Cite as: 520 U. S. 833 (1997)
Breyer, J., dissenting
change the question from one about occupying the field, to one about whether, or the extent to which, Louisiana law frustrates or interferes with an important federal purpose.
That question is important. Indeed, the Court, in other cases, has found conflicts between state community property law and federal statutes governing retirement, insurance, and savings funds operated and/or funded by the Federal Government. See Mansell v. Mansell, 490 U. S. 581, 587- 595 (1989); McCarty v. McCarty, 453 U. S. 210, 221-236 (1981); Ridgway v. Ridgway, 454 U. S. 46, 53-61 (1981); Hisquierdo, supra, at 582-590; Free v. Bland, 369 U. S. 663 (1962); Wissner v. Wissner, 338 U. S. 655, 658-660 (1950). But those cases turned on the particular federal purposes embodied in the particular federal statutes at issue. The question posed here similarly requires an examination of ERISA's specific statutory provisions to see whether they reveal language or an important purpose with which the State's community property laws conflict—either directly, or in the sense that the state laws "frustrate" the achievement of a statutory purpose. See Malone, 435 U. S., at 504. I now turn to that question.
B
Sandra Boggs, supported by the Acting Solicitor General, points to three statutory provisions with which, she believes, Louisiana law conflicts—an anti-alienation provision, 29 U. S. C. § 1056(d)(1), a provision dealing with an exception to the anti-alienation section for "qualified domestic relations order[s]," § 1056(d)(3)(A), and a provision that concerns joint and survivor pension annuities, § 1055. I shall consider each in turn.
1
ERISA's "anti-alienation" provision, § 1056(d)(1), says that "benefits provided under the [qualified ERISA plan] may not be assigned or alienated." We have stated that this provision reflects "a decision to safeguard a stream of income for
863
Page: Index Previous 24 25 26 27 28 29 30 31 32 33 34 35 36 37 38 NextLast modified: October 4, 2007