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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**1978**
AO/ Date/ Reference	Recipient	Description of Request
1978-25A 11/13/1978 407	Mr. Robert E. Falb Silverstein and Mullens 1776 K Street, N.W. Washington, D.C. 20006	Whether the Katz & Besthoff Employee Savings and Retirement Plan complies with specific provisions of ERISA, particularly in relation to the crediting of employer securities, the issuance of promissory notes, and its classification as an eligible individual account plan.
1978-23A 10/26/1978 3(2)	Mr. Hugh M. Jones Phillips, Lytle, Hitchcock, Blaine & Huber 3400 Marine Midland Center Buffalo, New York 14203	Whether a proposed payment program by Columbus McKinnon Corporation to former employees to partially offset the effects of inflation upon pension benefits would constitute an employee benefit plan within the meaning of section 3(3) of ERISA.
1978-21A 10/16/1978	Theodore R. Groom, Esq. Groom and Nordberg Suite 450 1775 Pennsylvania Ave, N.W. Washington, D.C. 20006	Whether the method of crediting hours of service used by the Western Conference of Teamsters Pension Trust Fund meets the requirements of regulation 29 CFR § 2530 .200b-3(d) under ERISA.
1978-20A 10/06/1978	Mr. Norman Zolot Attorney at Law 9 Washington Avenue Hamden, Connecticut 06514	Whether the methods used by the New England Teamsters and Trucking Industry Pension Fund (NET Fund) for crediting hours of service and determining benefit accrual for less than a full year of service comply with the requirements set forth under the Employee Retirement Income Security Act of 1974 (ERISA).
1978-18A 09/20/1978 3(2)	Mr. P. Kelleher Riess Molony, Nolan, North, Riess & Hall Suite 500 Commerce Building New Orleans, Louisiana 70112	Whether certain monthly payments by the Douglas-Guardian Warehouse Corporation to some employees upon retirement constitute an employee pension benefit plan within the meaning of ERISA.
1978-17A 09/15/1978 3(3) 406	Mr. Kevin B. McGrath Shea, Gould, Climenko & Casey 330 Madison Avenue New York, New York 10017	Whether certain welfare and pension payments to retired members of the Newspaper and Mail Deliverers’ Union of New York and Vicinity are exempt from coverage under Title I of ERISA.
1978-16A 09/14/1978 3(1)	Mr. Ira Michael Shepard Carr, Jordan, Coyne and Savits 900 Seventeenth Street, N.W. Washington, D.C. 20006	Whether the Maryland General Hospital Group Legal Services Plan is an employee welfare benefit plan within the meaning of section 3(1) of ERISA.
1978-15A 08/18/1978 3(2)	Mr. Michael W. Melton Mr. Ronald S. Rizzo Mr. James F. Carey Kindel & Anderson Twenty-Sixth Floor 555 South Flower Street Los Angeles, California 90071	Whether an employee’s proposed IRA, where the trustee of the IRA purchases stock from the employer’s parent company at fair market value, constitutes an employee pension benefit plan under the ERISA.
1978-14A 07/27/1978 3(21)	Mr. Wayne L. Horvitz Director Federal Mediation and Conciliation Service Washington, DC	Whether Mr. Eric J. Schmertz is acting as a fiduciary within the meaning of section 3(21) of ERISA in deciding, as an arbitrator, the employers’ contribution rate to the New York City Nursing Home-Local 144 Welfare Fund pursuant to the terms of a collective bargaining agreement.
1978-13A 06/27/1978 3(2)	Mr. Theron E. Fry Liddell, Sapp, Zivley & Brown 500 Gulf Building Houston, Texas 77002	Whether proposed supplemental payments to certain former employees of the Houston Chronical Publishing Company who are receiving pension benefits constitute an employee benefit plan within the meaning of ERISA.