Kenneth Bailey v. Union Bank Retirement Plan

**Bailey v. Union Bank Retirement Plan: Court Rules Against Domestic Partner Benefits** Kenneth Bailey sued Union Bank's retirement plan after being denied survivor benefits as a domestic partner. Bailey argued that the retirement plan should have provided him with benefits after his partner's death, claiming the plan had breached its contract and failed in its duties to plan participants. The Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals ruled against Bailey, upholding a lower court's decision in favor of the retirement plan. The court found that the retirement plan was not required to provide survivor benefits to domestic partners and had not violated any legal obligations to Bailey or other plan participants. This ruling matters for workers because it shows that retirement plans may legally limit survivor benefits to spouses only, potentially excluding domestic partners, unmarried partners, and other family members. Workers in committed relationships who aren't legally married should carefully review their employer's retirement and benefit plans to understand what survivor protections exist. If domestic partner benefits aren't automatically included, workers may need to explore alternative ways to protect their partners financially, such as naming them as beneficiaries on individual retirement accounts or life insurance policies.