ERISA plans may offset child’s Social Security benefits 
Published: March 6, 2012
Tags: disability benefits, ERISA, Social Security
Employee benefit plans could reduce long-term disability benefits by the amount of Social Security disability benefits received by the plan participants’ dependent children, the 7th Circuit has ruled in affirming judgment.
Military disability counts in award of spousal support
Published: February 17, 2012
Tags: disability benefits, divorce, spousal support
A husband’s military disability benefits constituted income for the purpose of determining his spousal support obligation in his divorce, West Virginia’s highest court has ruled.
Husband’s VA disability counts in awarding alimony
Published: December 15, 2011
Tags: alimony, disability benefits, divorce, spousal support
Federal law does not prevent a state court from considering a husband’s veterans’ disability benefits in calculating spousal support in his divorce, the South Dakota Supreme Court has ruled in affirming judgment.
ERISA pension claims may be time-barred
Published: November 7, 2011
Tags: class action, disability benefits, ERISA, statute of limitations
Claims in an ERISA class action may be time-barred because they accrued when the individual plaintiffs knew or should have known that they were being underpaid due to a miscalculation of union pension benefits, the 2nd Circuit has ruled in reversing judgment.
Longshore Act rate set at time of award
Published: November 1, 2011
Tags: disability benefits, Longshore and Harbor Workers’ Compensation Act
The maximum weekly rate of compensation for a permanently disabled dockyard worker is determined as of the date of his award under federal workers’ compensation law, the 11th Circuit has ruled in reversing judgment.
ERISA claim not time-barred
Published: October 27, 2011
Tags: disability benefits, ERISA, statute of limitations
An employee was entitled to ERISA benefits where his employer changed the time frame for contesting a claim denial but failed to provide him with notice, the 1st Circuit has ruled.
U.S. can’t be sued for failing to garnish father’s benefits
Published: October 24, 2011
Tags: child support, Child Support Enforcement Act, disability benefits, garnishment, sovereign immunity
The federal government is immune from liability for damages arising from its failure to withhold Social Security disability benefits payments in accordance with a child support garnishment order, the New Jersey Appellate Division has ruled in vacating a $119,000 judgment.
Disability plan can’t offset VA benefits
Published: October 12, 2011
Tags: disability benefits, ERISA, Veterans' Benefits Act
An employee benefit plan could not offset an insured’s veterans’ benefits against his long term disability award, the 8th Circuit has ruled in reversing judgment.
Soldier’s disability pay isn’t marital property
Published: October 4, 2011
Tags: disability benefits, divorce, property division, Uniformed Services Former Spouses’ Protection Act
Marital property in a divorce did not include temporary retirement pay attributable to a soldier’s disability, the Colorado Court of Appeals has ruled in reversing judgment.
ERISA plan can’t enforce ‘self-reporting’ limitation
Published: September 22, 2011
Tags: disability benefits, ERISA, fibromyalgia
An ERISA plan could not enforce a provision that limited long term disability benefits to a claimant with fibromyalgia who “self-reported” her symptoms, the 7th Circuit has ruled in reversing judgment.
