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Private Pensions: 'Top-Heavy' Rules for Owner-Dominated Plans

HEHS-00-141 Published: Aug 31, 2000. Publicly Released: Sep 29, 2000.
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Highlights

Pursuant to a congressional request, GAO reviewed top-heavy rules in relation to other pension laws and regulations intended to ensure that workers benefit equitably from their pension plans, focusing on: (1) key differences between top-heavy rules and the general rules for nondiscrimination and vesting in contributions and benefits; (2) the most recent data available for GAO analysis on the characteristics of new plans that report being top-heavy; and (3) what is known about the overall effects of top-heavy rules on numbers of plans and participants and on employer costs.

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Employee retirement plansInvestmentsPension plan cost controlPrivate sectorPensionsTax expendituresTax lawPension planRetirement plan contributionsSmall business