Plan Termination: Should I File an IRS Determination Letter Request?

Abstract

For sponsors of defined benefit (“DB”) plans considering plan termination, analysis of the pros and cons of filing an Application for Determination Upon Termination with the IRS should encompass the financial and legal implications, including tradeoffs related to “legal certainty,” in particular. Such tradeoffs are the result of the IRS’s Favorable Determination on such an Application against potential, intervening financial risks related to fluctuations in credit/fixed income markets, as well as market performance of a DB plan’s underlying assets.