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Plan is covered by title IV of ERISA and is subject to the
termination provisions thereunder.
Strict adherence to statutory requirements is the exclusive
means of single-employer plan termination. ERISA sec.
4041(a)(1), 29 U.S.C. sec. 1341(a)(1) provides that "a single-
employer plan may be terminated only in a standard termination
* * * or a distress termination". See also Phillips v. Bebber,
914 F.2d 31, 34 (4th Cir. 1990) ("strict compliance with * * *
[29 U.S.C. sec. 1341] is the sole means by which a pension plan
subject to the provisions of ERISA may be terminated."); Pension
Benefit Guar. Corp. v. Mize Co., Inc., 987 F.2d 1059, 1063 (4th
Cir. 1993) ("The statutory provisions governing terminations of
single-employer plans are exclusive."). A "single-employer plan"
is a plan "which is not a multiemployer plan." ERISA sec. 3(41),
29 U.S.C. sec. 1002(41). A "multi-employer plan" means a plan:
(i) to which more than one employer is required to
contribute,
(ii) which is maintained pursuant to one or more
collective bargaining agreements between one or more
employee organizations and more than one employer, and
(iii) which satisfies such other requirements as the
Secretary may prescribe by regulation. [ERISA sec. 3(37),
29 U.S.C. sec. 1002(37).]
Because Products was the only employer contributing to the plan,
the Pension Plan was not a multiemployer plan, and by definition
was a single-employer plan.
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