US Code

Public Law 119-73 (01/23/2026)

29 U.S.C. § 1052

Minimum participation standards

(a)
(1)
(A)
No pension plan may require, as a condition of participation in the plan, that an employee complete a period of service with the employer or employers maintaining the plan extending beyond the later of the following dates—
(i)
the date on which the employee attains the age of 21; or
(ii)
the date on which he completes 1 year of service.
(B)
(i)
In the case of any plan which provides that after not more than 2 years of service each participant has a right to 100 percent of his accrued benefit under the plan which is nonforfeitable at the time such benefit accrues, clause (ii) of subparagraph (A) shall be applied by substituting “2 years of service” for “1 year of service”.
(ii)
section 170(b)(1)(A)(ii) of title 26section 501(a) of title 26 In the case of any plan maintained exclusively for employees of an educational organization (as defined in ) by an employer which is exempt from tax under , which provides that each participant having at least 1 year of service has a right to 100 percent of his accrued benefit under the plan which is nonforfeitable at the time such benefit accrues, clause (i) of subparagraph (A) shall be applied by substituting “26” for “21”. This clause shall not apply to any plan to which clause (i) applies.
(2)
No pension plan may exclude from participation (on the basis of age) employees who have attained a specified age.
(3)
(A)
For purposes of this section, the term “year of service” means a 12-month period during which the employee has not less than 1,000 hours of service. For purposes of this paragraph, computation of any 12-month period shall be made with reference to the date on which the employee’s employment commenced, except that, in accordance with regulations prescribed by the Secretary, such computation may be made by reference to the first day of a plan year in the case of an employee who does not complete 1,000 hours of service during the 12-month period beginning on the date his employment commenced.
(B)
In the case of any seasonal industry where the customary period of employment is less than 1,000 hours during a calendar year, the term “year of service” shall be such period as may be determined under regulations prescribed by the Secretary.
(C)
For purposes of this section, the term “hour of service” means a time of service determined under regulations prescribed by the Secretary.
(D)
For purposes of this section, in the case of any maritime industry, 125 days of service shall be treated as 1,000 hours of service. The Secretary may prescribe regulations to carry out the purposes of this subparagraph.
(4)
A plan shall be treated as not meeting the requirements of paragraph (1) unless it provides that any employee who has satisfied the minimum age and service requirements specified in such paragraph, and who is otherwise entitled to participate in the plan, commences participation in the plan no later than the earlier of—
(A)
the first day of the first plan year beginning after the date on which such employee satisfied such requirements, or
(B)
the date 6 months after the date on which he satisfied such requirements,
unless such employee was separated from the service before the date referred to in subparagraph (A) or (B), whichever is applicable.
(b)
(1)
Except as otherwise provided in paragraphs (2), (3), and (4), all years of service with the employer or employers maintaining the plan shall be taken into account in computing the period of service for purposes of subsection (a)(1).
(2)
section 1053(b)(3)(A) of this title In the case of any employee who has any 1-year break in service (as defined in ) under a plan to which the service requirements of clause (i) of subsection (a)(1)(B) apply, if such employee has not satisfied such requirements, service before such break shall not be required to be taken into account.
(3)
section 1053(b)(3)(A) of this title In computing an employee’s period of service for purposes of subsection (a)(1) in the case of any participant who has any 1-year break in service (as defined in ), service before such break shall not be required to be taken into account under the plan until he has completed a year of service (as defined in subsection (a)(3)) after his return.
(4)
(A)
For purposes of paragraph (1), in the case of a nonvested participant, years of service with the employer or employers maintaining the plan before any period of consecutive 1-year breaks in service shall not be required to be taken into account in computing the period of service if the number of consecutive 1-year breaks in service within such period equals or exceeds the greater of—
(i)
5, or
(ii)
the aggregate number of years of service before such period.
(B)
If any years of service are not required to be taken into account by reason of a period of breaks in service to which subparagraph (A) applies, such years of service shall not be taken into account in applying subparagraph (A) to a subsequent period of breaks in service.
(C)
For purposes of subparagraph (A), the term “nonvested participant” means a participant who does not have any nonforfeitable right under the plan to an accrued benefit derived from employer contributions.
(5)
(A)
In the case of each individual who is absent from work for any period—
(i)
by reason of the pregnancy of the individual,
(ii)
by reason of the birth of a child of the individual,
(iii)
by reason of the placement of a child with the individual in connection with the adoption of such child by such individual, or
(iv)
for purposes of caring for such child for a period beginning immediately following such birth or placement,
section 1053(b)(3)(A) of this titlethe plan shall treat as hours of service, solely for purposes of determining under this subsection whether a 1-year break in service (as defined in ) has occurred, the hours described in subparagraph (B).
(B)
The hours described in this subparagraph are—
(i)
the hours of service which otherwise would normally have been credited to such individual but for such absence, or
(ii)
in any case in which the plan is unable to determine the hours described in clause (i), 8 hours of service per day of such absence,
except that the total number of hours treated as hours of service under this subparagraph by reason of any such pregnancy or placement shall not exceed 501 hours.
(C)
The hours described in subparagraph (B) shall be treated as hours of service as provided in this paragraph—
(i)
only in the year in which the absence from work begins, if a participant would be prevented from incurring a 1-year break in service in such year solely because the period of absence is treated as hours of service as provided in subparagraph (A); or
(ii)
in any other case, in the immediately following year.
(D)
For purposes of this paragraph, the term “year” means the period used in computations pursuant to subsection (a)(3)(A).
(E)
A plan may provide that no credit will be given pursuant to this paragraph unless the individual furnishes to the plan administrator such timely information as the plan may reasonably require to establish—
(i)
that the absence from work is for reasons referred to in subparagraph (A), and
(ii)
the number of days for which there was such an absence.
(c)

