Example 1. (i) Facts. M was formerly an employee of ABC Corporation and is currently an employee of XYZ Corporation. ABC maintains a qualified defined benefit plan (Plan ABC) and a qualified defined contribution plan in which M participates and XYZ maintains a qualified defined benefit plan (Plan XYZ) and a qualified defined contribution plan in which M participates. ABC Corporation owns 60 percent of XYZ Corporation.

(ii) Treatment as a single employer. ABC Corporation and XYZ Corporation are members of a controlled group of corporations within the meaning of section 414(b) as modified by section 415(h). Because ABC Corporation and XYZ Corporation are members of a controlled group of corporations within the meaning of section 414(b) as modified by section 415(h), M is treated as being employed by a single employer under §1.415(a)-1(f)(1).

(iii) Plan aggregation. Under paragraph (a)(1) of this section, the sum of M's annual benefit under Plan ABC and M's annual benefit under Plan XYZ is not permitted to exceed the limitations of section 415(b) and §1.415(b)-1; and, under paragraph (a)(2) of this section, the sum of the annual additions to M's account under the defined contribution plans maintained by ABC and XYZ may not exceed the limitations of section 415(c) and §1.415(c)-1. For purposes of determining the limitations of section 415(b) and §1.415(b)-1 for the aggregated plans, a year of service for either employer is considered as a year of service for purposes of §1.415(b)-1(g)(2) (phase-in rules for the compensation limit) and a year of participation under either plan is considered as a year of participation for purposes of §1.415(b)-1(g)(1) (phase-in rules for the dollar limit).

Example 2. (i) Facts. The facts are the same as in Example 1, except that ABC Corporation and XYZ Corporation do not maintain defined contribution plans. In addition, Participant O was formerly an employee of ABC Corporation and is currently an employee of XYZ Corporation. Participant O has an accrued benefit under the ABC Plan, but Participant O has no accrued benefit under the XYZ Plan. Effective January 1, 2010, ABC Corporation sells all of its shares of stock of XYZ Corporation to an unaffiliated entity, LMN Corporation (the 2010 stock sale). After the 2010 stock sale, XYZ Corporation continues to maintain Plan XYZ. LMN Corporation maintains a qualified defined benefit plan (Plan LMN). After the 2010 stock sale, M begins to accrue benefits under Plan LMN, but O does not participate in Plan LMN.

(ii) Affiliated employer status of the corporations. Immediately after the 2010 stock sale, ABC Corporation and XYZ Corporation are no longer members of a controlled group of corporations under section 414(b) (as modified by section 414(h)) and accordingly are no longer treated as a single employer under the employer affiliation rules of §1.415(a)-1(f)(1). Immediately after the 2010 stock sale, LMN Corporation and XYZ Corporation are members of a controlled group of corporations under section 414(b) (as modified by section 414(h)) and accordingly are treated as a single employer under the employer affiliation rules of §1.415(a)-1(f)(1).

(iii) Treatment of plans maintained by ABC Corporation after the 2010 stock sale. Under §1.415(a)-1(f)(1), any plan maintained by any member of a controlled group of corporations is deemed maintained by all members of the controlled group, and paragraph (a)(1) of this section requires that, for purposes of applying the limitations of section 415(b), all defined benefit plans ever maintained by an employer (as determined under the affiliation rules of §1.415(a)-1(f)(1) and (2)) are treated as one defined benefit plan. Therefore, defined benefit plans maintained by ABC Corporation must take into account the annual benefit of a participant provided under Plan XYZ in applying the limitations of section 415(b) to the participant because Plan XYZ is a plan that had once been maintained by ABC Corporation. However, beginning with the 2010 limitation year, the aggregation of the annual benefit accrued by a participant under Plan XYZ for purposes of testing defined benefit plans maintained by ABC Corporation is limited to the annual benefit accrued by the participant under Plan XYZ immediately prior to the 2010 stock sale. This is because paragraph (b)(2)(i) of this section provides that a formerly affiliated plan of an employer is treated as if it had terminated immediately prior to the cessation of affiliation with sufficient assets to pay benefit liabilities under the plan, and had purchased annuities to provide plan benefits. The 2010 stock sale is a cessation of affiliation under paragraph (b)(2)(ii) of this section because this event caused XYZ Corporation to no longer be affiliated with ABC Corporation under the employer affiliation rules of §1.415(a)-1(f)(1) and (2). Immediately after the 2010 stock sale, Plan XYZ is a formerly affiliated plan with respect to ABC Corporation under paragraph (b)(2)(ii) of this section because immediately prior to the cessation of affiliation, Plan XYZ was actually maintained by XYZ Corporation (which together with ABC Corporation constituted a single employer under the employer affiliation rules of §1.415(a)-1(f)(1) and (2)), and immediately after the cessation of affiliation, Plan XYZ is not actually maintained by ABC Corporation or any other entity affiliated with it.

