ERISA typically has been a minefield for fiduciary compliance. This has been particularly true when a plan administrator must decide which of two competing claims should be paid when the plan participant is deceased. This week, the United States Supreme Court issued an "uncomplicated," bright line rule for plan administrators to follow in these situations. The Court held that a plan administrator meets its ERISA duty when it pays benefits according the plan documents. Specifically, the Court approved the payment by a plan administrator to the beneficiary named by the participant, despite the fact that the beneficiary was the former spouse of the participant who had waived her right to the benefits in a divorce decree. ERISA generally requires that a covered pension benefit plan "provide that benefits . . . under the plan may not be assigned or alienated." 29 U.S.C. §1056(d)(1). But there is a specific exception to this requirement for rights created under a Qualified Domestic Relations Order (QDRO). 29 U.S.C. §1056(d)(3). Notwithstanding this provision, many plan participants – and their attorneys – do not obtain QDROs. Instead, they often assume that language in their divorce decrees will suffice.

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