The Federal Circuits have generally held that ERISA prohibits waivers of claims to vested pension benefits. The D.C. Circuit prohibits waivers of vesting rights. The Seventh Circuit prohibits waivers of vested pension benefits, but allows individuals to settle non-pension disputes by choosing...

The U.S. Department of Labor (DOL) has proposed two sets of amendments to the ERISA fiduciary regulations that would discourage plans from making ESG/sustainable investment decisions (including selecting, keeping, or exercising ownership rights). These changes would affect not only ERISA plans,...

In Metropolitan Life v. Drainville, 2009 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 63613 (DC R.I. July 23, 2009), a federal district court in Rhode Island recently explained the requirements that a domestic relations order ("DRO") must satisfy to be a qualified domestic relation order (“QDRO”). The court held an...

Questions are often raised about who is entitled to death or survivor benefits from a federally regulated employee benefit plan, whether for federal employees, or for private employees by a plan governed by ERISA. The following principles generally resolve these questions: • Federal law does...

Part I of this Article proposes that ERISA severely limits the ability of individuals to release their claims to ERISA plan benefit entitlements. lt;brgt;lt;brgt;The ERISA prohibition of any agreement purporting to relieve fiduciaries of their duties voids any attempt to release claims to any...

In Kennedy v. DuPont Savings and Investment Plan (the quot;DuPont Planquot;), 2009 U.S. LEXIS 869 (January 26, 2009) the Supreme Court appeared to proclaim a quot;bright-line rulequot; that plan documents determine ERISA plan distributions. However, the Court blurred the bright-line rules...

In Kennedy v. DuPont Savings and Investment Plan (the quot;DuPont Planquot;), 2009 U.S. LEXIS 869 (January 26, 2009), the Supreme Court decided that if a voluntary disclaimer in a domestic relations order (quot;DROquot;) by the divorcing spouse of an ERISA pension plan participant did not comply...

Kennedy v. DuPont Savings Plan Administrator, No. 07-636 has become even more confused. The estate of a participant (William Kennedy denoted as William) claimed to be entitled to receive William's death benefit on the ground that the designated beneficiary and his former spouse (Liv Kennedy) had...

A substantial part of the assets of many individuals consists of benefits from life insurance and retirement plans (collectively "plan benefits" and "plans," respectively). As an individual's family, friends, and preferred charities change, the intended goals of the individual with respect to...

This article discusses when a pension or welfare plan governed by ERISA must comply with state law reporting, record-keeping and disclosure mandates. Any such mandate directed at an ERISA plan, a plan participant or beneficiary, a plan sponsor or contributing employer, or a third party's...