the plan. The plan will not be able to pay benefits when due. PBGC's long-term cost can be expected to be unreasonably higher if it does not terminate the plan. A termination initiated by the PBGC is sometimes called an involuntary termination. The benefits paid by the PBGC after a plan termination may be less than those promised by the employer. See Pension Benefit Guaranty Corporation for details. Multiemployer plans A multiemployer plan may be terminated in one of three ways: It may be amended so that participants receive no credit for future service. All contributing employers may withdraw from the plan or stop making contributions to it. It may convert into a defined contribution plan. Non-ERISA status and bankruptcy In 2005, the BAPCPA amended the Bankruptcy Code, by exempting most organized retirement plans, even those not subject to ERISA, and accorded them protected status, claimable as exempt property by a debtor declaring bankruptcy under the U.S. Bankruptcy Code. Now, most pension plans have the same protection as an ERISA anti-alienation clause giving these pensions the same protection as a spendthrift trust. The only remaining unprotected areas are the SIMPLE IRA and the SEP IRA. The SEP IRA is functionally similar to a self-settle trust, and a sound policy reason would exist to not shield SEP IRAs, but many financial planners argue that a rollover (or direct transfer) from a SEP IRA to a rollover IRA would give those funds protected status, too. Finding statutes Portions of ERISA are codified in various places of the United States Code, including , and Internal Revenue Code sections and (relating to the Individual Retirement Account) and sections through , and , and . A cross-reference between the sections of the ERISA law and the corresponding sections in the U.S.Code can be found at http://www.harp.org/erisaxref.htm. See also Bankruptcy in the United States Pegram v. Herdrich Vivien v. WorldCom Fifth Third Bancorp v. Dudenhoeffer SECURE Act of 2019 References External links Employee Retirement Income Security Act of 1974 (PDF/details) as amended in the GPO Statute Compilations collection Department of Labor 2003 "interpretive bulletin," Field Assistance Bulletin 2003-3, May 19, 2003, concerning allocation of expenses in a defined contribution plan. Guide to ERISA rights from the United States Department of Labor LA Times, 21 August 2005, "The Safety Net She Believed In Was Pulled Away When She Fell" (registration required) List of provision numbers in the