29 U.S.C. § 1411 — Mergers and transfers between multiemployer plans
submitted 46 years ago by Pub. L. 93-406 to r/title-29-LABOR · 675 words · no verdicts yet
A multiemployer plan sponsor generally may not merge plans or transfer plan assets or liabilities unless advance notice and financial-protection conditions are met. The corporation may facilitate qualifying mergers and, in limited cases, provide financial assistance.
(a) Authority of plan sponsor. Unless the corporation’s regulations provide otherwise, a plan sponsor may not cause a multiemployer plan* to merge with another multiemployer plan or transfer assets or liabilities to or from one unless subsection (b) is satisfied.
(b) Criteria. The requirements are satisfied if: (1) under the corporation’s regulations, the sponsor gives the corporation at least 120 days’ notice before the effective date; (2) no participant’s or beneficiary’s accrued benefit is lower immediately after the merger or transfer; (3) benefits are not reasonably expected to be subject to suspension under section 1426; and (4) an actuarial valuation of each affected plan’s assets and liabilities was performed during the preceding plan year* using the latest data available before that year began, or another valuation meeting the corporation’s prescribed standards.
(c) A qualifying merger or transfer is not treated as violating section 1106(a) or 1106(b)(2) if the corporation determines it otherwise meets this section.
(d) A plan receiving transferred liabilities is a successor plan for section 1322a(b)(2)(B).
(e) Facilitated mergers. (1) At sponsors’ request, the corporation may train, provide technical assistance, mediate, communicate with stakeholders, and support related government requests to promote a merger if, after consulting the Participant and Plan Sponsor Advocate, it finds the transaction benefits participants and beneficiaries of at least one plan and is not reasonably expected to harm the overall interests of participants and beneficiaries of any plan. (2) To help a necessary merger avoid or postpone insolvency, the corporation may provide section 1431 financial assistance if a participating plan is in “critical and declining status”; it reasonably expects the assistance to reduce its long-term expected loss and be necessary for the merged plan to become or remain solvent; it certifies that other assistance obligations will not be impaired; and the assistance comes exclusively from the fund for basic benefits guaranteed for multiemployer plans. Within 14 days, it must notify the listed House and Senate committees.
Unless otherwise provided in regulations prescribed by the corporation, a plan sponsor may not cause a multiemployer plan* to merge with one or more multiemployer plans, or engage in a transfer of assets and liabilities to or from another multiemployer plan, unless such merger or transfer satisfies the requirements of subsection (b).
A merger or transfer satisfies the requirements of this section if—
in accordance with regulations of the corporation, the plan sponsor of a multiemployer plan notifies the corporation of a merger with or transfer of plan assets or liabilities to another multiemployer plan at least 120 days before the effective date of the merger or transfer;
no participant’s or beneficiary’s accrued benefit will be lower immediately after the effective date of the merger or transfer than the benefit immediately before that date;
the benefits of participants and beneficiaries are not reasonably expected to be subject to suspension under section 1426 of this title; and
an actuarial valuation of the assets and liabilities of each of the affected plans has been performed during the plan year* preceding the effective date of the merger or transfer, based upon the most recent data available as of the day before the start of that plan year, or other valuation of such assets and liabilities performed under such standards and procedures as the corporation may prescribe by regulation.
The merger of multiemployer plans or the transfer of assets or liabilities between multiemployer plans, shall be deemed not to constitute a violation of the provisions of section 1106(a) of this title or section 1106(b)(2) of this title if the corporation determines that the merger or transfer otherwise satisfies the requirements of this section.
A plan to which liabilities are transferred under this section is a successor plan for purposes of section 1322a(b)(2)(B) of this title.
When requested to do so by the plan sponsors, the corporation may take such actions as it deems appropriate to promote and facilitate the merger of two or more multiemployer plans if it determines, after consultation with the Participant and Plan Sponsor Advocate selected under section 1304 of this title, that the transaction is in the interests of the participants and beneficiaries of at least one of the plans and is not reasonably expected to be adverse to the overall interests of the participants and beneficiaries of any of the plans. Such facilitation may include training, technical assistance, mediation, communication with stakeholders, and support with related requests to other government agencies.
In order to facilitate a merger which it determines is necessary to enable one or more of the plans involved to avoid or postpone insolvency, the corporation may provide financial assistance (within the meaning of section 1431 of this title) to the merged plan if—
one or more of the multiemployer plans participating in the merger is in critical and declining status (as defined in section 1085(b)(4) of this title);
the corporation reasonably expects that—
such financial assistance will reduce the corporation’s expected long-term loss with respect to the plans involved; and
such financial assistance is necessary for the merged plan to become or remain solvent;
the corporation certifies that its ability to meet existing financial assistance obligations to other plans will not be impaired by such financial assistance; and
such financial assistance is paid exclusively from the fund for basic benefits guaranteed for multiemployer plans.
Not later than 14 days after the provision of such financial assistance, the corporation shall provide notice of such financial assistance to the Committee on Education and the Workforce of the House of Representatives, the Committee on Ways and Means of the House of Representatives, the Committee on Finance of the Senate, and the Committee on Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions of the Senate.
Source credit: (Pub. L. 93–406, title IV, § 4231, as added Pub. L. 96–364, title I, § 104(2), Sept. 26, 1980, 94 Stat. 1244; amended Pub. L. 113–235, div. O, title I, § 121(a), Dec. 16, 2014, 128 Stat. 2794.)
- 1980Enacted · Pub. L. 93-406 · 94 Stat. 1244
- 2014Amended · Pub. L. 113-235 · 128 Stat. 2794
A history note hasn’t been published yet. The record shows enactment by Pub. L. 93-406 on 1980-09-26.
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