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This paper discusses the 2003 case IRS v. Snyder, as well as related case law, which addresses the issue of whether the IRS can be prevented from enforcing a lien on ERISA accounts. 

The central issue in IRS v. Snyder, 343 F.3d 1171 (9^th Cir.2003), was whether an IRS claim for delinquent taxes secured outside of bankruptcy by a lien on an ERISA-qualified pension plan is “secured” within the meaning of § 506(a).  At the time the paper was written, courts were divided on this issue.  The 9^th Circuit in Snyder held that the IRS’s claim is not “secured” within the meaning of § 506(a) because “a debtor’s interest in an ERISA-qualified plan is excluded from the bankruptcy estate pursuant to 11 U.S.C. § 541(c)(2).”  Snyder, 343 F.3d at 1173.