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
1981-46A 05/27/1981 408(e)	Mark A. Vogel, Esquire Weil, Gotshal & Manges 767 Fifth Avenue New York, New York 10022	Whether the act of purchasing the stock from the Plan is not a prohibited transaction under section 406 of ERISA by virtue of section 408(e) of ERISA, and whether the act of entering into the agreement pursuant to which the Company will purchase the stock from the Plan is not a prohibited transaction under section 406 of ERISA.
1981-45A 05/05/1981 3(21) 406(b)(2)	Karen Hawley Henry, Esq. Littler, Mendelson, Fastiff & Tichy The Hartford Building, 20th Floor 650 California Street San Francisco, California 94108	Whether an officer or member of the Board of Directors of Affiliated, who is also on the Board of Directors of Blue Cross, is prohibited by section 406(b)(2) of ERISA from participating in Affiliated's selection of the funding media or claims administrator of the Plan; and whether an officer or member of the Board of Directors of Affiliated, who is also a member of the Board of Directors of Blue Cross, is prohibited by section 406(b)(2) of ERISA from participating in decisions of the Board of Directors of Blue Cross which directly or indirectly affect the Plan.
1981-44A 05/04/1981 514	Mr. Frederick C. Kneip Milbank, Tweed, Hadley & McCloy 1 Chase Manhattan Plaza New York, New York10005	Whether the Savings and Security Plan for Non-Secretarial Employees of the Young Women's Christian Association (the Savings Plan) is an employee benefit plan within the meaning of ERISA section 3(2) and 3(3) which is covered under section 4(a); and 2) if the Savings Plan is an employee benefit plan, whether ERISA section 514 preempts the provisions of section 200 of the New York Insurance Law (NYIL section 200) as the latter affects the Savings Plan.
1981-43A 04/28/1981 103 104	Mr. Lawrence J. Hass Groom and Nordberg Suite 450 1775 Pennsylvania Avenue, N.W. Washington, D.C. 20006	Whether plans which participate in the Program may avail themselves of certain exemptions from the reporting and disclosure requirements set forth in regulations issued by the Department of Labor (the Department) under the Employee Retirement Income Security Act of 1974 (ERISA).
1981-42A 04/06/1981 408(b)(4)	Mr. R. Philip Steinberg Drinker, Biddle & Reath 1100 Philadelphia National Bank Building Broad and Chestnut Streets Philadelphia, PA 19107	Whether the early redemption of certificates of deposit by the Philadelphia Saving Fund Society (PSFS) as plan sponsor and trustee for The Philadelphia Saving Fund Society Incentive and Investment Plan (the Plan) would not constitute a prohibited transaction despite the fact that the Plan was required by regulations issued by the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation (FDIC) to pay a penalty to PSFS for the premature redemption of these time deposits.
1981-41A 04/06/1981 407	Garry P. Jerome, Esq. Pepper, Hamilton & Scheetz 123 South Broad Street Philadelphia, Pennsylvania 19109	Whether the Retirement Plan is also a single plan under section 407 of ERISA, and whether the provisions of section 407 of ERISA apply to the Retirement Plan as a whole and not on an employer-by-employer basis.
1981-40A 04/06/1981 3(1) 3(4)	Ms. Joan Comparet Corporations Counsel Department of Corporations State of California 600 S. Commonwealth Avenue Los Angeles, California 90005	Whether the Peoples Dental (PD) are not employee welfare benefit plans within the meaning of section 3(1) of ERISA.
1981-39A 04/06/1981 3(1) 3(2)	Mr. John Gaal Bond, Schoeneck & King One Lincoln Center Syracuse, New York 13202	Whether space-available passes and reduced-rate travel benefits (Travel Benefit Program) offered by Eastern to its retired employees constitute an employee benefit plan covered under the Employee Retirement Income Security Act of 1974 (ERISA).
1981-38A 03/31/1981 3(1) 3(4)	Mr. Mark S. Geschwer Counsellor at Law 442 Main Street Fort Lee, New Jersey 07024	Applicability of title I of the Employee Retirement Income Security Act of 1974 (ERISA) to the Garden State Dental Benefits Program, Inc. (Garden State).
1981-37A 03/31/1981 3(1) 3(2)	Mr. Ray W. Frederick Suite 1717 69 West Washington Street Chicago, Illinois 60602	Whether the Severance Pay Plan is an employee pension benefit plan, as defined under section 3(2) of ERISA, or an employee welfare benefit plan, as defined under section 3(1) of ERISA.