National Litigation Hotline

The U.S. Court of Appeals for the Seventh Circuit recently held that IBM's cash balance plan did not discriminate against older workers in violation of the Employee Retirement Income Security Act of 1974 (ERISA), as amended, where the terms of the plan were age-neutral. Cooper v. IBM Personal Pension Plan, No. 05-3588, 7th Cir. 2006.) In so ruling, a three-judge panel for the Seventh Circuit reversed a 2003 decision of the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of Illinois finding that IBM's cash balance plan violated ' 204 of ERISA, which prohibits reduction of an employee's benefit accrual rate based on age.

In 1999, IBM converted its traditional defined benefit pension plan into a cash balance plan, pursuant to which participants would receive 'credits' equal to 5% of the employees' gross income and to a pre-determined interest rate. Under the cash balance plan, when a participant's employment with IBM came to an end, the participant could withdraw his or her account balance as a lump sum, convert the account balance to an immediate life annuity, or defer the receipt of a lump-sum payment or life annuity until a later date. Three plan participants brought a lawsuit against IBM alleging, among other things, that the cash balance plan violated ERISA by discriminating against older workers.