Religiously affiliated health care systems will continue to be exempt from federal retirement-benefit regulations, after a unanimous Supreme Court decision on Monday upheld the broad definition of "church" that has guided agencies like the Internal Revenue Service for the last 37 years.
The ruling, written by Justice Elena Kagan, overturned three federal appellate courts in finding that pension plans maintained for faith-based hospitals can be viewed as "church plans" under the Employee Retirement Income Security Act even when the pensions aren't established by a church. The "church plan" designation allows employers to avoid paying premiums to the government, but also keeps them from accessing the government-insured pension safety net.
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