SUMMARY PLAN DESCRIPTION
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D. Type of Plan:
Both Plans are pension Plans that provide benefits upon retirement and other
benefits incidental thereto. Part A is a defined Benefit plan and Part B is
a defined contribution plan.
COMMENT: Sort of right but mostly wrong. All deductions from member checks go into defined contribution Plans. The defined benefit plan was from 1962 to 1972, past service years for which no contributions were ever made.
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J. Participation, Eligibility and Benefits:
"Employees are entitled to participate in these Plans if they work under the collective
bargaining agreement described in item I above. There is no age or years of service
requirement for participation."
COMMENT: Age and years of service are hallmarks of a defined benefit plan. "J" admits these attributes do not exist in the IBEW LOCAL 332 Pension Plan. Therefore it just could be our plan is really a Defined Contribution Plan as outside experts have suggested. And,therefore using the "Lehman time rule" is unfair to some.
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Prudent action by Plan Fiduciaries
"In addition to creating rights for Participants, ERISA imposes duties upon the people who are responsible for the operation of the employee benefit plan. The people who operate your Plan, called "fiduciaries" of the Plan, have a duty to do so prudently and in the interest of you and other plan Participants and beneficiaries. No one, including your employer, your union, or any other person, may fire you or otherwise discriminate against you in any way to prevent you from obtaining a pension benefit or exercising your rights under ERISA."
COMMENT: If the fiduciaries were operating in my interest why did they err on the side of my ex-spouse. It was the Plan who authored the domestic relations order that was eventually reduced in my favor. One of my ERISA rights is easy access to Federal Court. Another is to seek restitution for injury. And the Supreme court ruled recently in LaRue v. DeWolff that a Participant injured due to fiduciary error has a right to restitution.
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Enforce your rights
"If your claim for a pension benefit is denied in whole or ignored, in whole or in part, you have a right to know why this was done, obtain copies of documents relating to the decision without charge, and to appeal any denial, all within certain time schedules."
The Plan is one up on me here, I paid them for a copy of my plan files.
"Under ERISA there are steps you can take to enforce the above rights. For instance, if you request a copy of Plan documents or the latest annual report from the Plan and do not receive them within thirty (30)days, you may file suit in a Federal court. In such a case, the court may require the Plan Administrator to provide the materials and pay you up to One Hundred and Ten Dollars ($110) a day until you receive the materials. If you have a claim for benefits that is denied or ignored, in whole or in part, you may file a suit in state or Federal Court. In addition, if you disagree with the Plan's decision or lack thereof concerning the qualified status of a domestic relations order, you may file suit in Federal Court........."
The first issue in this case was my right to file in Federal Court. The Plan said no to Federal Court and suggested State court as the alternative. The Plan has forgotten their roll as fiduciary is also to protect me and all plan participants and beneficiaries. Therefore, if I am correct in my allegations of Plan errors the Plan must correct itself for the good of all members not just because I was injured (although that's reason enough) but because others also may have been or could be injured.
Always drink upstream from the herd. Will Rogers (thanks Charley)
Happy Trails
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