Special Rule for Certain Part-time Employees.—

(1)

In general .—

section 401(k) of title 26section 403(b) of title 26A pension plan that includes either a qualified cash or deferred arrangement (as defined in ) or a salary reduction agreement (as described in ) shall not require, as a condition of participation in the arrangement or agreement, that an employee complete a period of service with the employer (or employers) maintaining the plan extending beyond the close of the earlier of—
(A)
the period permitted under subsection (a)(1) (determined without regard to subparagraph (B)(i) thereof); or
(B)
the first 24-month period—
(i)
consisting of 2 consecutive 12-month periods during each of which the employee has at least 500 hours of service; and
(ii)
by the close of which the employee has met the requirement of subsection (a)(1)(A)(i).
(2)

Exception .—

section 410(b)(3) of title 26Paragraph (1)(B) shall not apply to any employee described in .
(3)

Coordination with time of participation rules .—

section 401(k)(2)(D)(ii) of title 26In the case of employees who are eligible to participate in the arrangement or agreement solely by reason of paragraph (1)(B), or by reason of such paragraph and , the rules of subsection (a)(4) shall apply to such employees.
(4)

-month period 12.—

For purposes of this subsection, 12-month periods shall be determined in the same manner as under the last sentence of subsection (a)(3)(A), except that 12-month periods beginning before , shall not be taken into account.

Pub. L. 93–406, title I, § 20288 Stat. 853Pub. L. 98–397, title I, § 102(a)98 Stat. 1426Pub. L. 99–509, title IX, § 9203(a)(1)100 Stat. 1979Pub. L. 99–514, title XI, § 1113(e)(3)100 Stat. 2448Pub. L. 101–239, title VII103 Stat. 2430Pub. L. 117–328, div. T, title I, § 125(a)(1)136 Stat. 5314(, , ; , (d)(1), (e)(1), , , 1427; , , ; , , ; , §§ 7861(a)(2), 7891(a)(1), 7892(a), 7894(c)(2), , , 2445, 2447, 2449; , , .)

Editorial Notes

Amendments

Pub. L. 117–3282022—Subsec. (c). added subsec. (c).

Pub. L. 101–239, § 7861(a)(2)Pub. L. 99–5141989—Subsec. (a)(1)(B)(i). , made technical correction to directory language of . See 1986 Amendment note below.

Pub. L. 101–239, § 7894(c)(2)(A)Subsec. (a)(1)(B)(ii). , substituted “educational organization” for “educational institution”.

Pub. L. 101–239, § 7891(a)(1), substituted “Internal Revenue Code of 1986” for “Internal Revenue Code of 1954”, which for purposes of codification was translated as “title 26” thus requiring no change in text.

Pub. L. 101–239, § 7892(a)Subsec. (a)(2). , struck out comma after “specified age”.

Pub. L. 101–239, § 7894(c)(2)(B)Subsec. (b)(2). , substituted “a plan” for “the plan”.

Pub. L. 99–514Pub. L. 101–239, § 7861(a)(2)1986—Subsec. (a)(1)(B)(i). , as amended by , substituted “2 years of service” for “3 years of service” in two places.

Pub. L. 99–509Subsec. (a)(2). substituted a period for “unless—

“(A) the plan is a—

“(i) defined benefit plan, or

“(ii) target benefit plan (as defined under regulations prescribed by the Secretary of the Treasury), and

“(B) such employees begin employment with the employer after they have attained a specified age which is not more than 5 years before the normal retirement age under the plan.”

Pub. L. 98–397, § 102(a)1984—Subsec. (a)(1). , substituted “21” for “25” in subpar. (A)(i) and “ ‘26’ for ‘21’ ” for “ ‘30’ for ‘25’ ” in subpar. (B)(ii).

