Sweebe v. Sweebe

The issue in this case is whether the preemption provision of the Employee Retirement Income Security Act (ERISA), 29 USC 1001 et seq., precludes a named beneficiary from waiving the proceeds from a life insurance policy. We hold that it does not. While a plan administrator is required by ERISA to distribute plan proceeds to the named beneficiary, the named beneficiary can then be found to have waived the right to retain those proceeds. In this case, the Court of Appeals correctly held that plaintiff waived her right to retain the proceeds. Accordingly, we affirm the Court of Appeals order…