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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**1981**
AO/ Date/ Reference	Recipient	Description of Request
1981-76A 10/14/1981 3(1) 3(5)	Mr. R. B. Ashworth Deputy Commissioner State Board of Insurance 1110 San Jacinto Austin, Texas 78786	Whether the Trust was an employee welfare benefit plan covered by title I of the Employee Retirement Income Security Act of 1974 (ERISA).
1981-75A 10/06/1981 3(2)	Mr. Richard J. Gillingham Associate Counsel Office of the General Counsel Western Union Telegraph Company One Lake Street Upper Saddle River, New Jersey 07458	Whether the Western Union Telegraph Company-Communication Workers of America, AFLCIO, Severance Pay Agreement (SPA) is a pension plan, a welfare plan, or neither.
1981-74A 09/29/1981 3(2)	Mr. J. Gerald Martin Fulbright & Jaworski Bank of the Southwest Building Houston, Texas 77002	Whether the Plan is an employee benefit plan within the meaning of ERISA section 3(3), as further defined by ERISA sections 3(1) and 3(2), and thus is covered by ERISA title I.
1981-73A 09/24/1981 3(1) 3(5)	Mr. Bruce M. Hollowick Suite 404 Champion Forest Regency Plaza 13231 Champion Forest Drive Houston, Texas 77069	Whether the Merchants Discount Service Association Trust (the MDSA Trust) is an employee benefit plan within the meaning of ERISA section 3(3).
1981-72A 09/16/1981 404(a)(1) 406(b)(3) 408(b)(4)	Mr. Edward K. Mosenthal Berle & Berle 122 East 42nd St. New York, N.Y. 10168	Whether the early redemption of time deposits by Savings Bank Trust Company (SBT) as trustee of certain employee benefit plans would be a violation of section 406(b)(3) of ERISA.
1981-71A 09/11/1981 3(1)	Mr. William F. Gleason, Jr. Vice President, Secretary and Counsel The Continental Corporation 80 Maiden Lane New York, New York 10038	Whether the program of salary continuance constitutes a mere payroll practice within the meaning of 29 C.F.R. §2510.3-1(b)(2) rather than an employee welfare benefit plan described in ERISA section 3(1) and, thus, is excluded from coverage by title I of ERISA.
1981-70A 09/09/1981 514	Mr. Jon Michael Grogan Mayer, Brown & Platt 231 South LaSalle Street Chicago, Illinois 60604	Whether the State of Illinois general interest rate laws are preempted under ERISA section 514.
1981-69A 07/28/1981	Ms. Kathleen K.O. Conahan Conahan & Conahan Suite 1500 745 Fort Street Honolulu, Hawaii 96813	Whether the contribution by an employer of an option to a defined benefit plan does not violate section 4975 of the Internal Revenue Code.
1981-68A 08/13/1981 104	Lawrence J. Hass, Esquire Groom and Nordberg Suite 450 1775 Pennsylvania Avenue, NW Washington, D.C. 20006	Whether the WCT Plan may distribute certain plan materials by third-class mail without a guarantee of return and forwarding postage and comply with Section 2520.104b-1(b)(1) or ERISA concerning the manner in which materials are distributed to participants and beneficiaries.
1981-67A 08/10/1981 407(d)(3)	Mr. Hiram Knott Olwine, Connelly, Chase, O'Donnell & Weyher 299 Park Avenue New York, N.Y. 10171	Whether a money purchase plan which constitutes part of an employee stock ownership plan (ESOP) is an eligible individual account plan for purposes of section 407(b)(1) of the Employee Retirement Income Security Act of 1974 (the Act).