Also known as: retirement benefit · pension benefits
Written by attorneys · grounded in primary & secondary sources — see below
Payments or other compensation furnished to a worker upon cessation of employment due to age or length of service, typically through pension or deferred compensation plans. Such benefits may be characterized as marital property subject to division upon divorce and are often protected by anti-alienation provisions that limit assignment or testamentary transfer.
Ryan Roberts, a sitting judge, engaged in voluntary illegal drug use and repeatedly failed to appear for scheduled hearings despite entering a treatment program. The judicial conduct commission found his actions constituted conduct prejudicial to the administration of justice and gross dereliction of duty. As a direct result, the commission removed him from office and denied his claim to accrued retirement benefits.
Rebecca Ross received disability benefits that automatically converted to retirement benefits upon reaching full retirement age. When the agency proposed termination based on an updated medical review, she requested a hearing. The court applied the Mathews balancing test to determine what process was due before her retirement benefits could be cut off.
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Ralph Richardson, a minority shareholder frozen out of Springside Nursing Home, Inc., sought to recover the value of his interest including accrued retirement benefits that the majority had withheld. The court examined whether the majority's actions breached their fiduciary duty by denying him the economic benefits tied to his ownership stake.
Rina Rahman sued her former employer after it refused to pay accumulated retirement benefits following her termination. She alleged the refusal was in bad faith and analogous to an insurer's bad faith denial of policy benefits, seeking tort damages in addition to the withheld amounts.
Roberto Reyes, a younger worker, challenged his employer's retirement plan that provided enhanced benefits only to older employees nearing retirement age. The Court held that the ADEA does not prohibit favoring older workers in retirement benefits, so his reverse-discrimination claim failed.
Ronald Reed's ex-wife obtained a state court order directing payment of a portion of his ERISA-governed retirement benefits directly to her. The Supreme Court held that ERISA preempts the state order because it attempts to alter the plan's beneficiary designation and anti-alienation rules.
Yes. Pension benefits, both vested and nonvested, may constitute marital property. Courts must determine whether the benefits accrued during the marriage and apply equitable distribution or community property principles to divide the economic value between the spouses.
Yes. ERISA's anti-alienation provision and preemption clause generally prevent state divorce decrees from assigning or alienating undistributed pension benefits to nonparticipant spouses or their successors. Federal law controls the form and recipient of payments.
…circumstances. §§ 402 (b)-(d). When the recipient reaches age 65 his disability benefits are automatically converted to retirement benefits. §§ 416 (i) (2) (D), 423 (a) (1). In fiscal 1974 approximately 3,700,000 persons received assistance under the program. Social Security Administration, The Year in Review 21…