Randy Erven v. Blandin Paper Company, a Minnesota Corporation Blandin Paper Company Employees' Retirement Plan

**Erven v. Blandin Paper Company: Court Rules on Retirement Benefit Calculations** This case involved a dispute over how Blandin Paper Company calculated retirement benefits for its employees. Randy Erven challenged the company's retirement plan administrator for using outdated mortality tables (statistical charts that predict life expectancy) to determine pension payments. These tables affect how much retirees receive each month - older tables that underestimate how long people live today can result in lower monthly payments. The court reached a split decision. It ruled that the plan administrator acted properly by using the original mortality tables through August 1994 and was not required to update them immediately when new tables became available in 1994. However, the court found that the administrator made an error by failing to update to newer, more accurate mortality tables after August 1996, when sufficient time had passed to make the switch. **What this means for workers:** This ruling reinforces that retirement plan administrators must keep benefit calculations reasonably current with updated life expectancy data. Workers should pay attention to how their pension benefits are calculated and can challenge administrators who use significantly outdated assumptions that unfairly reduce their retirement payments.