Compliance January 28, 2009

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).
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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.

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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The court further said that those types of historical documents are not the types of documents required to be provided under ERISA § 104.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.

Deals and People January 27, 2009

Northern Trust Names New CIO

January 27, 2009 (PLANSPONSOR.com) - Northern Trust announced today that Robert P. Browne has joined as Northern Trust's Chief Investment Officer.
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Browne, 43, joins Northern Trust from ING Investment Management in Atlanta, Georgia, which he joined in 2004 and most recently served as Chief Investment Officer for Fixed Income and Proprietary Investments. Browne fills a vacancy in the CIO position created by the retirement from Northern Trust of Orie Dudley, who had led the investment team for more than eight years (see Northern Trust Global Names Dudley CIO ).

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According to the announcement, Browne has held senior investment management positions in Japan, the United Kingdom and the United States. With Merrill Lynch Investment Managers, his work included serving as Managing Director and Co-head of North American fixed income teams. Earlier in his career, Browne held senior fixed income portfolio manager positions at JP Morgan in Japan and the U.K.

Browne is based in Chicago and reports directly to Stephen N. Potter, president of Northern Trust Global Investments.

“Bob Browne is a seasoned professional with the depth and range of experience to effectively lead our investment team at a critical time – a time of turmoil in the global financial markets, but also of great opportunity for a stable, reliable and innovative financial institution such as Northern Trust,” Potter said. “With his background in global investment management, Bob combines a relentless focus on performance with excellence in risk management that will serve our institutional and personal investors well.”

“During Orie’s tenure as CIO, we have seen an unprecedented growth in assets under management, dynamic changes to our investment business model, expansion in our global product mix and significant improvement in our investment processes and performance,” Potter said. “Orie’s contributions to these developments have been invaluable and we are grateful for his leadership.”

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