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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**2000**
AO/ Date/ Reference	Recipient	Description of Request
2000-02A 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.
2000-01A 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
1999-17A 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.
1999-16A 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.
1999-15A 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).
1999-14A 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.
1999-13A 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.
1999-12A 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.
1999-11A 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.
1999-10A 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.