- 19 - pension benefit-–including the living pension feature-–was “promised, anticipated and accrued.” Id. at 1466. It explained: Congress determined “that despite the enormous growth in * * * [pension] plans many employees with long years of employment are losing anticipated retirement benefits owing to the lack of vesting provisions in such plans.” 29 U.S.C. � 1001(a). The Supreme Court has held, “Congress through ERISA wanted to ensure that ‘if a worker has been promised a defined pension benefit upon retirement – and if he has fulfilled whatever conditions are required to obtain a vested benefit – * * * he actually receives it.’” [Citations omitted.] Thus, the material available for interpreting ERISA’s definition of “accrual” always refers to the terms of the pension plan itself. It is those terms that raise the anticipa[tion of] of retirement benefits that Congress sought to protect and the “promised * * * defined pension benefit” that the Supreme Court has sought to protect. [Id. at 1465-1466.] The courts in Hickey and Shaw ruled that the COLA adjustment and the living pension feature, respectively, formed part of the participants’ accrued benefit and could not be eliminated. In so holding, both courts reasoned that the benefit supplement involved had been promised to and relied on by affected employees while they were employed. Respondent points out, however, that neither court made a distinction between those retirees who had left employment before the retirement benefit was adopted and those who retired after the COLA was adopted. (In Hickey, the COLA was adopted in 1973, and terminated in 1987. In Shaw, no mention is made of when the “living pension” provision wasPage: Previous 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 26 27 28 Next
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