Contingent 204(h) Notice

[Guest kmvr]

The Board of Directors will not meet until mid-December to determine whether the defined benefit plan will be frozen as of December 31st. May the 204(h) notice that is distributed in mid- November state that the freeze will be effective December 31st or not all, depending upon the decision of the Board?

[Effen]

Do you really want to cause all that HR turmoil if the BOD ultimately decides not to do it?

They could always announce the freeze, then un-freeze it if the BOD decides against it.

[Guest Steve C]

Why not plan on issuing the notice immediately after the Board meeting, with the freeze effective 45 days later (~ February 1 or so)? The impact on accrued benefits and associated liability should be minor.

One downside is that it's not much of a Christmas gift for participants. If that's an issue they can always delay for a few weeks with a similar outcome.