(iv) Application of rules to Participants M and O with respect to plans maintained by ABC Corporation after the 2010 stock sale. In applying the limitations of section 415(b) to Participant M for the 2010 limitation year and later limitation years, Plan ABC must take into account the annual benefit provided under Plan ABC to Participant M and the annual benefit provided under Plan XYZ to Participant M, but treating Plan XYZ as if it had terminated immediately prior to the 2010 stock sale with sufficient assets to pay benefit liabilities under the plan, and had purchased annuities to provide plan benefits. The aggregation of Plan XYZ with Plan ABC is irrelevant for purposes of Participant O because Participant O does not have any accrued benefit under Plan XYZ (as determined prior to the 2010 stock sale).

(v) Treatment of plans maintained by LMN Corporation and XYZ Corporation after the 2010 stock sale. Under §1.415(a)-1(f)(1) and paragraph (a)(1) of this section, when applying the limitations of section 415(b) to a participant under Plans LMN and XYZ for the 2010 limitation year and later years, the annual benefit provided to the participant under Plans LMN, XYZ and ABC must be aggregated. Benefits under Plan ABC must be included in this aggregation because XYZ Corporation is deemed to have once maintained Plan ABC pursuant to §1.415(a)-1(f)(1), and since LMN Corporation and XYZ Corporation constitute a single employer under §1.415(a)-1(f)(1), paragraph (a)(1) of this section requires the aggregation of all defined benefit plans ever maintained by LMN Corporation and XYZ Corporation. However, in performing this aggregation, a participant's annual benefit under Plan ABC is limited to the annual benefit accrued by the participant immediately prior to the 2010 stock sale. This is because, pursuant to paragraph (b)(2)(i) of this section, Plan ABC is a formerly affiliated plan of LMN Corporation and XYZ Corporation.

(vi) Application of rules to Participants M and O with respect to plans maintained by LMN Corporation and XYZ Corporation after the 2010 stock sale. In applying the limitation of section 415(b) to Participant M for the 2010 limitation year and later limitation years, Plan LMN and Plan XYZ must take into account the annual benefit provided under Plans LMN and XYZ to Participant M and the annual benefit provided under Plan ABC to Participant M as if Plan ABC had terminated immediately prior to the 2010 stock sale with sufficient assets to pay benefit liabilities under the plan, and had purchased annuities to provide plan benefits. Participant O does not have an accrued benefit under Plan LMN or Plan XYZ, so the aggregation of Plan ABC with Plans LMN and XYZ is currently irrelevant with respect to Participant O. However, if Participant O were to ever participate in Plans LMN or XYZ after the 2010 stock sale, Participant O's annual benefit under Plan ABC (determined as if Plan ABC terminated immediately prior to the 2010 stock sale) would have to be aggregated with any annual benefit that Participant O accrues under Plan LMN or Plan XYZ.

(vii) Application of nonduplication rule. In applying paragraph (a)(1) of this section to plans maintained by ABC Corporation after 2010 stock sale, plans maintained by ABC Corporation do not take into account the deemed termination of Plan ABC since ABC Corporation maintains Plan ABC after the cessation of affiliation. Similarly, in applying paragraph (a)(1) of this section to plans maintained by LMN Corporation and XYZ Corporation after the 2010 stock sale, plans maintained by LMN Corporation and XYZ Corporation do not take into account the deemed termination of Plan XYZ since XYZ Corporation maintains Plan XYZ after the cessation of affiliation. See paragraph (d)(1) of this section.

