Required Beginning Date for Terminated Participant in DB Plan

[Guest HarveyC]

A plan indicates that a participant must apply for retirement before he is deemed retired. Also, the plan does not provide for retroactive payments (so can't elect a retirement date prior to the application date).

A participant is born before 1917 (so minimum distribution rules don't apply?), works until age 90 and applies for retirement at age 100. His benefit is actuarially increased to account for the missed payments. Do the code or regs (please cite if possible) require that payments be made retroactive from the separation of service date despite all that I've mentioned? What if the participant separated from service prior to normal retirement age and didn't come forward until age 100?

Thanks in advance.

[mbozek]

The plan admin needs to retain an actuary and attorney to determine the benefit entitlement as defined under the terms of the plan and the IRC. No one can give a reliable opinion on this complex issue based on the facts you have provided without a through review.