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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**1979**
AO/ Date/ Reference	Recipient	Description of Request
1979-06 01/16/1979 3(1) 514	Mr. Robert L. Kelley Monsanto Company 800 Lindbergh Boulevard St. Louis, Missouri 63166	Whether section 514 preempts the application of General Statutes of Connecticut sections 38-3876 and 12-212c as those provisions relate to three employee welfare benefit plans which provide medical, hospital, surgical and other benefits to employees of the Monsanto Company and certain of its subsidiaries.
1979-05 01/16/1979 3(2)	Mr. Andrew J. Donohue Attorney at Law Suite 300 120 Wall Street New York, New York 10005	Whether First Investors Corporation (FIC) would have an employee pension benefit plan within the meaning of section 3(2) of ERISA if FIC permits its employees to purchase individual retirement accounts (IRAs) funded with shares of First Investors Fund, Inc., a mutual fund which is underwritten by FIC and its affiliate First Investors Management Company, Inc. (FIMCO), and which receives investment advice from FIMCO.
1979-04a 01/15/1979 3(1)	Lillick McHose & Charles Attorneys at Law Two Embarcadero Center San Francisco, California 94111	Whether the vacation and holiday pay plans established by 1975 Pacific Maritime Association-International Longshoremen’s and Warehousemen’s Union agreement are considered "employee welfare benefit plans" covered under Title I of ERISA.
1979-03a 01/15/1979 3(1)	Mr. Neil S. Kurlander Niles, Barton & Wilmer 929 N. Howard Street Baltimore, Maryland 21201	Whether the Steamship Trade Association of Baltimore-Baltimore International Longshoremen’s Association Guaranteed Annual Income Fund, which guarantees covered employees with at least 700 credit hours per year annual incomes equal to the existing hourly wage times 1,900 hours, is an employee welfare benefit plan within the meaning of ERISA section 3(1).
1979-02 01/09/1979 3(1)	Mr. Stephen Gainer Counsel Bank of America Legal Department Bank of America National Trust and Savings Association Box 37000 San Francisco, California 94137	Whether the Wells Settlement Trusts established under a consent decree to provide relevant educational and developmental programs for women employees at Bank of America are employee welfare benefit plans and therefore covered under ERISA.
1979-01 01/08/1979 3(1)	Mr. William K. Ecklund Felhabor, Larson, Fenlon and Vogt West 1080 First National Bank Building Saint Paul, Minnesota 55101	Whether the National Training Fund for the Sheet Metal and Air Conditioning Industry is an employee welfare benefit plan within the meaning of ERISA section 3(1).

**1978**
AO/ Date/ Reference	Recipient	Description of Request
1978-25A 11/13/1978 407	Mr. Robert E. Falb Silverstein and Mullens 1776 K Street, N.W. Washington, D.C. 20006	Whether the Katz & Besthoff Employee Savings and Retirement Plan complies with specific provisions of ERISA, particularly in relation to the crediting of employer securities, the issuance of promissory notes, and its classification as an eligible individual account plan.
1978-23A 10/26/1978 3(2)	Mr. Hugh M. Jones Phillips, Lytle, Hitchcock, Blaine & Huber 3400 Marine Midland Center Buffalo, New York 14203	Whether a proposed payment program by Columbus McKinnon Corporation to former employees to partially offset the effects of inflation upon pension benefits would constitute an employee benefit plan within the meaning of section 3(3) of ERISA.
1978-21A 10/16/1978	Theodore R. Groom, Esq. Groom and Nordberg Suite 450 1775 Pennsylvania Ave, N.W. Washington, D.C. 20006	Whether the method of crediting hours of service used by the Western Conference of Teamsters Pension Trust Fund meets the requirements of regulation 29 CFR § 2530 .200b-3(d) under ERISA.
1978-20A 10/06/1978	Mr. Norman Zolot Attorney at Law 9 Washington Avenue Hamden, Connecticut 06514	Whether the methods used by the New England Teamsters and Trucking Industry Pension Fund (NET Fund) for crediting hours of service and determining benefit accrual for less than a full year of service comply with the requirements set forth under the Employee Retirement Income Security Act of 1974 (ERISA).