409A is a section of the Internal Revenue Code that was enacted as part of the American Jobs Creation Act of 2004 that regulates nonqualified deferred compensation plans. It provides for the deferrals of compensation under a nonqualified deferred compensation plan. It provides rules for the timing of deferral and payout elections (performance-based compensation, as defined by IRC 409A, elections must be elected 6 months prior to the end of the performance period), written plan document requirements and the inability to accelerate distributions, except in certain situations. 409A does permit changes to the timing of the distribution as long as it meets certain requirements. Changes must be submitted at least 12 months prior to the current distribution date, the new election does not take effect for 12 months, and the new distribution cannot be any sooner than 5 years from the current scheduled distribution date.