Supreme Court Rules On Suspension Of Benefits

The Fund Office has received a number of inquiries concerning a recent ruling by the United States Supreme Court on a legal challenge to a multi-employer pension plan’s suspension of benefit rules (Central Laborers Pension Fund v. Heinz, June 7, 2004). Some press reports have suggested that the Court’s ruling invalidated all suspension of benefit rules for returning to work after retirement.

In fact, the Court only ruled that if a pension plan amends its rules to expand the definition of what constitutes disqualifying employment, the plan cannot apply that new definition to retirees who had commenced receiving retirement benefits before the amendment. While the Court’s ruling could impact future changes in the Central Pension Fund’s suspension of benefit rules, it has no impact on those currently in effect. A summary of those rules is contained in Section 14 of the Fund’s Summary Plan Description, which can be reviewed and downloaded at the “Document” section of the Fund’s website.