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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**1982**
AO/ Date/ Reference	Recipient	Description of Request
1982-66A 12/15/1982 103 104	Mark P. Altieri, Esq. Fulbright & Jaworski 800 Bank of Southwest Building Houston, Texas 77002	Where the PBGC appointed itself trustee of the Inpak, Inc. Pension Plan effective March 31, 1980, whether the administrator of the Plan is required to comply with the following reporting and disclosure requirements of ERISA for any year subsequent to the plan year ended March 31, 1980: (1) preparation and filing of an annual return/report (Form 5500 series), including any schedules, financial statements and accounting and/or actuarial opinions required to be appended thereto; (2) preparation and distribution of summary annual reports to participants; and (3)preparation and distribution of summary plan descriptions to participants and filing a copy of the summary plan description with the Secretary of Labor.
1982-65A 12/14/1982	Mr. Homer L. Elliot Attorney for the Philadelphia Saving Fund Society Drinker, Biddle & Reath Broad and Chestnut Streets Philadelphia, Pennsylvania 19107	Whether the payment of finder fees by the Philadelphia Saving Fund Society (PSFS) to investment brokerage firms which refer an individual to PSFS for the establishment of a PSFS IRA would not be a prohibited transaction under section 4975(c)(1) of the Code (or section 406 of ERISA).
1982-64A 12/14/1982 408(b)(4)	Ms. Penny Howe Gallo Ware, Fletcher & Freidenrich 525 University Avenue Palo Alto, California 94301	Whether Fireside Thrift Co., an industrial loan company, is a "bank or similar financial institution" within the meaning of section 408(b)(4) of the Employee Retirement Income Security Act of 1974 ("ERISA").
1982-63A 12/09/1982 3(32) 4(b)(1)	Mr. Joseph T. Auwers Executive Director Detroit/Wayne County Port Authority Suite 1370, Tower 100 Renaissance Center Detroit, Michigan 48243	Whether the Detroit/Wayne County Port Authority’s "cafeteria" plan covering only Authority employees, which may, under certain options, include its employees in a larger group in order to obtain favorable group insurance rates, is a governmental plan.
1982-62A 12/08/1982 408(b)(2)	Identification Number: F-2411A	Whether under section 406 of ERISA (Company) and other members of its controlled group may retain (Bank) as trustee of various employee benefit plans which (Company) or any member of its controlled group maintain, or in the future may maintain, and that (Bank) may be paid reasonable compensation for trustee service performed. Whether plan assets may be invested in (Bank's) commingled short-term investment fund without engaging in a prohibited transaction under section 406 of ERISA.
1982-61A 11/17/1982 103 104	Mr. Alan M. Ahart Ross & DeMonte 12301 Wilshire Boulevard Suite 600 Los Angeles, California 90025	Whether employers adopting SEP arrangements with Foothill Thrift, an industrial loan company, would not be precluded from using the alternative method of compliance prescribed in 29 CFR §2520.104-49 by reason of certain limitations on the withdrawal of funds by participants exercisable by Foothill Thrift. Whether the limitations on withdrawal provisions of Foothill Thrift's IRA investment certificates, which could possibly affect withdrawals of contributions under a SEP arrangement, are deemed to be "provisions that prohibit the withdrawal of funds by participants" within the meaning of such phrase as it is used in §2520.104-49.
1982-60A 11/12/1982 3(1) 3(2)	Mr. Peter J. Sherry Vice President Ford Motor Company The American Road Dearborn, Michigan 48121	Whether the Ford Motor Company’s Salaried Income Security Plan is an employee welfare benefit plan within the meaning of section 3(1) of ERISA and not an employee pension benefit plan within the meaning of section 3(2) of ERISA.
1982-59A 11/10/1982 3(1) 3(5)	Mr. James D. Hutchinson Steptoe & Johnson 1250 Connecticut Avenue Washington, D.C. 20036	Whether the Chiropractic Health Plan Trust is an employee welfare benefit plan within the meaning of section 3(1) of ERISA. Whether the state chiropractic associations would be "employers" within the meaning of section 3(5) of ERISA in relation to a program of benefits which are among those identified in section 3(1) of ERISA and which is offered to the members of these chiropractic associations?
1982-58A 11/08/1982 3(32) 4(b)(1)	Ms. Elizabeth Burns Koby Weinberg and Green 100 South Charles Street Baltimore, Maryland 21201	Whether a pension plan established and maintained by Blind Industries and Services of Maryland (BISM) only for its employees and a plan maintained both by BISM for its employees and by the Maryland Vending Facilities Program, Division of Vocational Rehabilitation (DVR), a division of the Maryland Department of Education, for former BISM employees now employed by DVR are governmental plans excluded from coverage by title I of ERISA.
1982-57A 11/02/1982 3(1) 3(4) 3(5) 514(a)	Mr. Francis X. Roche Coopers & Lybrand One Post Office Square Boston, Massachusetts 02109	Whether the Eastern Small Business Federation Group Trust is an employee welfare benefit plan within the meaning of section 3(1) of ERISA and is covered by title I of ERISA. Whether section 514 of ERISA preempts the provisions of Chapter 676 of the Connecticut General Laws (Conn. Chap. 676) from applying to the Trust.