Opinion ID: 2966374
Heading Depth: 3
Heading Rank: 1

Heading: The ERISA Plan

Text: Denzler worked for Questech from November 9, 1978, until August 31, 1990. He became a participant in an Officers and Managers Deferred Compensation Plan (Def Com Plan or the Plan) in 1986 by executing a Joinder Agreement which specified the amount of his retirement benefits--$350,000 payable at age 65 for ten years at $35,000 per year.1 In return for that benefit, Denzler agreed to have _________________________________________________________________ 1 Questech adopted the Def Com Plan in 1986 in order to attract qualified employees and to provide a comfortable retirement for its highly compensated managers and employees. The Def Com Plan was an unfunded plan, commonly referred to as a Top Hat plan. Kemmerer v. ICI Americas, Inc., 842 F. Supp. 138, 140-41 (E.D. Pa. 1994), aff'd in relevant part, 70 F.3d 281 (3d Cir. 1995). Many ERISA rules and protections that apply to funded pension benefits plans, including detailed accrual, vesting, funding, and fiduciary responsibility regulations, do not apply to Top Hat plans. Barrowclogh v. Kidder, Peabody & Co., 752 2 Questech deduct $7,500 from his salary annually to contribute to the Def Com Plan. In 1990, however, Denzler took early retirement before reaching age 65. Under the terms of the Def Com Plan, he was entitled to receive an actuarial equivalent amount of $350,000 using the current interest rates for either discounting or compounding.