Implication of Eligibility Amendment

[Stash026]

I'm pretty sure I'm right on this, but someone was arguing with me so I wanted to confirm:

Plan amended eligibility to be 21 & 1 with Quarterly Entry Dates as of 01/01/21

Who does that impact?  If someone was hired in 2020, but had not yet gained eligibility, is their eligibility decided by the old rule (21 & 1 with Immediate Entry) or the new rule (where they'd have to wait to the start of the quarter)?

Thanks!

[KEDZ]

The new rules would be used as of the effective date of the amendment.  Therefore all that did not meet the eligibility under the new rule would have to wait.  Eligibility is not a protect benefit so they new rules can also be used to exclude all participants that do not meet the new eligibility requirements.

[CuseFan]

1 hour ago, KEDZ said:

all that did not meet the eligibility

Specifically, I think this applies to all that had not entered the plan as of the effective date of the amendment - but in this case they are the same as entry was immediate upon satisfaction of eligibility requirements.

[Bill Presson]

Also, the amendment could have been written to apply differently to different employees by hire date, if preferred. So it could have said that it was only applicable to all those hired on or after 1/1/21, for example.

[Gilmore]

If this is an adoption agreement/basic plan document format you may want to check the underlying language as well as the actual amendment.  In the past we had a document in which the underlying document language specifically stated that anyone that was a participant prior to the effective date of the amendment remained a participant.