November 2006 – Benefits Counsel

New York District Court Allows Age Discrimination Claim Involving Cash Balance Plan to Proceed

Benefitslink.com has this link here to a recent case in the Southern District of New York, in which Judge Harold Baer denied a motion to dismiss on an age discrimination claim involving a cash balance plan. Judge Baer disagreed with…

Part of the Seventh Circuit’s decision relied on a finding that “‘benefit accrual’ (for defined-benefit plans) and ‘allocation’ (for defined-contribution plans) both refer to the employer’s contribution.” Id. at 639. Defendants in this case make a similar argument and they argue that Congress was saying the same thing when they used the term “allocation” in one provision and “rate of benefit accrual” in the other. The fact is accrual, using its dictionary meaning and in line with the structure of defined benefit plans, refers to what the employee accumulates (the outputs from the plan) whereas allocation, using its dictionary definition and in line with the structure of defined contribution plans, refers to what an employer puts into the account. As this Circuit has observed, “[w]hen Congress uses particular language in one section of a statute and different language in another, we presume its word choice was intentional.” U.S. v. Peterson, 394 F.3d 98, 107 (2d Cir. 2005). . .

Although it appears that this ruling may make it more difficult for companies to construct a cash balance plan that comports with ERISA requirements, Congress, not the Courts, is the place to turn for redress. The Second Circuit said as much in Esden¸ “[t]he issue is whether the Plan’s terms complied with the law. They did not.” Id. at 172.

Further, the age discrimination arises because this is a defined benefit plan and older workers accrue their retirement benefits at a slower rate than similarly situated younger workers. As directed by the Supreme Court, my role “is to apply the text, not to improve upon it.” Pavelic & LeFlore v. Marvel Entm’t Group, 493 U.S. 120, 126 (1989). That is the province of Congress, and it addressed some of the tensions that arise when the binary statutory framework is applied to cash balance plans at the time they passed the Pension Protection Act of 2006 this summer.

New York District Court Allows Age Discrimination Claim Involving Cash Balance Plan to Proceed

Part of the Seventh Circuit’s decision relied on a finding that “‘benefit accrual’ (for defined-benefit plans) and ‘allocation’ (for defined-contribution plans) both refer to the employer’s contribution.” Id. at 639. Defendants in this case make a similar argument and they argue that Congress was saying the same thing when they used the term “allocation” in one provision and “rate of benefit accrual” in the other. The fact is accrual, using its dictionary meaning and in line with the structure of defined benefit plans, refers to what the employee accumulates (the outputs from the plan) whereas allocation, using its dictionary definition and in line with the structure of defined contribution plans, refers to what an employer puts into the account. As this Circuit has observed, “[w]hen Congress uses particular language in one section of a statute and different language in another, we presume its word choice was intentional.” U.S. v. Peterson, 394 F.3d 98, 107 (2d Cir. 2005). . .

Although it appears that this ruling may make it more difficult for companies to construct a cash balance plan that comports with ERISA requirements, Congress, not the Courts, is the place to turn for redress. The Second Circuit said as much in Esden¸ “[t]he issue is whether the Plan’s terms complied with the law. They did not.” Id. at 172.

Further, the age discrimination arises because this is a defined benefit plan and older workers accrue their retirement benefits at a slower rate than similarly situated younger workers. As directed by the Supreme Court, my role “is to apply the text, not to improve upon it.” Pavelic & LeFlore v. Marvel Entm’t Group, 493 U.S. 120, 126 (1989). That is the province of Congress, and it addressed some of the tensions that arise when the binary statutory framework is applied to cash balance plans at the time they passed the Pension Protection Act of 2006 this summer.