Administrative delay

[Mike Preston]

I'm having a senior moment. I seem to recall that something has crossed my desk very recently dealing with administrative delay. Either it was a court case or an IRS ruling, or, I guess, something else entirely. <sigh>

In any event, my recollection is that a participant was entitled to a benefit of some sort and the Plan Administrator delayed, in some manner, the processing of the benefit. The participant either claimed or was allowed to recoup what the benefit would have been had the Plan Administrator not delayed.

Was I just dreaming? Or did something like this circulate in recent times?

[Kevin C]

Could this be it?

http://benefitslink.com/links/20090615-071494.html

The only other one I can think of is LaRue, but that was a DC Plan and longer ago.

[Mike Preston]

Thanks, but I don't think that is it. The Monsanto case stands for the proposition that the interest rate to be credited is not modified by the administrative delay. What I (thought I) remembered/imagined was where the delay caused a benefit to be payable that was less than what would have been payable had the delay not taken place. The result was that the delay couldn't be used as an excuse for lowering benefits. Of course, this all seems kind of trivial in light of 411(d)(6), but still, I have this nagging feeling that the case was recent and was illuminating (which a run of the mill 411(d)(6) case would not be).