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.

Data Dictionary

2000
AO/ Date/ Reference Recipient Description of Request
02/28/2000
3(33)

Mr. Robert A. Johnson
Buchanan Ingersoll, P.C.
One Oxford Centre
301 Grant Street, 20th Floor
Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania 15219-1410

Whether certain employee benefit arrangements of the College are "church plans" within the meaning of § 3(33) of ERISA.  If the Plans are not "church plans," they would be employee benefit plans within the meaning of the Act.

02/18/2000
3(32)

Mary L. Stoll, Esq.
56th Floor - Key Tower
700 Fifth Avenue
Seattle, Washington 98104-5056

Whether the status of the Trust Fund as a "governmental plan" under section 3(32) of ERISA would be adversely affected if the Trust Fund were extended to cover employees of Local 71 (Union), all of whom are non-governmental employees.

1999
AO/ Date/ Reference Recipient Description of Request
12/28/1999
404(a)(1)(D)

Thomas J. Lilly
Lilly & Bienstock
300 Garden City Plaza
Garden City, New York 11530

Regarding the fiduciary responsibility provisions of ERISA. Specifically, whether an assertion made by Fund trustees that they may only be removed (other than by death or resignation) "for cause" would establish lifetime terms of appointment inconsistent with the fiduciary responsibility requirements of ERISA and Advisory Opinion 85-41A.

12/09/1999
406(b)(1)

Lennine Occhino
Mayer, Brown & Platt
190 South La Salle Street
Chicago, Illinois 60603-3441

Whether the payment of certain performance-based compensation to Mount Lucas Management Corporation by employee benefit plan clients would violate section 406(b) of ERISA or section 4975 of the Internal Revenue Code of 1986.

11/19/1999
3(32)

Melvin H. Pizer, Esq.
Blitman & King
The 500 Building, Suite 1100
500 South Salina Street
Syracuse, New York 13202

Whether the East Islip Teachers' Association, Local 2618, AFT Welfare Trust Fund is a "governmental plan," as defined in ERISA section 3(32) and, thus, that it is excluded from ERISA Title I coverage by section 4(b)(1).

11/10/1999
606

Mr. Pieter J. Doerr
COBRA Compliance Systems, Inc.
15 E. Washington Street
P.O. Box 889
Coldwater, Michigan 49036-0889

Regarding the continuation coverage provisions applicable to group health plans under Part 6 of Title I of ERISA.

09/29/1999
206(d)(3)

Brian G. Belisle
Oppenheimer Wolff & Donnelly LLP
Plaza VII
45 South Seventh Street, Suite 3400
Minneapolis, Minnesota 55402-1609

Regarding how a plan administrator should treat domestic relations orders the plan administrator has reason to believe are "sham" or "questionable" in nature.

09/22/1999
404(a)

Theodore M. Lieverman, Esq.
Tomar, Simonoff, Adourian, O’Brien,
Kaplan, Jacoby & Graziano
Tomar Plaza
20 Brace Road
Cherry Hill, New Jersey 08034-0379

Whether the Sheet Metal Workers International Association National Pension Fund may honor a side bar agreement with the Welfare Funds to pay the Welfare Funds certain monies received in settlement of litigation, with respect to which the Welfare Funds and the National Pension Fund were co-plaintiffs, without contravening Title I of ERISA.

08/20/1999
PTE 84-14

Michael A. Lawson, Esq.
Skadden, Arps, Slate, Meagher & Flom, LLP
300 South Grand Avenue
Los Angeles, California 90071-3144

Whether LaSalle Advisors Limited Partnership, which previously satisfied the financial requirements of a "qualified professional asset manager" as set forth in section V(a)(4) of PTE 84-14, continues to satisfy those requirements after merging with and into a newly formed corporation.

07/26/1999
3(32)

Susanne K. Reed, Esq.
Assistant General Counsel
School and Legal College Services
Sonoma County Office of Education
5340 Skylane Boulevard
Santa Rosa, California 95403

Whether participation by twenty-eight employees of the Western Association of Schools and Colleges in the California Public Employees' Retirement System would adversely affect the status of CalPERS as a "governmental plan" within the meaning of section 3(32) of ERISA.