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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**1980**
AO/ Date/ Reference	Recipient	Description of Request
1980-14A 03/12/1980 3(1) 3(2) 3(4) 3(5)	Mr. Bruce L. Castor Ballard, Spahr, Andrews & Ingersoll 30 South 17th Street Philadelphia, Pennsylvania 19103	Whether the benefit program maintained by the Lower Merion Township Police Pension Association is subject to title I of the Employee Retirement Income Security Act of 1974 (ERISA).
1980-13A 03/05/1980 408(e)	Mr. James B. Slusher Associate General Counsel Kansas City Life Insurance Company Broadway at Armour P.O. Box 139 Kansas City, Missouri 64141	Whether the sale of capital stock of Kansas City Life Insurance Company (the Company) held by the Trustees of the Kansas City Life Insurance Company Savings and Investment Plan (the Plan) directly to the Company amounts to a prohibited transaction within the meaning of the Employee Retirement Income Security Act of 1974 (ERISA).
1980-12A 02/29/1980 3(1) 3(2) 3(4) 3(5) 3(7) 4(b)	Mr. Michael B. Himmel Special Attorney U.S. Department of Justice Room 635 Federal Building 970 Broad Street Newark, N.J. 07120	This Advisory Opinion concerns the coverage of the Pension Plan of the Welfare and Pension Fund, Mid-Jersey Trucking Industry, Local 701, International Brotherhood of Teamsters (the Pension Plan) under both title I of the Employee Retirement Income Security Act of 1974 (ERISA) and the predecessor law, the Welfare and Pension Plans Disclosure Act, as Amended (WPPDA).
1980-11A 02/29/1980 3(2)	Mr. A.D. Fields Chief, Employee Plans Technical Branch E:EP:T:1 Internal Revenue Service 1111 Constitution Avenue, N.W. Washington, D.C. 20224	Whether the proposed tax deferred annuity plan (the TDA Plan) for the employees of St. Luke’s Hospital Medical Center (the Employer) will not fall within the scope of regulation §2510.3-2(f) because it does not involve salary reduction agreements or agreements to forego an increase in salary.
1980-10A 02/11/1980 3(1)	Mr. George T. Boggs Dickstein, Shapiro & Morin 2101 L Street, N.W. Washington, D.C. 20037	Whether Totalcare Health Plan (THP) constitutes an employee welfare benefit plan within the meaning of section 3(1) of ERISA.
1980-09A 02/07/1980 403(d)	J.M. Klancnik, Esq. McDermott, Will & Emery 111 West Monroe Street Chicago, Illinois 60603	Whether the Plan which “terminated” prior to January 1, 1975, which (pursuant to section 414(a) of ERISA) is the date upon which Part 4 generally became effective, is not required by section 403(d)(1) to distribute its assets pursuant to section 4044.
1980-08A 02/01/1980 406(a) 406(b)(2) 408(b)(2)	Mr. Robert A. Georgine National Coordinating Committee for Multiemployer Plans Suite 603 815 Sixteenth Street, N.W. Washington, D.C. 20006	Whether section 408(b)(2) of the Act exempt(s) not only arrangements for office space and services, but also arrangements for the purchase or lease of goods necessary for the establishment and operation of a plan.
1980-07A 02/01/1980 3(2)	Mr. Walter J. Fessler Lum, Biunno & Tompkins 550 Broad Street Newark, New Jersey 07102	Whether the proposed Fairleigh Dickinson University Voluntary Termination Program (VTP) is a severance pay plan which is not deemed to be an employee pension benefit plan within the meaning of section 3(2) of the Employee Retirement Income Security Act of 1974 (ERISA).
1980-06A 01/30/1980 3(1) 3(2)	Mr. Harvey Katz Paul A. Tanker & Associates 1521 Locust Street Philadelphia, Pennsylvania 19102	Whether the Wilmington Finishing Company Incentive Payment Program (the Program) which enables employees of Wilmington Finishing Company (the Company) to share in a portion of the Company’s profits each year is not an employee benefit plan as defined in section 3(3) of ERISA.
1980-05A 01/25/1980 4(b)	Mr. H. Herbert Phillips Chairman, Employee Benefits Committee Northern Telecom Inc. International Plaza Nashville, Tennessee 37217	Whether the Business Travel Accident Insurance program (the Plan) of Northern Telecom, Ltd. which covers employees of Northern Telecom, Ltd., a Canadian corporation, and employees of its subsidiaries, including its United States subsidiary, Northern Telecom, Inc. is exempt from coverage under title I of ERISA by section 4(b)(4) because the majority of its employees are nonresident aliens of the United States.