§9701 Definitions of General Applicability

Summary

Defines key words used in the chapter about mineworker benefit and pension plans, the agreements that set them up, and which companies count as responsible for paying. It names the main plans: UMWA Benefit Plan (a health plan tied to the pension plan rules in section 404(c)), the 1950 UMWA Benefit Plan (for people who mostly retired before 1976), the 1974 UMWA Benefit Plan (for people who mostly retired on or after January 1, 1976), the 1950 and 1974 UMWA Pension Plans (pension plans with the same before/after 1976 split), the 1992 UMWA Benefit Plan (the plan mentioned in section 9712), and the Combined Fund (set up under section 9702). It also defines agreements and employer terms. A coal wage agreement means the National Bituminous Coal Wage Agreement or a similar deal that required retiree health benefits or payments to the 1950/1974 benefit plans. Settlors are the United Mine Workers of America and the Bituminous Coal Operators’ Association (BCOA). The National Bituminous Coal Wage Agreement is the bargaining pact between the BCOA and the UMWA. A signatory operator is someone who signed a coal wage agreement. A related person is a company in the same controlled group, under common control, or a partner/joint venture that employed eligible beneficiaries; successors are included. Those relationships are fixed as of July 20, 1992 (or, if the signatory was already out of business, just before it stopped). An 1988 agreement operator ties to the 1988 agreement or to employers who paid contributions after 1987 but before July 20, 1992. Last signatory operator is a retiree’s most recent coal employer. Assigned operator means the employer assigned liability under section 9706 for certain beneficiaries. Dependents use the same operator as the retiree. A person is “in business” if they earn money from business activity. A buyer who is unrelated and pays fair market value in a real arm’s‑length sale is not a successor in interest. “Unrelated person,” “eligible seller,” and “enactment date” are defined by cross-references; enactment date means the day this chapter became law.