Cash Balance Plan Participants' Document Requests not
Subject to ERISA Time Limit
January 28, 2009 (PLANSPONSOR.com) - The U.S.
District Court for the Western District of Kentucky has
determined that an employer did not have to provide certain
documents requested by cash balance plan participants within
30 days as required by the Employee Retirement Income
Security Act (ERISA).
In its opinion, the court said Commonwealth
Industries, Inc. "acted in a reasonably timely and
sufficient manner to comply with the plaintiffs'
requests." Judge Jennifer B. Coffman noted that the
employer attempted to produce the documents, even trying
to timely obtain those that were not in its
possession.
According to the opinion, specifically, the
plaintiffs claim that the defendants did not provide the
following documents within the thirty days as required by
ERISA §§ 104(b)(4), 502(a)(1)(A), (c)(1): a complete copy
of all ERISA § 204(h) notices; a complete copy of the
plan amendments; a statement of the plaintiffs'
respective normal retirement accrued benefit; and a
complete copy of the plan document reflecting the form of
benefits available upon retirement - as represented on
the pan retirement application. The plaintiffs ultimately
received all requested documentation, but asked the court
for a penalty of $110 per day for each day past the
30-day requirement that the documents had not been
received.
Coffman noted that the § 204(h) notice is a form
communication that does not differ among employees, so it
did not need to be sent separately in response to each
request. The court also found that the complete wording
of a 1997 amendment was included in a new comprehensive
plan document provided to all participants upon the
change from a traditional pension to a cash balance plan,
so participants were provided with a complete copy of the
plan amendment.
The court further said that those types of
historical documents are not the types of documents
required to be provided under ERISA § 104.
As for the requested statement of the accrued
benefits, the court said the information requested was
not formal plan documents or summaries of material
modifications so they did not have to be provided within
the 30-day time limit of ERISA.
The case is
Collins v. Commonwealth Industries Inc.,W.D. Ky., No. 07-57-C, 1/26/09.
Rebecca Moore
editors@plansponsor.com