The U.S. Internal Revenue Service (IRS) has proposed regulations that provide guidance on the application of the accrual rule for defined benefit plans under section 411(b)(1)(B) of the Internal Revenue Code (Code) in cases where plan benefits are determined on the basis of the greatest of two or more separate formulas. These regulations would affect sponsors, administrators, participants, and beneficiaries of defined benefit plans. The proposed rule would provide a limited exception to the existing requirement to aggregate the accrued benefits under one of three accrual rules in order to determine whether the accrued benefits under the plan for participants satisfy the current rules. A plan would be eligible for this exception only if each of the separate formulas uses a different basis for determining benefits. A traditional defined benefit plan which determined benefits based on highest average compensation that is amended to add a cash balance formula would be eligible for this exception where, in order to provide a better transition for longer service active participants, the plan provides that a group of participants is entitled to the greater of the benefit provided by the hypothetical account balance and the benefit determined under the continuing traditional formula The IRS welcomes public comments on these regulations if submitted by September 16, 2008.