SUPREME COURT SAYS PLAN DOCUMENTS RESOLVE ERISA BENEFICIARY DISPUTES

By Mike Beaver

 

        In recent  ruling under the Employee Retirement Income Security Act (ERISA), the U.S. Supreme Court held that a plan administrator must follow the requirements contained in a retirement plan for designating and changing beneficiaries, even if it means that an ex-spouse receives retirement benefits because an employee forgot to change beneficiary designations after a divorce. Read on to see how an employee’s error paid big dividends to his ex-spouse.