$= \lb7533/ 

Pension Benefit Guaranty Corporation P-e-f~ 1200 K Street. N.W.. Washington. D.C. 200054026 

Re: 

Case 164909, Accurate Die Casting Co. Non-Bargaining Unit 

Retirement Plan (the Plan) 

 ear 71

The Appeals Board has reviewed the appeal you filed for your 

client, 1 concernin PBGC's February 20, 2002. 

determi!ation of benefit under the Plan and 

PBGCfs later coriespondence with71 For the reasons 

stated below, the Board decided that a benefit is payable with 

respect tounder Plan section 7.09. . 

~eteminoff on, Correspondence and Appeal 

Without knowing that died on March 31, 1989, 

PBGC's determination letter stated that he was entitled to. a 

monthly benefit of.$349.33 per month payable as a Ten-Year Certain 

and Continuous Annuity (lOC&CA) if payments started on the first of 

the month coincident with or next following his attainment of age 

65. The letter explained that a lOC&CA would provide a benefit for 

lifetime and if he died before receiving 120 payments, 

his beneficiary or estate would continue to receive the same 

monthly benefit until a total of 120 payments would have been made. 

PBGC included a Benefit' Statement showing some of 

personal data, and stating that PBGC had accepted - t e accrued 

benefit calculated for by the former Plan administrator. 

. PBGC received a March 7, 2002 letter frqrn 1 1 

of the Law Offices of on behalf of 

as sole b!neficiary under the Last Wlll and Testament 

7ir 1 The letter requested the documents 

necessary to process a claim an behalf of and 

included a copy of death certificate. 

Your November 18, 2002 appeal described various comnbnications 

PBGC received a May 10, 2002 letter from1 an 

attorney-in your law firm, stating that had retained 

'your firm to continue the inquiry into'71topossible 

inheritance from through the" Plan, and 

indicating that dthe attorney of record. 
B 

I 

-J " 1 with PBGC after PBGC1s issuance c 

01 ,f the February 20, 2002 

determination. You asserted that, based on the content and timing 

of PBGC communications, is "entitled to an open 

appeal period" and she "is indeed eligible for benefits under 

plan. " 

I 

Given the fact that arch .7, 2002 letter was 

f 

mailed within 45 days of PBGC's February 20, 2002 determination 

letter, and the fact that PBGC did not send a new benefit 

determination to the Iwhenn 'PBGC learned of 

death, the Appeals Board decided to accept your appeal 

as being timely filed. 

Discussion 

1. Benefit Payable under the Plan 

was born on 1' He terminated 

his employment at age 55 on June 28, 1985, and died on March 31, 

1989 at age 58 and 10 months. 

The 1985 Plan (generally effective May 1, 1985; formally 

rppl ado ted on April 25, 1986) was retroactively in effect when quit working for Accurate Die. Although he met the 

Plan's service requirement for early retirement, he did not meet 

the Plan's age requirement (60) for early retirement from active 

service, and he died before reaching the earliest commencement date 

for his deferred vested benefit. 

Based on records of PBGC1s communications with your office, it 

appears that PBGC relied on the interplay of Plan sections 4.06(e) 

and 7.02 in determining that no benefit was payable. Plan 

§ 4,. 06 (e) states that : "The VESTED BENEFIT shall be payable in 

accordance with Paragraph 7.02." Section 7.02 provides as follows: 

"7.02 TERMINATION OF EMPLOYMENT. The VESTED BENEFIT shall be a 

deferred benefit commencing.. . at the election of the PARTICIPANT on either 

(a) the PARTICIPANT'S EARLY RETIREMENT DATE (if applicable), if a 

PARTICIPANT eligible for a VESTED BENEFIT terminates employment after 

completing all requirements for an EARLY RETIREMENT BENEFIT except the age 

requirement. In such case the benefit payable shall be the VESTED BENEFIT 

actuarially reduced for each year the PARTICIPANT'S EARLY RETIREMENT DATE 

precedes his NORMAL RETIREMENT DATE. or 

The Benefit Statement erroneously listed his Date of Birth. as 

entry error. His death certificate states that 

and documents that PBGC received. from the former Plan 

administrator confirm that date. 
(b) the PARTICIPANT'S NORMAL RETIREMENT DATE." 

It appears that PBGC concluded that since did not 

survive to his earliest commencement date, no benefit was payable 

to him under the Plan. 

After a review of the Plan's provisions, including the Plan's 

definitions of "PARTICIPANT" and "FORMER PARTICIPANT" and how these 

terms were employed under the various provisions of the Plan, the , 

decided that a benefit is payable with respect to 

under Plan 5 7.09(b). Section 7.09 reads as f.ollows: 

"7.09 DEATH DISTRIBUTION PROVISIONS. Subjecl to Section 16. upon the death 

of lhe PARTICIPANT, the following distribution provisions shall take effecl: 

(a) If the PARTICIPANT dies afler distribution of his or her VESTED 

BENEFIT has commenced,. . . 

