Opinion ID: 172426
Heading Depth: 1
Heading Rank: 2

Heading: The 1984 U.S. West Pension Plans

Text: Effective January 1, 1984, U.S. West was created as a result of a court-ordered divestiture of the American Telephone & Telegraph Company's (AT & T) local telephone operations. The divestiture transaction also created two separate pension plans, both of which were established as successors to similar AT & T pension plans: the U.S. West Pension Plan (1984 Occupational Pension Plan) and the U.S. West Management Pension Plan (1984 Management Pension Plan). These two 1984 pension plans included what was called the Death Benefit Plan, which provided for death benefits to be paid to certain survivors of employees and retirees. The Death Benefit Plan included three components: (1) the Sickness Death Benefit, which provided death benefits in the event an active employee died as a result of sickness or injury; (2) the Accidental Death Benefit, which provided death benefits in the event an active employee died from an on-the-job accident; and (3) the Pensioner Death Benefit. The Pensioner Death Benefit provided death benefits to certain qualified beneficiaries, if they existed, of retired employees receiving a service or disability pension. More specifically, the Pensioner Death Benefit, which was generally equivalent to twelve months' wages as of the retired employee's date of retirement, was paid to a mandatory beneficiary, which included an eligible surviving Spouse (i.e., a spouse living with the retiree at the time of the retiree's death), eligible dependent children (dependent children up to age 23), an eligible dependent parent (i.e., a dependent parent living with or near the retiree), or other beneficiaries (which encompassed a wider circle of dependent family members). App. at 570. If no mandatory beneficiary existed, then the benefit was not paid, except for a discretionary burial expense of up to $500. Also, if a retiree's otherwise eligible mandatory beneficiary filed suit against Qwest in connection with the retiree's death, no benefit was paid. The two 1984 pension plans each contained a reservation of rights clause reserving for the respective plan sponsor the power and authority to alter the benefits thereunder. Those clauses each stated, in pertinent part: The [U.S. West Employees' Benefit] Committee, with the consent of the Chairman of the Board ... and subject to the approval of the Board of Directors... may from time to time make changes in the Plan as set forth in this document, and the Company may terminate said Plan, but such changes or termination shall not affect the rights of any employee, without his consent, to any benefit or pension to which he may have previously become entitled hereunder. Id. at 638, 659.