March 2013

Yesterday, Jordan Weissman’s excellent article, “Disability Insurance: America’s $124 Billion Secret Welfare Program,” published March 25, 2013 in The Atlantic,  explains how the number of former workers enrolled in Social Security Disability has doubled in 20 years.  He states:

“Since the early 1990s, the number of former workers receiving payments under it has more

You know already that a plan administrator can be liable for statutory penalties under ERISA for failing to provide requested plan documents.

But what if the claims administrator failed to provide documents   Will the claims administrator have to pay statutory penalties?  NO.

But what if an agent of the plan administrator failed to provide documents? 

Can ERISA apply to the claims made on individual policies purchased with discounted premiums? YES.   

Here is a great new case that highlights the analysis to establish that ERISA applies when employees purchase individual policies, with group discounted premiums. McCann v. UNUM Provident, __ F.Supp. 2d __ (D. New Jersey January 31, 2013)  

FACTS