Example 3. (i) Facts. The facts are the same as in Example 2, except that on January 1, 2009, Plan ABC transfers Participant M's benefit to Plan XYZ.

(ii) Treatment of plans maintained by ABC Corporation. Pursuant to §1.415(b)-1(b)(3)(i)(A), M's benefit that is transferred from Plan ABC to Plan XYZ is not treated as being provided under Plan ABC for the limitation year in which the transfer occurs (2009). This is because M's transferred benefit is otherwise required to be taken into account by Plan ABC for the 2009 limitation year since Plan XYZ must be aggregated with Plan ABC pursuant to paragraph (a)(1) of this section. This result does not change for the 2010 limitation year and later limitation years, where pursuant to paragraph (b)(2)(i) of this section, Plan XYZ becomes a formerly affiliated plan with respect to ABC Corporation due to the 2010 stock sale. Under paragraph (b)(2)(i) of this section, Plan XYZ (the formerly affiliated plan) is treated from the perspective of plans maintained by ABC Corporation (Plan ABC) as if Plan XYZ terminated immediately prior to the 2010 stock sale with sufficient assets to pay benefit liabilities under the plan, and had purchased annuities to provide plan benefits. However, the pre-2010 stock sale benefits of Plan XYZ include the January 1, 2009, transfer of Participant M's benefit. Thus, in the 2010 limitation year, M's transferred benefit is still otherwise required to be taken into account by Plan ABC on account of the aggregation of Plan XYZ with Plan ABC pursuant to paragraph (a)(1) of this section, and therefore the transferred benefit is not treated as being provided by Plan ABC.

(iii) Treatment of plans maintained by LMN Corporation and XYZ Corporation. Pursuant to §1.415(b)-1(b)(3)(i)(C), Participant M's benefit that is transferred to Plan XYZ from Plan ABC must be treated as provided under Plan XYZ for purposes of applying the limitations of section 415 to Plan XYZ with respect to Participant M for the limitation year in which the transfer occurs and later years. This result does not change on account of the 2010 stock sale. When applying the limitation of section 415 to Plans LMN and XYZ for the 2010 limitation year and later years, Plans LMN and XYZ must aggregate the annual benefit provided to a participant under each plan along with the participant's benefit under Plan ABC pursuant to §1.415(a)-1(f)(1) and paragraph (a)(1) of this section. However, under paragraph (b)(2)(i) of this section, for the 2010 limitation year and later years, this aggregation of M's Plan ABC benefit only includes the annual benefit attributable to a participant's accrued benefit under Plan ABC immediately prior to the 2010 stock sale, which (due to the 2009 transfer) is zero.

Example 4. (i) Facts. The facts are the same as in Example 2, except that on January 1, 2011, Plan ABC transfers Participant M's benefit to Plan XYZ.

(ii) Treatment of plans maintained by ABC Corporation for the 2011 limitation year and later years. Pursuant to §1.415(b)-1(b)(3)(i)(B), M's benefit that is transferred from Plan ABC to Plan XYZ during the 2011 limitation year is treated by Plan ABC for the 2011 limitation year and later years as if the transferred benefit were provided under a plan that must be aggregated with Plan ABC that terminated immediately prior to the transfer with sufficient assets to pay benefit liabilities under the plan, and had purchased annuities to provide plan benefits. This is because M's transferred benefit is not otherwise required to be taken into account by Plan ABC for the 2011 limitation year and later years pursuant to paragraphs (a)(1) and (b)(2)(i) of this section. While Plan ABC must take into account Participant M's annual benefit under Plan XYZ under paragraph (a)(1) of this section, Participant M's annual benefit for this purpose is limited under paragraph (b)(2)(i) of this section to M's accrued benefit under Plan XYZ immediately prior to the 2010 stock sale, and Participant M's pre-2010 stock sale accrued benefit under Plan XYZ excludes the 2011 transfer.

