Columbo A. Bencivenga and Adeline Bencivenga v. The Western Pennsylvania Teamsters and Employers Pension Fund, and the Trustees Thereof

OPINION OF THE COURT

ALDISERT, Chief Judge.

The question for decision in this appeal by a pension claimant from an adverse summary judgment in favor of a pension fund is whether the fund could properly reduce the amount of early retirement benefits during the period between the date of early retirement and the time benefits would become payable under the plan to an amount equal to the actuarial equivalent of normal retirement benefits. To decide this question we must interpret provisions of the Employee Retirement Income Security Act (ERISA), 29 U.S.C. § 1001 et seq., and two regulations of the…