3rd Circuit Rules Death Benefits Not Protected Under ERISA
Former employees of AT&T and Lucent Technologies who claimed they were cheated out of death benefits have lost their bid to revive an ERISA suit now that the 3rd Circuit has ruled that the benefits were unvested and therefore could be terminated by Lucent. A unanimous three-judge panel upheld the dismissal of a proposed class action after concluding that the death benefit -- a lump sum payment made to a worker's survivors -- was not a protected pension benefit, but an unprotected welfare benefit.
