The IRS has issued Notice 2024-81. This notice provides guidance on the corporate bond monthly yield curve, the corresponding spot segment rates used under § 417(e)(3), and the 24-month average segment rates under § 430(h)(2) of the Internal Revenue Code. In addition, this notice provides guidance as to the interest rate on 30-year Treasury securities under § 417(e)(3)(A)(ii)(II) as in effect for plan years beginning before 2008 and the 30-year Treasury weighted average rate under § 431(c)(6)(E)(ii)(I).
YIELD CURVE AND SEGMENT RATES
Section 430 specifies the minimum funding requirements that apply to single-employer plans (except for CSEC plans under § 414(y)) pursuant to § 412. Section 430(h)(2) specifies the interest rates that must be used to determine a plan’s target normal cost and funding target. Under this provision, present value is generally determined using three 24-month average interest rates (“segment rates”), each of which applies to cash flows during specified periods. To the extent provided under § 430(h)(2)(C)(iv), these segment rates are adjusted by the applicable percentage of the 25-year average segment rates for the period ending September 30 of the year preceding the calendar year in which the plan year begins.1 However, an election may be made under § 430(h)(2)(D)(ii) to use the monthly yield curve in place of the segment rates.
Section 1.430(h)(2)-1(d) provides rules for determining the monthly corporate bond yield curve,2 and § 1.430(h)(2)-1(c) provides rules for determining the 24-month average corporate bond segment rates used to compute the target normal cost and the funding target. Consistent with the methodology specified in § 1.430(h)(2)-1(d), the monthly corporate bond yield curve derived from October 2024 data is in Table 2024-10 at the end of this notice. The spot first, second, and third segment rates for the month of October 2024 are, respectively, 4.42, 5.04, and 5.46.
The 24-month average segment rates determined under § 430(h)(2)(C)(i) through (iii) must be adjusted pursuant to § 430(h)(2)(C)(iv) to be within the applicable minimum and maximum percentages of the corresponding 25-year average segment rates. Those percentages are 95% and 105% for plan years beginning in 2023, 2024 and 2025. For this purpose, any 25-year average segment rate that is less than 5% is deemed to be 5%. The 25year average segment rates for plan years beginning in 2023, 2024 and 2025 were published in Notice 2022-40, 2022-40 I.R.B. 266, Notice 2023-66, 2023-40 I.R.B. 992, and Notice 2024-67, 2024-41 I.R.B. 726, respectively.