(iii) Treatment of plans maintained by LMN Corporation and XYZ Corporation for the 2011 limitation year and later years. Pursuant to §1.415(b)-1(b)(3)(i)(C), Participant M's benefit that is transferred to Plan XYZ from Plan ABC must be treated as provided under Plan XYZ for purposes of applying the limitations of section 415 to Plan XYZ with respect to Participant M for the limitation year in which the transfer occurs and later years. In applying the limitations of section 415(b) to Plans LMN and XYZ with respect to Participant M for the 2010 limitation year and later years, the annual benefit of Participant M under Plans ABC, LMN, and XYZ must be aggregated pursuant to §1.415(a)-1(f)(1) and paragraph (a)(1) of this section, but for this purpose, Participant M's benefit under Plan ABC is treated as if it were provided under a plan that terminated immediately prior to the cessation of affiliation of ABC Corporation and XYZ Corporation with sufficient assets to pay benefit liabilities under the plan, and had purchased an annuity to provide Participant M's benefits. (See paragraph (b)(2)(i) of this section and Example 2.) In applying the limitations of section 415(b) to Plans LMN and XYZ with respect to Participant M for the 2011 limitation year and later years, the annual benefit of Participant M under Plans ABC, LMN, and XYZ still must be aggregated pursuant to §1.415(a)-1(f)(1) and paragraph (a)(1) of this section. However, beginning with the 2011 limitation year, ABC Corporation is a predecessor employer with respect to LMN Corporation and XYZ Corporation with respect to Participant M on account of the transfer of benefits from Plan ABC to Plan XYZ, pursuant to paragraph (c)(1) of this section. Therefore, Plans LMN and XYZ must take into account benefits that Participant M accrued under Plan ABC after the January 1, 2010, cessation of affiliation of ABC Corporation and XYZ Corporation that were not transferred to Plan XYZ on January 1, 2011, pursuant to paragraphs (c)(1) and (d)(1) of this section. Since all of Participant M's benefit in Plan ABC is transferred to Plan XYZ on January 1, 2011, Participant M's annual benefit from Plan ABC for purposes of aggregating Plan ABC with Plans LMN and XYZ is zero.

Example 5. (i) Facts. The facts are the same as in Example 2, except that instead of the 2010 stock sale, XYZ Corporation sells some of its operating assets to LMN Corporation (and, under the facts and circumstances, the sale does not result in XYZ Corporation constituting a predecessor employer of LMN Corporation under the rules of paragraph (c)(2) of this section), and in connection with the asset sale, LMN Corporation assumes sponsorship of Plan XYZ in place of XYZ Corporation, effective January 1, 2010.

(ii) Treatment of plans maintained by ABC Corporation and XYZ Corporation. Pursuant to paragraph (a)(1) of this section, all defined benefit plans ever maintained by ABC Corporation and XYZ Corporation must be aggregated as a single defined benefit plan for purposes of applying the limitations of section 415(b). However, for purposes of determining the annual benefit under Plan XYZ for the 2010 limitation year and later years, the aggregation of a participant's benefit under Plan XYZ is limited to the participant's annual benefit accrued immediately prior to the January 1, 2010, transfer of sponsorship of Plan XYZ. This is because paragraph (b)(2)(i) of this section provides that a formerly affiliated plan of an employer is treated as if it were a plan that terminated immediately prior to the cessation of affiliation with sufficient assets to pay benefit liabilities under the plan, and had purchased annuities to provide plan benefits. The January 1, 2010, transfer of sponsorship of Plan XYZ is a cessation of affiliation under paragraph (b)(2)(ii) of this section because this event causes Plan XYZ to no longer actually be maintained by either ABC Corporation or XYZ Corporation. Effective immediately after the January 1, 2010, transfer of sponsorship, Plan XYZ is a formerly affiliated plan with respect to ABC Corporation and XYZ Corporation under paragraph (b)(2)(ii) of this section because immediately prior to the cessation of affiliation, Plan XYZ was actually maintained by XYZ Corporation, and immediately after the cessation of affiliation, Plan XYZ is not actually maintained by either XYZ Corporation or ABC Corporation. Therefore, in applying the limitation of section 415(b) to Participant M for the 2010 limitation year and later limitation years, Plan ABC must take into account the annual benefit provided under Plan ABC to Participant M and the annual benefit provided under Plan XYZ to Participant M as if Plan XYZ had terminated immediately prior to the 2010 stock sale with sufficient assets to pay benefit liabilities under the plan, and had purchased annuities to provide plan benefits. The aggregation of Plan XYZ with Plan ABC is irrelevant for purposes of Participant O because Participant O does not have any accrued benefit under Plan XYZ (as determined prior to the 2010 transfer of sponsorship).

