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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**1985**
AO/ Date/ Reference	Recipient	Description of Request
1985-20A 05/06/1985 407(a)(2) 407(c )(3)(C)	Albert G. Moore, Jr., Esq. Shearer & Wells, P.C. Suite 620, South Tower Atlanta Financial Center 3333 Peachtree Road, N.E. Atlanta, Georgia 30326	Whether the proposed merger of the Retirement Plan and the Hourly Plan would permit these plans to be treated as a single continuing plan for the purpose of applying ERISA sections 407(a)(2) and 407(a)(3) so that the Merged Plan will be deemed to satisfy the holding and acquisition rules of those provisions if the fair market value of the aggregate shares of qualifying employer securities in the Retirement Plan and the Hourly Plan respectively as of any date after 1974 was 10 percent or less of the fair market value of the aggregate assets of each plan.
1985-19A 05/06/1985 408(c )(2)	Paul D. Myrick, Esquire Darby & Myrick, P.C. 200 St. Anthony Street P.O. Box 2565 Mobile, Alabama 36652	Whether a fiduciary who receives full-time pay from an employer association acting on behalf of a group of employers as a sponsor of an employee benefit plan, where employees of the contributing employers are participants in the plan, would be precluded under section 408(c)(2) from receiving compensation from a plan for his services as trustee.
1985-18A 04/23/1985	Mr. Homer L. Elliott Drinker, Biddle & Reath Philadelphia National Bank Building Broad and Chestnut Streets Philadelphia, Pennsylvania 19107	Whether the purchases and sales of stock of the Philadelphia Saving Fund Society (PSFS) by self-directed individual retirement accounts (IRAs) and self-directed Keogh plans for which PSFS acts as custodian or trustee violate the prohibited transaction provisions of section 406 of the Employee Retirement Income Security Act of 1974 (ERISA) and section 4975 of the Internal Revenue Code (the Code).
1985-17A 04/10/1985	Andrea M. Ramsay, Esquire Hall, Turner and Pike Post Office Box 1179 Wichita, Kansas 67201	Whether Associated Advertising Agency, Inc. is a party in interest under section 3(14) of ERISA or a disqualified person under section 4975(e)(2) of the Code with respect to the IRA established on behalf of Mr. Preston D. Huston, an officer, director of Associated, and, as a result, whether the lease between the IRA and Associated constitutes a prohibited transaction under section 406 of ERISA or 4975 of the Code.
1985-16A 04/04/1985 406(b)(1) 408(b)(2)	Mr. David J. Dorne Seltzer, Caplan, Wilkins & McMahon 3003-3043 Fourth Avenue Post Office Box X 33999 San Diego, CA 92103	Whether the use by the Bank of its in-house discount brokerage for plans it serves as trustee would not constitute a violation of section 406(b)(1) of ERISA if the authorization to use such services was made in advance by an account manager or based on a standing instruction.
1985-15A 04/04/1985 406(b)(1) 408(b)(2)	Mr. David J. Dorne Seltzer, Caplan, Wilkins & McMahon 3003-3043 Fourth Avenue Post Office Box X 33999 San Diego, CA 92103	Whether the use by the Bank of its in-house discount brokerage for plans it serves as trustee would not constitute a violation of section 406(b)(1) of ERISA if the authorization to use such services was made in advance by an account manager or based on a standing instruction.
1985-14A 03/26/1985 3(33) 4(b)(2)	Mr. W. Russell Hamilton, III Muller, Mintz, Kornreich, Caldwell Casey, Crosland & Bramnick, P.A. Suite 1800, One Biscayne Tower Two South Biscayne Boulevard Miami, Florida 33131	Whether the Retirement Plan for Employees of Holy Cross Hospital (the Retirement Plan) would be a church plan within the meaning of section 3(33) of title I of ERISA and therefore exempt from coverage under that title pursuant to section 4(b)(2) of ERISA.
1985-13A 03/26/1985 3(32) 4(b)(1)	Mr. Z. B. Hill Finance Director City of Raleigh P.O. Box 590 Raleigh, North Carolina 27602	Whether the Medical Benefit Trust (the Trust) established by the City of Raleigh, North Carolina, to implement its Medical Benefits Plan (the Plan) for its employees would be considered a governmental plan described in section 4(b)(1) of title I of ERISA and not subject to the reporting and disclosure requirements and other requirements of title I of ERISA.
1985-12A 03/08/1985 103(a)(3)	Mr. Thomas D. Wilcox Executive Director and General Counsel National Association of Stevedores 2011 Eye Street, N.W. Suite 601 Washington, D.C. 20006	Whether the financial statements of the Plan as a whole remain subject to the audit requirements prescribed in section 103(a)(3)(A) of ERISA and regulation §2520.103-1.
1985-11A 03/08/1985 3(1) 3(5) 3(7)	Mr. John E. Kratz, Jr. Attorney at Law Piper & Marbury 1100 Charles Center South 36 South Charles Street Baltimore, Maryland 21201	Whether the First Maryland Bancorp Health Benefit Plan (the Plan) is an employee welfare benefit plan covered by title I of the Employee Retirement Income Security Act of 1974 (ERISA).