Guidance documents database

A plan maintained exclusively for substantial owners is exempt from coverage under Title IV.

The purchase of participating group annuity contracts to satisfy all accrued benefits with a termination/reestablishment transaction of a plan is permissible.

Addresses whether certain types of labor disputes involving an employer’s employees would constitute a withdrawal from a multiemployer plan and specifically cites strikes and lockouts as examples.

Addresses what may constitute a complete or partial withdrawal from a multiemployer plan as a result of certain events occurring during contract negotiations; addresses the labor dispute exemption from withdrawal liability.

Addresses the definition of “building and construction industry” and explains that the term should be given the same meaning as it has under the Taft-Hartley Act.

Provides that because guaranteed benefits are determined at time of plan termination, a clause in a plan that provides for the cessation of benefits in pay status of participants who violate prohibitions against certain competitive employment will be determined at such time that the clause becomes applicable to a participant.

Conditions under which PBGC would allow a company to restore its pension plan after filing a notice to terminate.

A plan operating under a favorable IRS determination letter is covered under Title IV.

Discusses and compares a seller's withdrawal liability risks and obligations pre-MPPAA and post-MPPAA, and whether an employer's failure to object to an estimate of withdrawal liability (for informational purposes) bars that employer from challenging that underlying estimate upon a subsequent actual assessment of withdrawal liability.

The fact that a benefit formula may be modified by a plan amendment does not alter the defined benefit nature of the plan.  If the plan is amended to convert it to an individual account plan, it would be treated as terminated.

Addresses the definition of the term "building and construction industry" for purposes of the construction industry exception to withdrawal.

PBGC, once it is appointed statutory trustee of a terminated plan, pays lump sums to participants entitled to small benefits.

Addresses the legal effect of PBGC approval of a multiemployer plan amendment.

A plan where participants are eligible for benefits as calculated from time to time by an actuary is a defined benefit plan providing basic benefits.

PBGC is precluded from guaranteeing expanded benefits to which participants would become entitled to (become nonforfeitable) upon the plan’s termination.

Employer is an association of medical doctors, principal business is administrative in nature. Plan does not meet the Professional Service Employer plan exemption.

Review of rules governing plan administration after mass withdrawal; modification of withdrawal liability payment schedules; and recharacterization of contributions as withdrawal liability payments.

A terminated multiemployer plan cannot transfer assets and liabilities to other multiemployer plans pursuant to reciprocity agreement.

Regards a statutory provision under which a contributing employer to a multiemployer plan that sells its assets to an unrelated buyer does not withdraw from the plan if (among other things) the buyer posts a bond or escrow for 5 years and the sales contract makes the seller secondarily liable if the buyer withdraws during the 5 plan years after the sale. This opinion letter addresses whether the buyer may escrow a letter of credit instead of cash.

Merger/transfer rules do not apply to merger of a welfare fund and pension fund.

Physician-secretary is a Professional Service Employer plan exempt from Title IV coverage.

A trust under a plan must be "created or organized" in the "United States" and be "maintained at all times as a

Plan is not an Individual account plan and is not exempt from coverage under Title IV.

A plan without a written plan document is not a qualified plan and is excluded from coverage.

Addresses whether the construction industry exception to withdrawal applies where a contractor terminates its CBA, its employees do not perform any more work for which the contractor was previously required to make contributions, but the contractor subcontracts for the performance of such work.