An NQDC account with compensation deferred both before and after January 1, 2005, the effective date of the legislation that added Section 409A to the tax code. Nonqualified deferred compensation plans set up before January 1, 2005, along with money deferred before that date, escape the 409A rules and are considered grandfathered. For the flexibility in pre-2005 deferred amounts to be available, your company or NQDC plan provider needs to set up separate accounts for your pre-2005 deferrals and your deferrals after January 1, 2005. That type of bifurcation allows active and retired executives to receive distributions of pre-2005 deferrals outside the Section 409A framework.