) of this section. The plan administrator next would determine the amount of the participant's estimated benefit under paragraph (d).
A retired participant is receiving a reduced early retirement benefit of $1,100 per month plus a temporary supplement of $700 per month payable until age 62. The benefit is in the form of a single life annuity. On the proposed termination date, November 30, 1992, the participant is 56 years old.
The participant's accrued benefit at normal retirement age under the plan is $1,200 per month. The maximum guaranteeable benefit adjusted for age is $1,152.61 ($2,352.27 × 0.49) per month. A form adjustment is not required.
Benefit reductions. The plan benefit of $1,800 per month payable from age 56 to age 62 exceeds the participant's accrued benefit at normal retirement age of $1,200 per month. Therefore, under paragraph (b) of this section, the plan administrator must reduce the temporary supplement to $100 per month.
For the purpose of determining whether the reduced benefit, i.e., a level-life annuity of $1,100 per month and a temporary annuity supplement of $100 per month to age 62, exceeds the maximum guaranteeable benefit adjusted for age, the temporary annuity supplement of $100 per month is converted to a level-life annuity equivalent in accordance with § 4022.23(f) of this chapter. The level-life annuity equivalent is $38.70 ($100 × 0.387). This, added to the life annuity of $1,100 per month, equals $1,138.70. Since the maximum guaranteeable benefit of $1,152.61 per month exceeds $1,138.70 per month, no further reduction is required under paragraph (c) of this section.
The plan administrator next would determine the participant's estimated benefit under paragraph (d). Assume that the estimated benefit under paragraph (d) is $780 per month until age 62 and $715 per month thereafter. The plan administrator would pay the participant $780 per month, reduced to $715 per month at age 62, subject to the final benefit determination made under title IV.
A retired participant is receiving a reduced early retirement benefit of $2,650 per month plus a temporary supplement of $800 per month payable until age 62. The benefit is in the form of a joint and survivor annuity (contingent basis) that will pay 50 percent of the participant's benefit amount to his surviving spouse following the death of the participant. On the proposed termination date, December 20, 1992, the participant and his spouse are each 56 years old.
The participant's accrued benefit at normal retirement age under the plan is $3,000 per month. The maximum guaranteeable benefit adjusted for age and the joint and survivor annuity (contingent basis) annuity form is $1,037.35 per month. An adjustment for age difference is not required because the participant and his spouse are the same age.
Benefit reductions. The plan benefit of $3,450 per month payable from age 56 to age 62 exceeds the participant's accrued benefit at normal retirement age, which is $3,000 per month. Therefore, under paragraph (b) of this section, the plan administrator must reduce the participant's benefit so that it does not exceed $3,000 per month.
The level-life equivalent of the participant's reduced benefit, determined using the § 4022.23(f) adjustment factor, is $2,785.45 (($350 × 0.387) + $2,650) per month. Since this benefit exceeds the participant's maximum guaranteeable benefit of $1,037.35 per month, the plan administrator must reduce the participant's benefit payment so that it does not exceed the maximum guaranteeable benefit.
The ratio of (i) the participant's maximum guaranteeable benefit to (ii) the level-life equivalent of the participant's reduced benefit (computed under the “accrued for normal retirement age” limitation) is used in converting the level-life maximum guaranteeable benefit to the step-down benefit form. The level-life equivalent of the reduced benefit computed under the “accrued for normal retirement age” limitation is 37.24 percent ($1,037.35/$2,785.45). Thus, the plan administrator must reduce the participant's level-life benefit of $2,650 per month to $986.86 ($2,650 × 0.3724) and must further reduce the reduced temporary benefit of $350 per month to $130.34 ($350 × 0.3724). Under paragraph (c) of this section, therefore, the participant's maximum guaranteeable benefit is $1,117.20 ($986.86 + $130.34) per month to age 62 and $986.86 per month thereafter, subject to any adjustment under paragraph (d) of this section.
Assume that the estimated benefit under paragraph (d) is $1,005.48 per month to age 62 and $888.17 per month thereafter. The plan administrator would reduce the participant's benefit from $3,450 per month to $1,005.48 per month and pay this amount until age 62, at which time the benefit payment would be reduced to $888.17 per month, subject to the final benefit determination made under title IV.
[61 FR 34028, July 1, 1996, as amended at 62 FR 60428, Nov. 7, 1997; 76 FR 34604, June 14, 2011]