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
1981-66A 08/10/1981 3(14)	Mr. Richard A. Naegele Wickens, Herzer & Panza Co., L.P.A. 1144 West Erie Avenue Lorain, Ohio 44052	Whether the proposed loan by the Plan to the Lakeland Medical Center, Inc. (the Medical Center) raises issues under Part 4 of Title I of the Employee Retirement Income Security Act of 1974 (the Act) and section 4975 of the Internal Revenue Code of 1954 (the Code).
1981-65A 08/03/1981 3(2)	Mr. Alexander Welch Lynch & Welch 31 St. James Avenue Boston, Massachusetts 02116	Whether the Escrow Account is not an employee pension benefit plan within the meaning of section 3(2) of ERISA and is not an employee benefit plan within the meaning of section 3(3) of ERISA, it is not subject to title I of ERISA.
1981-64A 07/24/1981 3(16) 3(32) 4(b)(1)	Carroll J. Savage, Esq. Ivins, Phillips & Barker 1700 Pennsylvania Avenue, N.W. Washington, D.C. 20006	Whether the reporting and disclosure requirements of Part 1 of title I of the Employee Retirement Income Security Act of 1974 (ERISA) apply to the Public Service Electric and Gas Company (PSE & G).
1981-63A 07/24/1981 3(1) 514	Ms. Katherine D. Woodruff Vice President, Legal Counsel Beacon Insurance Company P.O. Box 633 Wilkesboro, North Carolina 28697	Whether the plans of seven Holiday Inns funded by a trust created by each of the Holiday Inns are employee welfare benefit plans within the meaning of section 3(1) of ERISA. Second, whether section 514 of ERISA preempts the procedural requirements of the Florida Department of Insurance (Insurance Department) which calls for a predetermination by the Department of Labor (the Department) that an employee benefit plan is subject to ERISA.
1981-62A 07/21/1981 403( c) 403(a) 404(a) 514	Mr. L. Gerald Roach Deputy Commissioner Financial Condition Division Bureau of Insurance State Corporation Commission Box 1157 Richmond, Virginia 23209	Whether the Credit Union is an employee organization within the meaning of section 3(4) of ERISA, and whether the group legal services program is an employee welfare benefit plan within the meaning of section 3(1) of ERISA
1981-61A 07/21/1981 3(1) 3(4)	Mr. Ira Michael Shepard Schmeltzer, Aptaker & Sheppard, P.C. 1800 Massachusetts Avenue, N.W. Washington, D.C. 20036	Whether the N&W Employees Credit Union (the Credit Union) is an employee organization within the meaning of section 3(4) of ERISA and whether a prepaid legal services program sponsored by the Credit Union for its members is an employee welfare benefit plan covered by ERISA title I.
1981-60A 07/21/1981 104 3(2) 3(3)	Mr. Homer L. Elliott Drinker Biddle & Reath 1100 Philadelphia National Bank Building Broad and Chestnut Street Philadelphia, Pennsylvania 19107	Whether the Plan is not subject to the provisions of title I of ERISA.
1981-59A 07/15/1981 103 3(4)	Mr. William Kinnunen, Jr. Chairman Employees' Benefit Fund Munising Mill of Kimberly-Clark Corporation Munising, Michigan 49862	Whether the Fund is subject to the ERISA and whether an accountant's opinion is necessary as part of the annual report filed by the Fund. Finally, if the Fund's annual report is required to include an accountant's opinion you request that the Department of Labor (the Department) grant an exemption from that requirement.
1981-58A 07/02/1981 4(b)	Mr. J. Patrick Pokorny Associate Director of Employee Benefits Pickands Mather & Company 1100 Superior Avenue Cleveland, Ohio 44114	Whether the Pension Plan for Bargaining Unit Employees of Wabush Mines, Pickands Mather & Company, Managing Agent, Arnaud Railway Company and Wabush Lake Railway Company, Limited (the Plan), constitutes an employee pension benefit plan subject to coverage under title I of the Employee Retirement Income Security Act of 1974 (ERISA).
1981-57A 06/29/1981 3(2)	Mr. Gary W. Maeder Kindel & Anderson Twenty-Sixth Floor 555 South Flower Street Los Angeles, California 90071	Whether an individual retirement account (IRA) established by Christopher Stone to receive his distribution from his previous employer's tax-qualified retirement plan is subject to title I of ERISA.