Advisory Opinions

Requests for interpretations and other rulings under Title 1 of ERISA are handled by the Office of Regulations and Interpretations under the provisions established by ERISA Procedure 76-1. The office answers inquiries from individuals and organizations in the form of advisory opinions, which apply the law to a specific set of facts, or information letters, which merely call attention to well established principles or interpretations.

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**1992**
AO/ Date/ Reference	Recipient	Description of Request
1992-14A 05/20/1992 3(40) 514(b)(6)(A)	Mr. Jerry W. Fickes New Mexico Department of Insurance P.O. Drawer 1269 Santa Fe, New Mexico 87504-1269	Whether the health benefit program offered by New Mexico Medical Associates, Inc. (NMMA) is a multiple employer welfare arrangement (MEWA) within the meaning of section 3(40) of title I of ERISA and therefore subject to the applicable insurance laws of the State of New Mexico to the extent permitted under section 514(b)(6)(A) of ERISA.
1992-13A 05/19/1992 301(a)(3) 4(b)(5), 201(2) 401(a)(1)	Mr. William J. Kilberg Gibson, Dunn & Crutcher 1050 Connecticut Avenue, NW Washington, D.C. 20036-5306	Whether a "rabbi trust” which is designed to invest primarily in employer stock, would be "unfunded" for the purposes of the so-called "excess benefit" and "top hat" plan exemptions under sections 4(b)(5), 201(2), 301(a)(3) and 401(a)(1) of Title I of the Employee Retirement Income Security Act of 1974 (ERISA).
1992-12A 04/20/1992 3(1)	Mr. Erwin A. Peterson Peterson, Bell, Converse & Jensen 2780 North Snelling Avenue Suite 327 Roseville, Minnesota 55113	Whether an employee welfare benefit plan within the meaning of section 3(1) of title I of ERISA may provide benefits not specifically set forth in that section.
1992-11A 03/31/1992 403(a) 404(a)(1)	Mr. Stanley Neyhart Neyhart, Anderson, Nussbaum, Reilly & Freitas P.O. Box 7426 San Francisco, CA 94120	Whether unit voting procedures used by the Boards of Trustees; specifically, the Greyhound Lines, Inc.- Amalgamated Council Retirement and Disability Trust; Greyhound Lines, Inc.- Amalgamated Council Health and Welfare Trust; Greyhound Lines, Inc.- Amalgamated Council Cash or Deferred Trust; and the West Des Moines-Greyhound Amalgamated Council Health and Welfare Trust comply with section 403 and 404 of ERISA.
1992-10A 03/24/1992 3(32)	Mr. Ernest J. Korpela Administrator Cooperative Educational Service Agency No. 12 301 Thirteenth Avenue East Ashland, Wisconsin 54806	Whether the Northern Wisconsin Schools Employee Benefit Plan and Trust is a "governmental plan" within the meaning of section 3(32) of title I of ERISA and, therefore, is excluded by section 4(b)(1) from coverage under that title.
1992-09A 03/24/1992 3(33) 4(b)(2)	Ms. Diane C. Sonderegger Kennedy, Holland, DeLacy & Svoboda Kennedy Holland Building 10306 Regency Parkway Drive Omaha, Nebraska 68114	Whether the Franciscan Healthcare Corporation of Colorado Springs Retirement Plan constitutes a church plan within the meaning of section 3(33) of title I of ERISA and, accordingly, whether the plan is excluded from the requirements of title I of ERISA by section 4(b)(2) thereof.
1992-08A 02/20/1992 406(a) 406(b) 406(b)(1)	Mr. Leon E. Irish Jones, Day, Reavis & Pogue Metropolitan Square 1450 G Street, N.W. Washington, D.C. 20005-2088	Whether the proposed formation and operation of the International Small Float Fund, a limited partnership violate the prohibited transaction provisions of ERISA.
1992-07A 02/20/1992 3(40) 514(b)(6)	Mr. Lee P. Jedziniak South Carolina Department of Insurance P.O. Box 100105 Columbia, South Carolina 29202-3105	Whether the Alliance Employee Leasing Corporation I Voluntary Employees' Beneficiary Association Plan and Trust (the Trust) is an employee welfare benefit plan within the meaning of section 3(1) of title I of ERISA, and whether the Trust is a multiple employer welfare arrangement (MEWA), within the meaning of ERISA section 3(40) and, therefore, subject to applicable state insurance laws at least to the extent permitted under section 514(b)(6)(A) of title I of ERISA.
1992-06A 02/07/1992 3(40) 514(b)(6)(A)	Mr. Clifford J. Hudson Investigator, Unit 109-3A Texas State Board of Insurance 333 Guadalupe Street P.O. Box 149104 Austin, Texas 78714-9104	Whether the Homefurnishings Manufacturers Association Health Benefit Trust is a multiple employer welfare arrangement (MEWA) within the meaning of section 3(40) of title I of ERISA and therefore subject to applicable state regulation.
1992-05A 01/27/1992 3(40) 514(b)(6)	Mr. Chuck Huff Georgia Insurance Department Seventh Floor, West Tower Floyd Building 2 Martin Luther King, Jr., Drive Atlanta, Georgia 30334	Whether the Action Staffing, Inc. health benefit program is an employee welfare benefit plan within the meaning of section 3(1) of title I of ERISA, and whether the Action Staffing, Inc. health benefit program is a multiple employer welfare arrangement (MEWA), within the meaning of ERISA section 3(40) and, therefore, subject to applicable state insurance laws at least to the extent permitted under section 514(b)(6)(A) of title I of ERISA.