Correct, the Lurkers have said that so long as members have 5 or 10 years of Gold or Plat. status, and the required qualifying total nights, they'll achieve the Gold or Plat. lifetime status.

I received a call today from an SPG rep. confirming my Lifetime Plat. I very much appreciated this outreach. Obviously a lot of attention went into this program. I recall that in a few of the years I re-qualified for Plat for the next calendar year, I did so via a double night/stay promotion. IIRC, though, I've been SPG Plat since the program started in 1998.