Concrete Pipe & Products of Cal., Inc. v. Construction Laborers Pension Trust for Southern Cal., 508 U.S. 602, 9 (1993)

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610

CONCRETE PIPE & PRODUCTS OF CAL., INC. v. CONSTRUCTION LABORERS PENSION TRUST FOR SOUTHERN CAL.

Opinion of the Court

§ 1393(a)(1).4 The assumptions must cover such matters as mortality of covered employees, likelihood of benefits vesting, and, importantly, future interest rates. After settling the present value of vested benefits, the actuary calculates the unfunded portion by deducting the value of the plan's assets. § 1393(c).

In order to determine a particular employer's withdrawal liability, the unfunded vested liability is allocated under one of several methods provided by law. § 1391. In this case, the Plan used the presumptive method of § 1391(b), which bases withdrawal liability on the proportion of total employer contributions to the plan made by the withdrawing employer during certain 5-year periods. See §§ 1391(b)(2) (E)(ii), (b)(3)(B), (b)(4)(D)(ii). In essence, the withdrawal liability imposes on the withdrawing employer a share of the unfunded vested liability proportional to the employer's share of contributions to the plan during the years of its participation.

Withdrawal liability is assessed in a notification by the "plan sponsor" (here the trustees, see § 1301(a)(10)(A)) and a demand for payment. § 1399(b). The statute requires notification and demand to be made "[a]s soon as practicable after an employer's complete or partial withdrawal." § 1399(b)(1). A "complete withdrawal"

"occurs when an employer—

"(1) Permanently ceases to have an obligation to contribute under the plan, or

"(2) permanently ceases all covered operations under the plan." § 1383(a).5

4 While the PBGC is also authorized to promulgate regulations governing such assumptions under 29 U. S. C. § 1393(a), it has not done so. See Brief for Pension Benefit Guaranty Corp. as Amicus Curiae 7, n. 7.

5 There is an exception to this definition that applies to the building and construction industry, see § 1383(b), but neither party argues that it pertains in this case.

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