(b) If'the PARTICIPANT. dies before distribution of his or her VESTED 

BENEFIT commences. the PARTICIPANT'S entire VESTED BENEFIT will be 

distributed no later than five (5) years afler the PARTICIPANT'S death except to'the 

extent an election is made to receive distributions in accordance with (i) or (ii) below: " . . . 

Because died before his earliest =o&encement date, 

he necessarily died before "distribution of his or her VESTED 

BENEFIT" commenced. Thus, the Board concluded that his benefit 

should have been paid under Plan 5 7.09(b). 

The Board noted bested benefit was included in 

the Plan's May 1, 1991 actuarial valuation, which was prepared on 

February 16, 1993, and concluded that Accurate Die was likely never 

informed of 1 death. Please note that if PBX discovers 

that a death benefit was already paid by Accurate Die, then no . 

benefit would be payable by PBGC. 

2. To Whom a ~enefit is Payable 

Plan 5 7.09(b) (i) states that "if any portion of the 

PARTICIPANT'S VESTED BENEFIT is payable to a designated 

BENEFICIARY, distributions may be made in substantially equal 

installments over the life or life expectancy of the designated 

BENEFICIARY commencing no later than one (1) .year after the 

PARTICIPANT'S death." 

Plan section 1.07 contains the Plan's definition of 

"BENEFICIARY. " It provides as follows : 

"1.07 "BENEFICIARY' shall mean any person or persons, natural or otherwise. 
designated by a PARTICIPATING EMPLOYEE as herein prescribed and provided 

to receive the benefits which are payable under Ule PLAN upon or after the death of 

a PARTICIPANT. If no such designation is made, or if the BENEFICIARY shall 

predecease the PARTICIPANT or FORMER PARTICIPANT, payment shall be made ' in accordance with the most recent beneficiary designation on file with the PLAN 

ADMINISTRATOR, otherwise payment shall be made by the TRUSTEE as directed 

by the PLAN ADMINISTRATOR to one of the following in the priority of the order 

listed: 

(a) The trustee of any then existing inter vivos trust. . . established 

by the PARTICIPANT for the benefit of the PARTICIPANT'S surviving spouse 

and/or children andlor issue. 

(b) If there be no such then existing inter vivos trust, then such 

PARTICIPANT'S surviving spouse, if any, 

(c) If there be no such then existing inter'vivos. trust and if there be 

no such suwiving spouse, then any testamentary trust established by court 

order in the PARTICIPANT'S estate. 

(d) If there be no such then existing inter vivos trust and if there be 

no such surviving spouse, and if there be no such testamentary trust, then 

the PARTICIPANTS lawful living issue (including adopted issue) who survive 

such PARTICIPANT, per stirpes. 

I (e) Othewise, the PARTICIPANT'S eslate." 

For participants like who died before .June 1, 

2002, PBGC's policy on payments owed with respect to a deceased 

participant indicates that PBGC will pay the benefit to the 

beneficiary designated by the participant, if any. PBGC files do 

not contain a designation of beneficiary forvested 

benefit under the Plan. 

I In absence of a designated beneficiary, the policy states that 

PBGC will pay the person or persons, if any, that the Plan document 

states will receive the money. 

I Thus, after appropriate research, PBGC will issue a new 

determination letter to the appropriate beneficiary as described in 

Plan § 1.07. 

1 3. 

Note Regarding the Amount of the Benefit payable by PBGC 

Under PBGC policy, payments that became due and payable before 

a plan's termination date but were not actually paid by the former 

plan administrator are payable by PBGC only to the extent that 

there were assets in the plan as of the plan's termination date to 

cover the payments. 
In a plan whose final asset amount is $0.00 as of the plan's 

termination date, for example, if a lump-sum death benefit was due 

and payable before the plan's termination, but the benefit was not 

paid by the plan's prior administrator, no benefit would be payable 

by PBGC. Similarly, if an annuity death benefit should have 

commenced before a plan's termination but did not, then any 

periodic annuity payments that were due and payable before the 

plan's termination date would not be payable by PBGC if the plan 

had $0.00-in assets as of the plan's termination date. 

PBGC records reveal that, for this Plan, the final Plan. asset 

amount as of the Plan's termination date was equal to $1,539. . 

Decision 

Having applied provisions of the Plan to the facts in this 

case, the Appeals Board found that a benefit is payable with 

respect tounder Plan section 7.09. 

When PBGC's Insurance Operation Department, the office 

responsible for issuing benefit determinations, receives a copy of 

this decision, they will issue to the appropriate beneficiary a new 

benefit determination, in which they will .specify,the form and 

starting date of the benefit payable by PBGC. The new 

determination will include a new 45-day.right to appeal regarding 

issues not decided in this letter., 

In the meantime, if you need more information about the 

benefit payable by PBGC, please call the Customer Contact Center at 

1-800-400-7242. 

Michel Louis 

Appeals Board Member 

cc: I