403(b) - Bankruptcy Protection Before 2005

Bankruptcy Protection Before 2005

Before the passage of the bankruptcy reform act in 2005, a 403(b) that was not an ERISA plan was not accorded protected status as property that could be claimed as exempt by the debtor under the U.S. Bankruptcy Code. In In re Barnes, 264 B.R. 415 (Bankr. E.D. Mich. 2001) Judge Spector held that the fixed-income annuity was not such a trust and could be reached by creditors. The variable account was held to fall within 541(c)(2) and was thus protected. Under the revised bankruptcy laws, 403(b) accounts, IRAs, and other retirement accounts are, in general, protected from creditors in bankruptcy.

For this reason, having an ERISA anti-alienation clause was protective of pensions before the bankruptcy law revisions, giving those pensions the same protection as a spendthrift trust. Some critics argued that this is disparate treatment of similar pension schemes and that more consistent protection was called for. The United States Congress took this argument to heart in the 2005 bankruptcy reform.