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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**1980**
AO/ Date/ Reference	Recipient	Description of Request
1980-39A 06/27/1980 206(d) 403(c )(1) 404(a)(1)(A) 406(b)(2) 514	Mr. George A. Grenfell, Jr. Assistant District Attorney P.O. Box 12946 Fresno, California 93779	Whether, under the Employee Retirement Income Security Act of 1974 (ERISA), it is permissible to garnish the Laborers’ Vacation-Holiday Trust Fund for Northern California (the Fund) for child support arrearages.
1980-38A 06/27/1980 3(1)	Mr. James N. Schuth Miles & Stockbridge 10 Light Street Baltimore, Maryland 21202	Whether the Black & Decker Disability Plan and Trust (the Plan) is: (1) an "employee welfare benefit plan" within the meaning of section 3(1) of ERISA; (2) an "employee benefit plan" within the meaning of ERISA section 3(3); (3) an "employee benefit plan" as provided in ERISA section 514(b)(2)(B); (4) exempt from the participation and vesting requirements of part 2 of title I of ERISA as an "employee welfare benefit plan" within the meaning of ERISA section 201(1); (5) exempt from the funding requirements of part 3 of title I of ERISA as an "employee welfare benefit plan" as defined in ERISA section 301(a)(1); and (6) exempt from title IV of ERISA. You state that the Plan is provided to employees of Black & Decker.
1980-37A 06/24/1980 3(2)	Mr. Brian J. Lake Thornburg, McGill, Deahl, Harman, Carey & Murray Sixth Floor, First Bank Building South Bend, Indiana 46601	Whether the Torrington Company Severance Pay Plan (the Severance Plan) constitutes an “employee welfare benefit plan” under section 3(1) of ERISA, and, further, that the Severance Plan is not an "employee pension benefit plan" under section 3(2) of ERISA.
1980-36A 06/18/1980 3(32) 4(b)(1)	Mr. Gary P. Amaon Butler, Binion, Rice, Cook & Knapp Esperson Buildings Houston, Texas 77002	Whether the Metropolitan Transit Authority Union Pension Plan Local 260, TWU, AFL-CIO (the Plan) is a governmental plan within the meaning of ERISA section 3(32) and thus, is excluded from coverage of ERISA title I requirements by ERISA section 4(b)(1).
1980-35A 06/09/1980 3(32) 4(b)(1)	Mr. Gerald A. Sumida General Counsel Center for Cultural and Technical Interchange Between East and West, Inc. P.O. Box 656 Honolulu, Hawaii 96809	Whether the Center for Cultural and Technical Interchange Between East and West, Inc. Corporation (the Corporation) is an agency or instrumentality of the Government of the United States, or of the Government of the State of Hawaii, or of both and whether the pension and welfare plans of the Corporation are covered under the provisions of the Employee Retirement Income Security Act of 1974 (ERISA).
1980-34A 06/09/1980 201(a) 3(3)	Mr. James N. Schuth Miles & Stockbridge 10 Light Street Baltimore, Maryland 21202	Whether the Plan is an “employee welfare benefit plan” within the meaning of section 3(1) of ERISA. Whether the Plan is an “employee benefit plan” within the meaning of ERISA section 3(3). Whether the Plan is an “employee benefit plan” as provided in ERISA section 514(b)(2)(B); Whether the Plan is exempt from the participation and vesting requirements of part 2 of title I of ERISA as an “employee welfare benefit plan” within the meaning of section 201(1). Whether the Plan is exempt from the funding requirements of part 3 of title I of ERISA as an “employee welfare benefit plan” as defined in ERISA section 301(a)(1).
1980-33A 06/03/1980 403 404(a)(1) 406 407	Mr. John Thomas Kenney Manager, Benefit Programs Chrysler Corporation P.O. Box 1919 Detroit, Michigan 48288 cc: Mr. Marc Stepp	Whether a certain understanding denominated the “Letter Agreement” or “Agreement” between the Chrysler Corporation (Chrysler) and the International Union, United Automobile, Aerospace and Agricultural Implement Workers of America (UAW) raises issues under part 4 of Title I of ERISA.
1980-32A 05/23/1980 104(b)	Mr. David Durfee Corporate Trust Officer Exchange National Bank of Tampa P.O. Box 1469 Tampa, Florida 33601	Whether a document providing notification of a plan trustee’s change in name must be furnished to plan participants and beneficiaries in accordance with section 104(b)(1) of the Employee Retirement Income Security Act of 1974 (ERISA) and 29 C.F.R. §2520.104b-3.
1980-31A 05/22/1980 3(1) 3(2)	Abraham M. Stanger, Esq. Trubin Sillcocks Edelman & Knapp 375 Park Avenue New York, New York 10022	Whether neither the Existing Plans nor the Consolidated Plan are (1) employee welfare benefit plans within the meaning of section 3(1) of ERISA, (2) employee pension benefit plans within the meaning of section 3(2) of ERISA, or (3) employee benefit plans within the meaning of section 3(3) of ERISA.
1980-30A 05/21/1980 406	PRO Administrators, Inc. PRO Services, Inc. Cannon & Company, Inc. PRO Funds, Inc. 1107 Bethlehem Pike Flourtown, PA 19031	Whether under the affiliations among Cannon, Services and Administrators: (1) Administrators may continue to serve as the “nominal” plan administrator, (despite the limitation on the availability of Prohibited Transaction Exemption 77-9 (PTE 77-9),1 and (2) Cannon and Services may continue to rely on PTE 77-9 with respect to the classes of transactions described in paragraphs (a), (b), (c), (d) and (f) of Section III of the exemption.