29 U.S.C. § 1350 : US Code - Section 1350: Missing participants

Search 29 U.S.C. § 1350 : US Code - Section 1350: Missing participants

(a) General rule
(1) Payment to the corporation
A plan administrator satisfies section 1341(b)(3)(A) of this
title in the case of a missing participant only if the plan
administrator -
(A) transfers the participant's designated benefit to the
corporation or purchases an irrevocable commitment from an
insurer in accordance with clause (i) of section 1341(b)(3)(A)
of this title, and
(B) provides the corporation such information and
certifications with respect to such designated benefits or
irrevocable commitments as the corporation shall specify.
(2) Treatment of transferred assets
A transfer to the corporation under this section shall be
treated as a transfer of assets from a terminated plan to the
corporation as trustee, and shall be held with assets of
terminated plans for which the corporation is trustee under
section 1342 of this title, subject to the rules set forth in
that section.
(3) Payment by the corporation
After a missing participant whose designated benefit was
transferred to the corporation is located -
(A) in any case in which the plan could have distributed the
benefit of the missing participant in a single sum without
participant or spousal consent under section 1055(g) of this
title, the corporation shall pay the participant or beneficiary
a single sum benefit equal to the designated benefit paid the
corporation plus interest as specified by the corporation, and
(B) in any other case, the corporation shall pay a benefit
based on the designated benefit and the assumptions prescribed
by the corporation at the time that the corporation received
the designated benefit.
The corporation shall make payments under subparagraph (B)
available in the same forms and at the same times as a guaranteed
benefit under section 1322 of this title would be available to be
paid, except that the corporation may make a benefit available in
the form of a single sum if the plan provided a single sum
benefit (other than a single sum described in subsection
(b)(2)(A) of this section).
(b) Definitions
For purposes of this section -
(1) Missing participant
The term "missing participant" means a participant or
beneficiary under a terminating plan whom the plan administrator
cannot locate after a diligent search.
(2) Designated benefit
The term "designated benefit" means the single sum benefit the
participant would receive -
(A) under the plan's assumptions, in the case of a
distribution that can be made without participant or spousal
consent under section 1055(g) of this title;
(B) under the assumptions of the corporation in effect on the
date that the designated benefit is transferred to the
corporation, in the case of a plan that does not pay any single
sums other than those described in subparagraph (A); or
(C) under the assumptions of the corporation or of the plan,
whichever provides the higher single sum, in the case of a plan
that pays a single sum other than those described in
subparagraph (A).
(c) Regulatory authority
The corporation shall prescribe such regulations as are necessary
to carry out the purposes of this section, including rules relating
to what will be considered a diligent search, the amount payable to
the corporation, and the amount to be paid by the corporation.