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8 - Distribution

from Part III - Content Controls: Pension Plans

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  15 February 2024

Peter J. Wiedenbeck
Affiliation:
Washington University School of Law
Brendan S. Maher
Affiliation:
Texas A&M University School of Law
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Summary

ERISA permits distribution of pension benefits only to certain persons and at certain times. A vested participant does not normally have an immediate right to her accumulated saving, nor can she direct its payment to someone else. Pension plans are designed to provide workers with a secure source of retirement income, not to facilitate general purpose savings. Therefore, access to pension savings is restricted, either by the terms of the plan or by ERISA itself. ERISA’s rules governing pension plan distributions address three issues. First, the timing of distributions is restricted. Second, the anti-alienation rule generally limits the recipients of distributions to the participant and her beneficiaries, although a spouse, former spouse, or dependent child of the participant may enforce certain state domestic relations law claims against the pension by means of a qualified domestic relations order (QDRO). And third, the participant’s spouse is, in effect, designated primary beneficiary.

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ERISA Principles , pp. 263 - 287
Publisher: Cambridge University Press
Print publication year: 2024

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  • Distribution
  • Peter J. Wiedenbeck, Washington University School of Law, Brendan S. Maher, Texas A&M University School of Law
  • Book: ERISA Principles
  • Online publication: 15 February 2024
  • Chapter DOI: https://doi.org/10.1017/9781316711507.014
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  • Distribution
  • Peter J. Wiedenbeck, Washington University School of Law, Brendan S. Maher, Texas A&M University School of Law
  • Book: ERISA Principles
  • Online publication: 15 February 2024
  • Chapter DOI: https://doi.org/10.1017/9781316711507.014
Available formats
×

Save book to Google Drive

To save content items to your account, please confirm that you agree to abide by our usage policies. If this is the first time you use this feature, you will be asked to authorise Cambridge Core to connect with your account. Find out more about saving content to Google Drive.

  • Distribution
  • Peter J. Wiedenbeck, Washington University School of Law, Brendan S. Maher, Texas A&M University School of Law
  • Book: ERISA Principles
  • Online publication: 15 February 2024
  • Chapter DOI: https://doi.org/10.1017/9781316711507.014
Available formats
×