Cite as: 513 U. S. 414 (1995)
Opinion of the Court
equal to the rate the plan normally uses for its calculations; and (3) it then asks how many such annual payments it will take to "amortize" the withdrawal charge at that interest rate. 29 U. S. C. §§ 1399(c)(1)(A)(i), (c)(1)(A)(ii), (c)(1)(C).
It is as if Brown, who owes Smith $1,000, were to ask, not, "How much must I pay each month to pay off the debt (with 7% interest) over two years?"—but, rather, "Assuming 7% interest, how many $100 monthly payments must I make to pay off that debt?" To bring the facts closer to those of this case, assume that an employer withdraws from an under-funded plan in mid-1981; that the withdrawal charge (calculated as of the end of 1980) is $23.3 million; that the employer normally contributes about $4 million per year to the plan; and that the plan uses a 7% interest rate. In that case, the statute asks: "How many annual payments of about $4 million does it take to pay off a debt of $23.3 million if the interest rate is 7%?" The fact that the statute poses the installment-plan question in this way, along with an additional feature of the statute, namely, that the statute forgives all debt outstanding after 20 years, 29 U. S. C. § 1399(c)(1)(B), suggests that maintaining level funding for the plan is an important goal of the statute. The practical effect of this concern with maintaining level payments is that any amortization interest § 1399(c)(1)(A)(i) may cause to accrue is added to the end of the payment schedule (unless forgiven by § 1399(c)(1)(B)).
Third, when must the employer pay? The statute could not make the employer pay the calculated sum (or begin to pay that sum) on the date in reference to which one calculates the withdrawal charge, for that date occurs before the employer withdraws. (It is the last day of the preceding plan year, i. e., December 31, 1980, for an employer who withdraws in 1981.) The statute, of course, might make the withdrawing employer pay (or begin payment) on the date the employer actually withdraws. But, it does not do so. Rather, the statute says that a plan must draw up a schedule
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