Advisory Opinions

Whether the retirement plan (the Plan) sponsored by Searle & Co. can exclude from its annual return/report (Form 5500) the report of an independent qualified public accountant, which is generally required by Section 103(a)(3)(B), of the Employee Retirement Income Security Act of 1974 but also may be limited by regulation 29 CFR 2520.103-8, because all of the Plan’s assets are held by a bank authorized by the Department of Treasury to perform as trustee, is subject to periodic audit and examination by both the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico and Federal agencies, and the return is accompanied by an actuarial report detailing the Plan’s general situation produced and certified annually by an enrolled actuary.

Whether section 514 of the Employee Retirement Income Security Act of 1974 preempts Colorado licensing requirements and interest limitations that otherwise would apply if the United Bank of Denver, which serves as trustee for one or more unnamed pension trusts and is authorized under the terms of the trusts to make loans to plan participants from the trust assets, makes such a such a loan.

Whether the A.I. McDermott Co., Inc. Health and Welfare Trust (the Trust), a welfare benefit plan with fewer than 100 participants, qualifies for the limited exemption to the reporting and disclosure requirements of title I of the Employee Retirement Income Security Act of 1974 for certain small welfare plans prescribed in 29 C.F.R. §2520.104-20.

Whether it is not a per se violation of section 406(b)(1) of the Employee Retirement Income Security Act of 1974 or section 4975(c)(1)(E) of the Internal Revenue Code of 1954 for Rogers, Casey & Barksdale, Inc. (RCB), an investment manager to recommend to an employee benefit plan (Plan) that it invest in any RCB-managed funds if RCB discloses the nature of its relationship to the managed fund and provides all other relevant information to an independent plan fiduciary who will, based on such information, independently review the proposed transaction and make the investment decision.

Whether certain new pension investment consulting services by the Equitable Life Assurance Society of the United States (Equitable), violate section 406(b)(1) of the Employee Retirement Income Security Act of 1974 and section 4975(c)(1)(E) of the Internal Revenue Code of 1954 (the Code).

Would the Trustees of a jointly administered labor-management Vacation Trust Fund (Vacation Fund) and Pension-Annuity Trust Fund (Pension Fund), engage in one or more prohibited transaction(s) by terminating the Vacation Fund (inactive since June 1975), and, after paying unclaimed benefits from that Fund, transferring remaining funds to the Pension Fund, and, if so, would an agreement to indemnify the Vacation Trust from any harm resulting from the transfer be an exculpatory provision under section 410(a) of the Employee Retirement Income Security Act of 1974.

Would the Trustees of a jointly administered labor-management Vacation Trust Fund (Vacation Fund) and Pension-Annuity Trust Fund (Pension Fund), engage in one or more prohibited transaction(s) by terminating the Vacation Fund (inactive since June 1975), and, after paying unclaimed benefits from that Fund, transferring remaining funds to the Pension Fund, and, if so, would an agreement to indemnify the Vacation Trust from any harm resulting from the transfer be an exculpatory provision under section 410(a) of the Employee Retirement Income Security Act of 1974.

Whether the initial deposit or the maintenance deposit for when-issued trading in AT&T securities would not constitute a plan asset for purposes of Part 4 of Subtitle B of Title I of ERISA; whether the initial deposit or the maintenance deposit is not required to be held in trust in accordance with section 403(a) of ERISA: and whether a broker-dealer would not become a fiduciary solely by reason of holding the initial deposit or maintenance deposit of a plan trading in when-issued AT&T securities.

Whether a Company and other members of its controlled group may from time to time retain an investment manager which is a lower tier subsidiary of the Company to manage assets of certain qualified employee benefit plans which the Company or any member of its controlled group maintains, or in the future may maintain, and that Investment Manager may be paid reasonable compensation, either from the assets of the Company or the assets of the plans, for performing such investment management services without engaging in a prohibited transaction under section 406 of ERISA.

Whether a broker-dealer will not be deemed a fiduciary under section 3(21)(A)(ii) of ERISA unless the broker-dealer provides investment advice for distinct, non-transactional compensation.