Cite as: 519 U. S. 248 (1997)
Opinion of the Court
tle sense in a distinction that turns on whether the death for which settlement is made has yet to occur." Id., at 847.
Ingalls essentially takes issue with our conclusion that the proper time to evaluate whether a person is "entitled to compensation" is the time of settlement. Ingalls' position is at odds with our precedent, see Cowart, 505 U. S., at 475, and with the plain language of this statute, supra, at 255. The phrase "would be entitled" in subsection (g)(1) simply frames the inquiry into whether the approval requirement applies at all. If the person entitled to compensation enters into a settlement for an amount less than that to which the person "would be entitled" under the Act, then the employer's approval must be obtained. If the settlement is for an amount greater than or equal to the amount to which the person "would be entitled," then the employer's approval need not be obtained. 505 U. S., at 482. Ingalls' reading would assign an additional and unnecessary purpose to the phrase. Under Ingalls' suggested reading, a worker's spouse who signs a predeath settlement is considered a "person entitled to compensation" even though, in the time between the settlement and the worker's death, the worker's spouse might become ineligible for those death benefits (e. g., by prede-ceasing or divorcing the worker). In this context, the worker's spouse would not actually be entitled to death benefits, but would nonetheless be considered the "person entitled" to such benefits. This reading cannot be supported by the statutory language.
Ingalls also contends that we should depart from a plain reading of the statutory language because strict adherence to it is at odds with the policies underlying the Act. More specifically, Ingalls avers that our reading of § 33(g) will effectively abrogate the employer's right to offset its liability for death benefits by any amounts received by the surviving spouse in predeath settlements. Section 33(f) allows an employer to reduce its compensation obligations under the Act by the net amount of damages that the "person entitled
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