Labor Department Obtains Appointment of Independent Fiduciary for Abandoned Buffalo, N.Y., Retirement Plan

Archived News Release — Caution: Information may be out of date.

Buffalo, New York - The U.S. Department of Labor has obtained a federal court order appointing an independent fiduciary to manage the abandoned retirement plan of the Geneva B. Scruggs Community Health Care Center of Buffalo.

When the health center ceased operations in April 2002, the retirement plan was left without a trustee to manage its assets, as required by the Employee Retirement Income Security Act. As a result, participants and beneficiaries could not obtain plan information or access accounts to reinvest before retirement or begin collecting annuities when they retired.

The department’s lawsuit, filed in the fall of 2005 in the U.S. District Court for the Western District of New York, sought the appointment of an independent fiduciary to administer the plan. As of March 31, 2004, the plan had 183 participants and $561,042 in assets. Equitable Insurance is custodian of plan funds.

According to James Benages, regional director for the Labor Department’s Employee Benefits Security Administration (EBSA) in Boston, U.S. District Judge William M. Skretny signed an order January 23 appointing Jacqueline Carmichael as the plan’s independent fiduciary. Carmichael will administer the plan; distribute assets to participants, beneficiaries and other creditors of the plan; and implement its orderly termination.

Said Benages, “Our legal action demonstrates that the department is committed to doing everything in its power to protect the retirement benefits promised to workers who participate in plans such as this, even when they are abandoned by their trustees.”

The department’s suit resulted from an investigation conducted by EBSA’s Boston office, which has jurisdiction for western New York. Employers and workers can contact that office at 617.565.9600 or EBSA’s toll free number, 1.866.444.EBSA (3272), for help with problems relating to private-sector pension and health plans.

In fiscal year 2005, EBSA achieved record monetary results of $1.7 billion related to pension, 401(k), health and other benefits of millions of American workers and their families. For more information see www.dol.gov/ebsa.

(Chao v. Geneva B. Scruggs Community Health Care Center Tax-Sheltered Annuity Plan)
Civil Action No. 05-CV-696-S

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Archived News Release — Caution: Information may be out of date.

Contact Name: John M. Chavez
Phone Number: 617.565.2075