(iii) Treatment of plans maintained by LMN Corporation. Under paragraph (a)(1) of this section, all defined benefit plans ever maintained by LMN Corporation or a predecessor employer must be aggregated as a single plan for purposes of applying the limitations of section 415(b). ABC Corporation and XYZ Corporation constitute a predecessor employer pursuant to paragraph (c)(1) of this section with respect to the participants who participate in Plan XYZ on the date of the transfer of sponsorship of Plan XYZ (the transferred participants) from XYZ Corporation to LMN Corporation, such as Participant M. This is because, effective with the January 1, 2010, transfer of sponsorship, LMN Corporation maintains a plan (Plan XYZ) under which the participants accrued a benefit while performing services for XYZ Corporation (which is in turn affiliated with ABC Corporation under §1.415(a)-1(f)(1)) and such benefits are provided under a plan maintained by LMN Corporation. Therefore, for the 2010 limitation year and later years, the annual benefit under Plan ABC of the transferred participants (such as Participant M) must be aggregated with the annual benefit provided to such participants under Plans XYZ and LMN for purposes of determining whether Plan LMN or Plan XYZ satisfies the limitations of section 415(b). However, the aggregation of the transferred participants' Plan ABC annual benefits is limited to the annual benefit accrued under Plan ABC immediately prior to January 1, 2010, transfer of sponsorship. This is because, pursuant to paragraph (c)(1) of this section, Plan ABC is treated from the perspective of plans maintained by LMN Corporation as if Plan ABC had terminated immediately prior to the transfer of sponsorship of Plan ABC to LMN Corporation with sufficient assets to pay benefit liabilities under the plan, and had purchased annuities to provide plan benefits. ABC Corporation and XYZ Corporation do not constitute a predecessor employer with respect to Participant O. Thus, if Participant O is a participant in Plan LMN or becomes a participant in Plan XYZ after the 2010 transfer of sponsorship, neither plan aggregates Participant O's Plan ABC benefits for purposes of satisfying section 415(b). In applying paragraph (a)(1) of this section to a participant, plans maintained by LMN Corporation do not double count the participant's annual benefit. See paragraph (d)(1) of this section. Thus, such plans do not aggregate the annual benefit provided under Plan XYZ with the annual benefit from the deemed termination of Plan XYZ that LMN Corporation's predecessor employer (which is ABC and XYZ Corporations) must take into account in applying paragraph (a)(1) of this section, and instead consider the annual benefit actually provided under Plan XYZ.

Example 6. (i) Facts. N is employed by a hospital which purchases an annuity contract described in section 403(b) on N's behalf for the current limitation year. N is in control of the hospital within the meaning of section 414(b) or (c), as modified by section 415(h). The hospital also maintains a qualified defined contribution plan during the current limitation year in which N participates.

(ii) Conclusion. Under section 415(k)(4), the hospital, as well as N, is considered to maintain the annuity contract. Accordingly, for N the sum of the annual additions under the qualified defined contribution plan and the annuity contract must satisfy the limitations of section 415(c) and §1.415(c)-1.

Example 7. (i) Facts. The facts are the same as in Example 6, except that instead of being in control of the hospital, N is the 100 percent owner of a professional corporation P, which maintains a qualified defined contribution plan in which N participates.

(ii) Conclusion. Under section 415(k)(4), the professional corporation, as well as N, is considered to maintain the annuity contract. Accordingly, the sum of the annual additions under the qualified defined contribution plan maintained by professional corporation P and the annuity contract must satisfy the limitations of section 415(c) and §1.415(c)-1. See §1.415(g)-1(b)(3)(iv)(C)(2) for an example of the treatment of a contribution to a section 403(b) annuity contract that exceeds the limits of section 415(c) by reason of the aggregation required by this section.

