(a)-(b) [Reserved]
(c) Breaks in service. (1) [Reserved]
(2) Employees under 2-year 100 percent vesting schedule—(i) General rule. In the case of an employee who incurs a 1-year break in service under a plan which provides that after not more than 2 years of service each participant's right to his accrued benefit under the plan is completely nonforfeitable (within the meaning of section 411 and the regulations thereunder) at the time such benefit accrues, the employee's service before the break in service is not required to be taken into account after the break in service in determining the employee's years of service under section 410(a)(1) and § 1.410(a)-3 if such employee has not satisfied such service requirement.
(ii) Example. The rules of this subparagraph are illustrated by the following example:
Example.A qualified plan computing service by the actual counting of hours provides full and immediate vesting. The plan can not require as a condition of participation that an employee complete 2 consecutive years of service with the employer because the requirement as to consecutive years is not permitted under section 410(a)(5). However, such a plan can require 2 years without a break in service, i.e., 2 years with no intervening years in which the employee fails to complete more than 500 hours of service. Under a plan containing such a participation requirement, the following example illustrates when employees would become eligible to participate.
| Year
| Hours of service completed
|
|---|
| Employee A
| Employee B
| Employee C
|
|---|
| 1 | 1,000 | 1,000 | 1,000
|
| 2 | 1,000 | 700 | 500
|
| 3 | 1,000 | 1,000 | 1,000
|
| 4 | 1,000 | 1,000 | 700
|
| 5 | 1,000 | 1,000 | 1,000 |
Employee A will have satisfied the plan's service requirement at the end of year 2, Employee B at the end of year 3, and Employee C at the end of year 5.
(3) One-year break in service—
(i) [Reserved]
(ii) Examples. The rules provided by this subparagraph are illustrated by the following examples:
Example 1.Employee A completes a year of service under a plan computing service by the actual counting of hours for the 12-month period ending December 31, 1989, and incurs a 1-year break in service for the 12-month period ending December 31, 1990. The plan does not contain the provisions permitted by section 410(a)(5)(B) (relating to 2-year 100 percent vesting) and section 410(a)(5)(D) (relating to nonvested participants). Thereafter, he does not complete a year of service. As of January 1, 1991, in computing his period of service under the plan his service prior to December 31, 1990, is not required to be taken into account for purposes of section 410(a)(1) and § 1.410(a)-3.
[T.D. 8170, 53 FR 239, Jan. 6, 1988]