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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**1982**
AO/ Date/ Reference	Recipient	Description of Request
1982-11A 02/03/1982 408(b)(5)	Mr. Henry Lawrie, Jr. Hopkins, Sutter, Mulroy, Davis & Cromartie One First National Plaza Chicago, Illinois 60603	Whether, to the extent premiums paid by a Plan are already included in the numerator and denominator of five percent fraction of section 408(b)(5)(B) of ERISA, indemnity reinsurance premiums paid from one insurer to another within an affiliated group for the reinsurance of the risk related to that Plan will not again be included in the numerator or denominator of that fraction.
1982-10A 02/01/1982 3(1) 3(4) 3(5)	Mr. Emil J. Molin Deputy Commissioner Legal-Financial Services Department of Insurance State of Indiana 509 State Office Building Indianapolis, Indiana 46204	Whether the Minister's Group Trust (the Trust) is an employee welfare benefit plan within the meaning of section 3(1) of ERISA.
1982-09A 02/01/1982 3(1) 403	Ms. Marsha J. Murphy Jolley, Moran, Walsh, Hager & Gordon 1300 Traders Bank Building 1125 Grand Avenue Kansas City, Missouri 64106	Whether the Bricklayer's Union No. 4 Health and Welfare Fund (the Fund) is an employee welfare benefit plan under ERISA and, if so, how to properly terminate the Fund.
1982-08A 02/01/1982 3(32)	Mr. Gary W. Maeder Kindel & Anderson Twenty-sixth Floor 555 South Flower Street Los Angeles, California 90071	Whether three Individual Retirement Accounts are not pension plans within the meaning of section 3(2) of ERISA and accordingly are not subject to title I of ERISA. Whether loans from the IRAs to the Mitchell Rubber Products, Inc Company are not prohibited transactions under section 4975 of the Internal Revenue Code.
1982-07A 02/01/1982 3(32) 4(b)(1)	Mr. William T. Knox IV Lowenstein, Sandler, Brochin, Kohl, Fisher & Boylan 65 Livingston Avenue Roseland, New Jersey 07068	Whether the New Jersey Transit Corporation, Transport of New Jersey and Maplewood Equipment Company are agencies or instrumentalities of the State of New Jersey within the meaning of the definition of the term "governmental plan" in section 3(32) of ERISA. Whether so long as they retain that status, the pension plans maintained by them will be governmental plans excluded under section 4(b)(1) from coverage under title I of ERISA.
1982-06A 01/29/1982 514(a) 514(b)	Mr. Alan P. Cleveland Sheehan, Phinney, Bass & Green Hampshire Plaza 1000 Elm Street Manchester, New Hampshire 03101	Whether State of New Hampshire Senate Bill 117 "relative to extension of coverage under group health insurance policies," applicable to all group health policies and to all self-funded or self-insured employee health benefit plans is preempted by section 514 of title I of ERISA.
1982-05A 01/27/1982 403(c )(1)	Mr. George G. Short Alef, Short & Grunfeld 190 North Canon Drive, Fourth Floor Beverly Hills, California 90210	Whether the transfer the surplus funds in the Southern California Rock Products and Ready Mixed Concrete Industries Welfare Plan to the Southern California Rock Products and Ready Mixed Concrete Industries pension plans to reduce the unfunded liabilities would violate sections 403, 404 and/or 406 of ERISA.
1982-04A 01/26/1982	Mr. Mark H. Kovey Scribner, Hall, Thornburg & Thompson Suite 700 1875 Eye Street, N.W. Washington, D.C. 20006	Whether the purchase from, or the continuance in force with, Transincorp, Transamerica Life, or Occidental insurance companies of a contract for life insurance, health insurance or annuities by any employee benefit plan covering employees of Transamerica Corporation or any member of the Transamerica controlled group is not a prohibited transaction under section 406 of ERISA or section 4975 of the Internal Revenue Code (the Code), by reason of the exemption contained in section 408(b)(5)(B) of ERISA and section 4975(d)(5)(B) of the Code. Whether the percentage formula contained in section 408(b)(5)(B) of ERISA and section 4975(d)(5)(B) of the Internal Revenue Code will not be applied separately to the insurance premium and annuity consideration receipts of Occidental, Transamerica Life and Transincorp.
1982-03A 01/12/1982	Mr. James M. Thomas Assistant Vice President Woburn Five Cents Savings Bank 19 Pleasant Street Woburn, MA 01801	Whether an employer who sponsors a non-Model SEP would be adversely affected, in terms of using the alternative method of compliance with the reporting and disclosure requirements provided under section 2520.104-49, if a participant directs the Bank to invest his/her funds in the "special notice account" which restricts withdrawal, despite the availability of other investment options which do not have such a restriction.
1982-02A 01/06/1982 3(32) 4(b)(1)	Mr. Grover C. Wilcher General Counsel Truman Medical Center 2301 Holmes Street Kansas City, Missouri 64108	Whether the Truman Medical Center Retirement Plan is a governmental plan within the meaning of ERISA section 3(32) and thereby is excluded from coverage under title I by section 4(b) of ERISA.