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TITLE 26-INTERNAL REVENUE CODE AMENDMENTS 1976-Subsee. (a). Pub. L. 94-455, §§ 1901(a)(62)(A)- (C), 1906(b)(13)(A), substituted "paragraph (8)" for "subsection (a)(8)" in the provisions preceding par. (1), substituted references to Sept. 2, 1974, for references to the date of enactment of the Employee Retirement Income Security Act of 1974 in par. (3)(D)(iii), struck out "or his delegate" following "Secretary" in pars. (4)(C) and (7)(B), and substituted "(B)" for "(b)" in the catchline of par. (7)(C). Subsec. (b)(1)(D)(i). Pub. L. 94-455, § 1901(a)(62)(D), substituted reference to Sept. 2. 1974, for reference to the date of enactment of the Employee Retirement Income Security Act of 1974. Subsecs. (c)(2)(B)(ii), (D), (d)(2). (3). Pub. L. 94-455, § 1906(b)(13)(A), struck out "or his delegate" following "Secretary". Subsec. (e)(l)(C). Pub. L. 94-455, § 1901(a)(62)(D), substituted reference to Sept. 2, 1974, for reference to the date of enactment of the Employee Retirement Income Security Act of 1974. Subsec. (e)(2). Pub. L. 94-455, § 1901(a)(62)(E). sub- stituted reference to Sept. 1, 1974, for refernece to the date before the date of enactment of the Employee Retirement Income Security Act of 1974. EFFECTIvE DATE OF 1976 AMENDMENT Amendment of subsecs. (a). (b), (e) by section 1901(a)(62) of Pub. L. 94-455 effective for taxable years beginning after Dec. 31, 1976. see section 1901(d) of Pub. L. 94-455, set out as an Effective Date of 1976 Amendment note under section 2 of this title. EFFECTIVE DATE Except as otherwise provided in section 1017(c) through (h) of Pub. L. 93-406, section applicable for plan years beginning after Sept. 2, 1974, and, in the case of plans in existence on Jan. 1. 1974, for plan years beginning after Dec. 31, 1975, see section 1017 of Pub. L. 93-406, set out as an Effective Date; Transi- tional Rules note under section 410 of this title. ALTERNATE METHODS OF SATISFYING REQUIREMENTS FOR VESTING AND AccRuED BENEFITS Section 1012(c) of Pub. L. 93-406 provided that: "In the case of any plan maintained on January 1, 1974, if, not later than 2 years after the date of the en- actment of this Act [Sept. 2, 1974], the plan adminis- trator petitions the Secretary of Labor, the Secretary of Labor may prescribe an alternate method which shall be treated as satisfying the requirements of sub- section (a)(2) of section 411 of the Internal Revenue Code of 1954 [subsec. (a)(2) of this section], or of sub- section (b)(1) (other than subparagraph (D) thereof) of such section 411 [this section], or of both such pro- visions for a period of not more than 4 years. The Sec- retary may prescribe such alternate method only when he finds that- "(1) the application of such requirements would increase the costs of the plan to such an extent that there would result a substantial risk to the volun- tary continuation of the plan or a substantial cur- tailment of benefit levels or the levels of employees' compensation, "(2) the application of such requirements or dis- continuance of the plan would be adverse to the in- terests of plan participants in the aggregate, and "1(3) a waiver or extension of time granted under section 412(d) or (e) would be inadequate. In the case of any plan with respect to which an alter- nate method has been prescribed under the preceding provisions of this subsection for a period of not more than 4 years, if, not later than 1 year before the expi- ration of such period, the plan administrator petitions the Secretary of Labor for an extension of such alter- nate method, and the Secretary makes the findings re- quired by the preceding sentence, such alternate method may be extended for not more than 3 years." SECTION REFERRED TO IN OTHER SECTIONS This section is referred to in sections 401, 410, 413, 414 of this title; title 29 sections 1202, 1222, 1343. § 412. Minimum funding standardt (a) General rule Except as provided in subsection (h), this sec- tion applies to a plan if, for any plan year be- ginning on or after the effective date of this section for such plan- (1) such plan included a trust which quali- fied (or was determined by the Secretary to have qualified) under section 401(a), or (2) such plan satisfied (or was determined by the Secretary to have satisfied) the re- quirements of section 403(a) or 405(a). A plan to which this section applies shall have satisfied the minimum funding standard for such plan for a plan year if as of the end of such plan year, the plan does not have an accu- mulated funding deficiency. For purposes of this section and section 4971, the term "accu- mulated funding deficiency" means for any plan the excess of the total charges to the funding standard account for all plan years (be- ginning with the first plan year to which this section applies) over the total credits to such account for such years or, if less, the excess of the total charges to the alternative minimum funding standard account for such plan years over the total credits to such account for such years. (b) Funding standard account (1) Account required Each plan to which this section applies q shall establish and maintain a funding stan- dard account. Such account shall be credited and charged solely as provided in this section. (2) Charges to account For a plan year, the funding standard ac- count shall be charged with the sum of- (A) the normal cost of the plan for the plan year, (B) the amounts necessary to amortize in equal annual installments (until fully amor- tized)- (I) in the case of a plan in existence on January 1, 1974, the unfunded past ser- vice liability under the plan on the first day of the first plan year to which this section applies, over a period of 40 plan years, (ii) in the case of a plan which comes into existence after January 1, 1974, the unfunded past service liability under the plan on the first day of the first plan year to which this section applies, over a period of 30 plan years (40 plan years in the case of a multiemployer plan), (iII) separately, with respect to each plan year, the net increase (if any) in un- funded past service liability under the plan arising from plan amendments adopted in such year, over a period of 30 plan years (40 plan years in the case of a multiemployer plan), (iv) separately, with respect to each plan year, the net experience loss (if any) under the plan, over a period of 15 plan Page 332 § 412