Retirement Fund Trust of the Plumbing, Etc. v. Franchise Tax Board
Opinion
Opinion
Beezer, J.
Two ERISA-regulated trust funds and their trustees appéal a grant of summary judgment in favor of officials of the State of California. The district court held that the state’s tax levy and withholding procedures are not preempted by federal law. We affirm in part and vacate in part.
I
FACTS
The Employee Retirement Income Security Act of 1974 (“ERISA” or “the Act”) established a comprehensive federal statutory scheme designed to protect two types of “employee benefit plans”: “pension” plans and “welfare” plans. See Hydrostorage, Inc. v. Northern California Boilermakers Local Joint Apprenticeship Comm., 891 F.2d 719 , 726 (9th Cir.1989). Pension plans, to qualify under the statute, must “provide that benefits provided under the plan may not be- assigned or alienated.” Welfare plans need not provide this protection.
The trusts that bring this appeal are, the parties agree, “employee benefit plans” regulated by ERISA. The -Retirement Fund Trust of the Plumbing, Heating and Piping Industry of Southern California is a “pension” plan; the Vacation and Holiday Benefit Fund of Southern California is a “welfare” plan. The documents of both trusts prohibit alienation.