Impact of Slayer Statutes on ERISA Benefits

A recent opinion by the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Alabama in Box v. Goodyear Tire & Rubber Co., Case No. 4:11-CV-02829-MHH, discusses the variations among state “slayer statutes”—laws preventing murderers from inheriting from their victims.

On August 5, 2003, Barbara Box shot and killed her husband, Kenneth Box.  He was found dead on the sidewalk in front of their home.  A jury convicted Barbara of murder, and she is currently incarcerated. 

Before his life came to an abrupt end, Kenneth worked for Goodyear and participated in the company’s pension plan—governed by the Employee Retirement Income Security Act of 1974 (ERISA).   The Goodyear plan provides a qualified pre-retirement benefit in the form of a survivor annuity (a QPSA) for the surviving spouse of a vested plan participant if the participant dies before he’s eligible to receive his pension benefits. The plan only provides for surviving spouses.  The plan does not address whether a surviving spouse is eligible to receive QPSA payments if she murdered the plan participant. 

While both federal and state law would prevent Barbara from inheriting the pension, Kenneth and Barbara’s two kids brought a petition in the District Court seeking an order requiring the QPSA benefit to be paid either to the estate or to them as their father’s heirs in light of the fact their mother was ineligible for the benefit.   Goodyear responded to the petition and argued that because the plan doesn’t provide a contingent beneficiary, the pre-retirement spousal benefit was only available to an employee’s spouse under the terms of the plan, and Barbara’s disqualification meant that the QPSA wasn’t payable to anyone.

The District Court ultimately decided with Goodyear.  Applying the legal narrative that Barbara predeceased Kenneth, the court found there was no surviving spouse statute under the terms of the plan and, consequently, no beneficiary to whom Goodyear would be required to pay the spousal benefit. 

See John T. Brooks and Jena L. Levin, The Impact of Slayer Statutes on Surviving Spouse Benefits Under ERISA, Wealth Management, Oct. 21, 2014.

Special thanks to Jim Hillhouse (Professional Legal Marketing (PLM, Inc.)) for bringing this article to my attention.