Off-setting long-term disability benefits with retirement benefits.

[Guest jjw]

The ADEA, as amended by OWBPA in 1990, allows an employer in limited circumstances to off-set long-term disability payments with retirement benefits, provided the retirement benefits are attributable to "employer contributions." Neither the Act, nor the legislative history, (nor anything else, for that matter) shed any light on this question: Are pick-up contributions under Code Section 414(h) treated as "employer contributions" for purposes of the age discrimination offset rules?

I would appreciate any thoughts.

[Carol V. Calhoun]

The only guidance I've seen on this involves treatment of pick-ups for purposes of USERRA, not ADEA (although both statutes are administered by the Department of Labor). I am told that at least one local office of the DOL is treating salary reduction pick-ups as employee contributions. However, this is obviously far from definitive.