<nobr>May 7, 2007</nobr>

ERIC Submits Comments to EBSA Regarding Concerns Raised about Interim Final Rule on QDROs

ERIC today filed comments with the Department of Labor (DOL) regarding concerns ERIC Members have raised about the interim final rule promulgated by the Employee Benefits Security Administration on Qualified Domestic Relations Orders (QDROs). The regulation, published in the March 7, 2007, Federal Register and effective April 6, 2007, includes examples designed to implement Section 1001 of the Pension Protection Act of 2006. Section 1001 amends Sections 206(d)(3) of ERISA and 414(p)(3) of the Code to state that a QDRO shall not fail to be a QDRO solely because (A) the order is issued after, or revises, another domestic relations order or QDRO or (B) of the time at which it is issued. The comments address members' concerns regarding the vagueness of the examples included in the rule that could lead to court interpretations that would undermine the actuarial assumptions of the plan, increase the need for litigation surrounding QDROs, and create unnecessary conflicts between potential payees.

The comments recommend the inclusion of three new examples in the rule to clarify that a QDRO may not (1) restore a benefit that has been extinguished due to the participants death if no notice was provided to the plan prior to the participant's death; (2) extinguish or reassign a benefit that has vested in a third-party beneficiary under the terms of the plan; or (3) change the form of the benefit after the annuity starting date. In addition, ERIC recommends the preamble of the rule be modified to highlight these examples.

If you have any questions regarding the rule or ERIC's comments, please contact Mike Chittenden (mchittenden@eric.org) of the ERIC staff.

S. Michael Chittenden
Director, Retirement Legislation & Regulations

The ERISA Industry Committee
1400 L Street, N.W., Suite 350
Washington, DC 20005-3509
(202) 789-1400 Fax (202) 789-1120
e-mail: mchittenden@eric.org
www.eric.org
Text Files:

ERIC Comment Letter on QDRO Interim Final Rule
Websites:

Interim Final Rule

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