Example 8. (i) Facts. J is an employee of two corporations, N and M, each of which has employed J for more than 10 years. N and M are not required to be aggregated pursuant to section 415(f) and this section. Each corporation has a qualified defined benefit plan in which J has participated for more than 10 years. Each plan provides a benefit which is equal to 75 percent of a participant's average compensation for the period of the participant's high-3 years of service and is payable in the form of a straight life annuity beginning at age 65. J's average compensation for the period of his high-3 years of service from each corporation is $160,000. In July 2008, N Corporation becomes a wholly owned subsidiary of M Corporation.

(ii) Plan aggregation analysis. As a result of the acquisition of N Corporation by M Corporation, J is treated as being employed by a single employer under section 414(b). Therefore, because section 415(f)(1)(A) requires that all defined benefit plans of an employer be treated as one defined benefit plan, the two plans must be aggregated for purposes of applying the limitations of section 415. However, under paragraph (e)(3)(i) of this section, since the plans were not aggregated as of the first day of the 2008 limitation year (January 1, 2008), they will not be considered aggregated until the limitation year beginning January 1, 2009, provided that no plan amendment increasing benefits with respect to participant J is made after the acquisition of N by M.

(iii) Application to Participant J. J has a total benefit under the two plans of $240,000, which, as a result of the plan aggregation, is in excess of the section 415(b) limit. However, under paragraph (e)(3)(ii) of this section, the limitations of section 415(b) and §1.415(b)-1 applicable to J may be exceeded in this situation without plan disqualification so long as J's accrued benefit derived from employer contributions is not increased (that is, J's accrued benefit does not increase on account of increased compensation, service, participation, or other accruals) during the period within which the limitations are being exceeded.

Example 9. (i) Facts. A, age 30, owns all of the stock of X Corporation and also owns 10 percent of the stock of Z Corporation. F, A's father, directly owns 75 percent of the stock of Z Corporation. Both corporations have qualified defined contribution plans in which A participates. A's compensation (within the meaning of §1.415(c)-2) for 2008 is $20,000 from Z Corporation and $150,000 from X Corporation. During the period January 1, 2008 through June 30, 2008, annual additions of $20,000 are credited to A's account under the plan of Z Corporation, while annual additions of $40,000 are credited to A's account under the plan of X Corporation. In both instances, the amount of annual additions represent the maximum allowable under section 415(c) and §1.415(c)-1. On July 15, 2008, F dies, and A inherits all of F's stock in Z in 2008.

(ii) Conclusion. As of July 15, 2008, A is considered to be in control of X and Z Corporations, and the two plans must be aggregated for purposes of applying the limitations of section 415. However, even though A's total annual additions for 2008 are $60,000, the limitations of section 415(c) and §1.415(c)-1 are not violated for 2008, provided no annual additions are credited to A's accounts after July 15, 2008 (the date that A is first in control of Z) for the remainder of the 2008 limitation year.

Example 10. (i) Facts. P is a key employee of employer XYZ who participates in a qualified defined contribution plan (Plan X). P is also provided post-retirement medical benefits, and XYZ has taken into account a reserve for those benefits under section 419A(c)(2). In the 2008 limitation year, P's compensation is $30,000 and P's annual additions under Plan X are $5,000. Pursuant to section 419A(d), a separate account is maintained for P, and that account is credited with an allocation of $32,000 for the 2008 limitation year. It is assumed that the section 415(c)(1)(A) dollar limit for 2008 is $46,000.

(ii) Separate testing analysis. Under paragraph (h)(1) of this section, Plan X and the individual medical account must separately satisfy the requirements of section 415(c), taking into account any special limit applicable to that arrangement. In this case, the contributions to Plan X separately satisfy the limitations of section 415(c). While the individual medical account is treated as a defined contribution plan subject to the rules of section 415(c), it is not subject to the 100 percent of compensation limit of section 415(c)(1)(B), so the contributions to that account satisfy the limitations of section 415(c).

(iii) Aggregation analysis. The sum of the annual additions under Plan X and the amounts contributed to the separate account on P's behalf must satisfy the requirements of section 415(c). Under paragraph (h)(2) of this section, the limit applicable to the aggregated plan is equal to the greater of the limits applicable to the separate plans. In this case, the limit applicable to the medical account is $46,000 (which is greater than the limit of $30,000 applicable to the qualified plan), so the limit that applies to the aggregated plan is $46,000, and the aggregated plan satisfies the requirements of section 415.