Document ID: ./input/supremecourt_opinions/opinions/boundvolumes/524bv.pdf
Page Number: 554

524US2

Unit: $U94

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Cite as: 524 U. S. 498 (1998)

509

Opinion of O(cid:146)Connor, J.

1352–1353. Nonetheless, the 1950 W&R Fund continued to
provide beneﬁts on a “pay-as-you-go” basis, with the level of
beneﬁts fully subject to revision, until the Employee Retire-
ment Income Security Act of 1974 (ERISA), 29 U. S. C.
§ 1001 et seq., introduced speciﬁc funding and vesting re-
quirements for pension plans. To comply with ERISA, the
UMWA and the BCOA entered into a new agreement, the
1974 NBCWA, which created four trusts, funded by royalties
on coal production and premiums based on hours worked by
miners, to replace the 1950 W&R Fund. See Robinson,
supra, at 566. Two of the new trusts, the UMWA 1950 Ben-
eﬁt Plan and Trust (1950 Beneﬁt Plan) and the UMWA 1974
Beneﬁt Plan and Trust (1974 Beneﬁt Plan), provided nonpen-
sion beneﬁts, including medical beneﬁts. Miners who re-
tired before January 1, 1976, and their dependents were cov-
ered by the 1950 Beneﬁt Plan, while active miners and those
who retired after 1975 were covered by the 1974 Beneﬁt
Plan.

The 1974 NBCWA thus was the ﬁrst agreement between
the UMWA and the BCOA to expressly reference health
beneﬁts for retirees; prior agreements did not speciﬁcally
mention retirees, and the scope of their beneﬁts was left to
the discretion of fund trustees. The 1974 NBCWA ex-
plained that it was amending previous medical beneﬁts to
provide a Health Services card for retired miners until their
death, and to their widows until their death or remarriage.
1974 NBCWA 99, 105 (Summary of Principal Provisions,
UMWA Health and Retirement Beneﬁts), App. (CA1) 755,
758. Despite the expanded beneﬁts, the 1974 NBCWA did
not alter the employers’ obligation to contribute only a ﬁxed
amount of royalties, nor did it extend employers’ liability be-
yond the life of the agreement. See id., Art. XX, § (d), App.
(CA1) 749.

As a result of the broadened coverage under the 1974
NBCWA, the number of eligible beneﬁt recipients jumped
dramatically. See 1977 Annual Report of the UMWA Wel-