A federal judge has denied Advocate Health Care's motion to dismiss claims brought by participants in its defined benefit plan on the grounds that the religiously affiliated health care provider does not qualify for 'church plan' status under ERISA.
Based in Illinois, Advocate operates 12 hospitals. The non-profit was formed in 1995 and has affiliations with the United Church of Christ and the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America. It is not, however, owned by the churches.
Former and current Advocate employees allege Advocate's five-year vesting period for its defined benefit plan is "improperly long," and that it failed to adequately fund the plan and failed to provide proper communications regarding future benefits required under ERISA.
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Nick Thornton
Nick Thornton is a financial writer covering retirement and health care issues for BenefitsPRO and ALM Media. He greatly enjoys learning from the vast minds in the legal, academic, advisory and money management communities when covering the retirement space. He's also written on international marketing trends, financial institution risk management, defense and energy issues, the restaurant industry in New York City, surfing, cigars, rum, travel, and fishing. When not writing, he's pushing into some land or water.
