How does (did) this election work?

It is my understanding that such an election had to have been made prior to 1/1/84. How exactly was it made? A special form on an individual's tax return?

Could someone elect pretty much anything? For example, could someone elect no distributions until age 100? Were there any restrictions.

Thanks for your help.

See Notice 83-23 for the procedural and substantive requirements for a TEFRA 242(b) election.

In general, the method of distribution elected must be one that was permissible under pre-TEFRA law. For corporate plans, that meant that the election must satisfy the incidental benefit rule (the election must be one that would result in more than 50% of the plan's benefit being paid to the participant). This would mean that a 100% deferral until age 100 would not qualify since the participant's life expectancy at the time of the election was certainly somewhere far short of age 100! A 100% deferral until age 75 might satisfy the pre-TEFRA rules.

There have also been a few IRS PLRs reviewing TEFRA elections for compliance with the pre-TEFRA rules. You might want to take a look at these.