- 24 - $137,270 in real estate at the end of the plan year, we find that Morrissey transferred no real estate to the Defined Benefit Plan. Neither interest nor principal payments were ever made to the Defined Benefit Plan. As trustee of the Defined Benefit Plan, Morrissey made no attempt to collect any of the outstanding six loans. Rather than collecting on the loans, Morrissey signed a form titled "Employee's Waiver of Portion of Benefit Not Funded Upon Distribution of Plan's Assets Pursuant to Plan Termination Effective: September 26, 1990", in which he waived his right to any unfunded benefits, to the extent that the Defined Benefit Plan assets were insufficient to provide the actuarial equivalent of his normal retirement benefit on the date of benefit distributions. Consequently, Morrissey never paid any interest or principal on the loans, and when he terminated the Defined Benefit Plan, he intended not to repay his obligation to the Defined Benefit Plan. It was inconsistent with the prudent investor rule for the Defined Benefit Plan to have made those loans and then to have allowed them to remain outstanding under the circumstances. The purpose of ERISA is to provide retirement benefits, not to provide a tax-free checking account to Morrissey from which he can withdraw money at any time as loans and then waive his obligation to repay. Morrissey's waiver of his rights to any unfunded benefits, when most of his benefits under the Defined Benefit Plan remained unfunded, coupled with thePage: Previous 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 26 27 28 29 30 31 Next
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