Advisory Opinions

Whether a program under which Integon Life Insurance Corporation (Integon), a member of a control group of corporations whose parent is Ashland Oil, Inc. (AOI), proposes to offer the opportunity to purchase life insurance to certain of its employees, certain employees of corporations affiliated with AOI, and certain employees of non-affiliated companies in the same control group is an employee benefit plan as defined by section 4(3) of title I of ERISA.

Whether the Individual Retirement Annuity (IRA) payroll deduction program that Farmers and Traders Life Insurance Company (the Company) offers its home office employees constitutes an employee pension benefit plan within the meaning of section 3(2) of title I of ERISA if the Company pays towards the premium an amount equal to the sales commission that the Company would pay an agent who sold a similar annuity.

Whether under certain circumstances an individual retirement account (IRA) payroll deduction program instituted by a securities broker (Employer) for the Employer’s own employees will constitute an employee pension plan within the meaning of section 3(2) of title I of ERISA if the Employer waives certain fees that it usually charges members of the public (non-employees) enrolling in similar IRAs offered by the employer.

Whether the Easco Corporation Health Benefit Plan, with Easco providing for a self-funded arrangement for benefits not in excess of a specified amount and Aetna Life Insurance Company paying benefits in excess of such amounts under a group insurance policy, is an employee welfare benefit plan covered by title I of the Employee Retirement Income Security Act of 1974 (ERISA).

Whether the Individual Retirement Account (IRA) payroll deduction program the Colorado National Bank of Denver (CNB) proposes to offer employees of employers not affiliated with CNB is an employee pension benefit plan within the meaning of section 3(2) of title I of ERISA.

Where the PBGC appointed itself trustee of the Inpak, Inc. Pension Plan effective March 31, 1980, whether the administrator of the Plan is required to comply with the following reporting and disclosure requirements of ERISA for any year subsequent to the plan year ended March 31, 1980: (1) preparation and filing of an annual return/report (Form 5500 series), including any schedules, financial statements and accounting and/or actuarial opinions required to be appended thereto; (2) preparation and distribution of summary annual reports to participants; and (3)preparation and distribution of summary plan descriptions to participants and filing a copy of the summary plan description with the Secretary of Labor.

Whether the payment of finder fees by the Philadelphia Saving Fund Society (PSFS) to investment brokerage firms which refer an individual to PSFS for the establishment of a PSFS IRA would not be a prohibited transaction under section 4975(c)(1) of the Code (or section 406 of ERISA).

Whether Fireside Thrift Co., an industrial loan company, is a "bank or similar financial institution" within the meaning of section 408(b)(4) of the Employee Retirement Income Security Act of 1974 ("ERISA").

Whether the Detroit/Wayne County Port Authority’s "cafeteria" plan covering only Authority employees, which may, under certain options, include its employees in a larger group in order to obtain favorable group insurance rates, is a governmental plan.

Whether under section 406 of ERISA (Company) and other members of its controlled group may retain (Bank) as trustee of various employee benefit plans which (Company) or any member of its controlled group maintain, or in the future may maintain, and that (Bank) may be paid reasonable compensation for trustee service performed. Whether plan assets may be invested in (Bank's) commingled short-term investment fund without engaging in a prohibited transaction under section 406 of ERISA.