Pub. L. 98–397, § 102(d)(1)Subsec. (b)(4). , amended par. (4) generally. Prior to amendment, par. (4) read as follows: “In the case of an employee who does not have any nonforfeitable right to an accrued benefit derived from employer contributions, years of service with the employer or employers maintaining the plan before a break in service shall not be required to be taken into account in computing the period of service for purposes of subsection (a)(1) if the number of consecutive 1-year breaks in service equals or exceeds the aggregate number of such years of service before such break. Such aggregate number of years of service before such break shall be deemed not to include any years of service not required to be taken into account under this paragraph by reason of any prior break in service.”

Pub. L. 98–397, § 102(e)(1)Subsec. (b)(5). , added par. (5).

Statutory Notes and Related Subsidiaries

Effective Date of 2022 Amendment

Pub. L. 117–328section 125(f)(1) of Pub. L. 117–328section 401 of Title 26Amendment by applicable to plan years beginning after , see , set out as a note under , Internal Revenue Code.

Effective Date of 1989 Amendment

section 7861(a)(2) of Pub. L. 101–239Pub. L. 99–514section 7863 of Pub. L. 101–239section 106 of Title 26Amendment by effective as if included in the provision of the Tax Reform Act of 1986, , to which such amendment relates, see , set out as a note under , Internal Revenue Code.

section 7891(a)(1) of Pub. L. 101–239Pub. L. 99–514section 7891(f) of Pub. L. 101–239section 1002 of this titleAmendment by effective, except as otherwise provided, as if included in the provision of the Tax Reform Act of 1986, , to which such amendment relates, see , set out as a note under .

Pub. L. 101–239, title VII, § 7892(c)103 Stat. 2447

section 1082 of this titlePub. L. 100–203Pub. L. 99–509Pub. L. 100–203Pub. L. 100–203“Any amendment made by this section [amending this section and ] shall take effect as if included in the provision of the Omnibus Budget Reconciliation Act of 1987 [, probably should refer to Omnibus Budget Reconciliation Act of 1986, ] or Pension Protection Act [, §§ 9302–9346, probably should refer to Omnibus Budget Reconciliation Act of 1987, ] to which such amendment relates.”
, , , provided that:

section 7894(c)(2) of Pub. L. 101–239Pub. L. 93–406section 7894(i) of Pub. L. 101–239section 1002 of this titleAmendment by effective, except as otherwise provided, as if originally included in the provision of the Employee Retirement Income Security Act of 1974, , to which such amendment relates, see , set out as a note under .

Effective Date of 1986 Amendments

section 1113(e)(3) of Pub. L. 99–514section 1113(f) of Pub. L. 99–514section 411 of Title 26Amendment by applicable to plan years beginning after , with special rule for plans maintained pursuant to collective bargaining agreements ratified before , and not applicable to employees who do not have 1 hour of service in any plan year to which the amendment applies, see , as amended, set out as a note under , Internal Revenue Code.

Pub. L. 99–509section 9204 of Pub. L. 99–509section 623 of this titleAmendment by applicable only with respect to plan years beginning on or after , and only with respect to service performed on or after such date, see , set out as an Effective and Termination Dates of 1986 Amendments note under .

Effective Date of 1984 Amendment

Pub. L. 98–397Pub. L. 98–397section 1001 of this titleAmendment by applicable to plan years beginning after , except as otherwise provided, see sections 302 and 303 of , set out as a note under .

Regulations

Pub. L. 99–509section 9204 of Pub. L. 99–509section 623 of this titleSecretary of Labor, Secretary of the Treasury, and Equal Employment Opportunity Commission each to issue before , final regulations to carry out amendments made by , see , set out as an Effective and Termination Dates of 1986 Amendment note under .

section 1031 of this titleSecretary authorized, effective , to promulgate regulations wherever provisions of this subchapter call for the promulgation of regulations, see .

Plan Amendments Not Required Until January 1, 1989

Pub. L. 99–514section 1140 of Pub. L. 99–514section 401 of Title 26For provisions directing that if any amendments made by subtitle A or subtitle C of title XI [§§ 1101–1147 and 1171–1177] or title XVIII [§§ 1800–1899A] of require an amendment to any plan, such plan amendment shall not be required to be made before the first plan year beginning on or after , see , as amended, set out as a note under , Internal Revenue Code.

Pub. L. 99–509section 9204 of Pub. L. 99–509section 623 of this titleFor provisions directing that if any amendments made by require an amendment to any plan, such plan amendment shall not be required to be made before the first plan year beginning on or after , see , set out as an Effective and Termination Dates of 1986 Amendment note under .