Are Pensions protected from creditors by US Government????
Prospect wants to know if his pension is protected by the government against his companies creditors after he retires. He was considering rolling it out of the company along with his 401k account.
Can the company change this protected provision after the fact?
Permalink Submitted by Nathan Kastner on Mon, 2016-02-01 22:31
It depends upon details that have not been provided. Pension is a broad term that could refer to a number of different types of plans. Qualified retirement plans, subject to ERISA, are creditor protected. That would include a lot of “pension” plans. However, if the “pension plan” is a non-qualified deferred comp plan, then it certainly could be subject to claims against the corporation.
Permalink Submitted by Alan - IRA critic on Mon, 2016-02-01 23:01
There are exceptions to just about all generalizations regarding creditor protection, but if the plan is an ERISA plan it will usually have an anti alienation provision, and in addition DB plans of private companies will generally have PBGC protection up to inflation adjusted limits:http://www.journalofaccountancy.com/issues/2005/apr/isyourretirementplanreallysafe.html