Irrevocable Beneficiary under an Annuity

[Guest Edward McElroy]

A Company wants to avoid an individual being treated as having constructively received amounts of deferred compensation. As I understand the law, once a substantial risk of forfeiture does not exist, the individual is taxed on the present value of all payments to be made in the future. Is this avoided if an employer holds an annuity funding the benefit and provides that the individual is the irrevocable beneficiary of the payments from the annuity. Can this be structured to provide a substantial risk of forfeiture? Thanks. Ed