Early Retirement Date- Protected Benefit?

[Flyboyjohn]

Is an Early Retirement Date a protected benefit or can it be deleted without any concern?

Does it matter if the ERD is effectively "meaningless" in that it requires 6 years of service (full vesting) and doesn't provide any distribution option not otherwise avaialble in the absence of the ERD?

[My 2 cents]

Is this a defined benefit plan question? Assuming that it is, it is my understanding that the availability of an early retirement benefit upon attainment of a given age and completion of a given period of service is protected as part of the accrued benefit.

It is my understanding that if a defined benefit plan specifies that an active participant may retire upon completion of 25 years of service and receive an unreduced benefit, then if the plan is terminated, the ability of an active participant to grow into that unreduced benefit must be protected. That is, if an active participant has completed 16 years at the time the plan is terminated, elects a deferred annuity as the termination distribution, and continues to work for the employer for 9 more years, the annuity (which provides 16 years' worth of benefit accruals) must provide that payments can then commence, without reduction.

It is my understanding that ancillary benefits (such as disability benefits) may be safely deleted by amendment (with respect to participants not yet disabled).

[John Feldt ERPA CPC QPA]

If the question relates to a defined contribution plan, then look to see if the plan has any references or provisions that use early retirement, such as a waiver of allocation conditions upon severance due to reaching the early retirement date, or in-service distribution options at early retirement, etc.

If there are no provisions tied to it, such as in-service, allocation waivers, etc., and if the plan's early retirement age is something that requires 6 years of vesting service (or something that is equal to or later than the date the participant becomes 100% vested), then it seems to me that you have a meaningless provision. Removal of such provision changes nothing, so it does no harm to keep it and it does no harm to remove it.

[D Lewis]

If the question relates to a defined contribution plan, then look to see if the plan has any references or provisions that use early retirement, such as a waiver of allocation conditions upon severance due to reaching the early retirement date, or in-service distribution options at early retirement, etc.

Or timing of distributions. If termination of employment is after the end of the plan year and ERD is immediate.

[Flyboyjohn]

It is a defined contribution plan, the ERD seems to be meaningless so I'm dropping it from the PPA restatement, thanks to all who replied.