Ninth Circuit Affirms Termination of Pension Benefits for Working Retiree, July 11, 2019

The Ninth Circuit recently confirmed that a pension plan was within its rights to terminate pension benefits to a participant who retired early, but then returned to work in the same industry. This was the case even though the plan itself had initially approved the taxpayer's post-retirement work in the same industry in which he worked prior to retirement. Although Supreme Court precedent prohibits a pension from adding additional requirements to a participant's benefit eligibility after that participant has retired, the court here found that the precedent did not apply because the plan in question had always required participants to withdraw from the industry in order to be eligible for benefits. The plan had begun enforcing the rule pursuant to a voluntary corrective action with the IRS that was entered in order to maintain the plan's tax-qualified status. For more information on situations where a pension plan may reduce a participant's benefits, visit Tax Facts Online.