Employee Benefits in Bankruptcy (Portfolio 380)

Bloomberg Tax Portfolio, Employee Benefits in Bankruptcy, No. 380, addresses the interplay of benefits and bankruptcy law. Benefits and bankruptcy are each governed by statutory regimes that were not drafted with the other in mind and serve different policy goals. This Portfolio addresses the impact of insolvency and bankruptcy on the termination of pension and welfare benefit plans and the treatment of pension and welfare benefit plans and claims in bankruptcy. The interplay of benefits law and bankruptcy has resulted in significant litigation. The Portfolio addresses the court decisions, especially when the courts have disagreed.

This Portfolio also discusses the impact of bankruptcy on termination of a single or multiemployer plan, the impact of bankruptcy on employer withdrawals from a multiemployer plan, the special rules for terminating a pension plan which is incorporated in a collective bargaining agreement, the special rules for terminating retiree benefits, the treatment of claims arising from the termination of or withdrawal from a benefit plan, the treatment of claims for benefits, and the treatment of deferred compensation and “top hat” plans.

Table of Contents

I. Introduction
II. Bankruptcy Overview
III. Pension Plan Terminations and Withdrawals
IV. Termination of Welfare Benefit Plans
V. Termination of Employee Benefits Exempt from ERISA’s Protections
VI. Executive Compensation
VII. Employee Benefit Agreements and Collective Bargaining Agreements
VIII. General Treatment of Employee Benefit Claims in Bankruptcy
IX. Successor Liability for Multiemployer Pension Claims Following an Asset Sale