Credit: Simpson33 / Getty Images A federal appeals court Monday ruled that IBM did not discriminate against its employees on the basis of age, overturning an earlier verdict in that case.“All terms of IBM’s plan are age-neutral. Every covered employee receives the same 5 percent pay credit and the same interest credit per annum,” said the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Seventh Circuit, negating contentions by a class-action suit that IBM had favored younger employees over older when it switched pension plans in 1999.“The judgment of the district court is reversed, and the case is remanded with directions to enter judgment in IBM’s favor,” the decision said.The case centered on the difference between defined-benefit and cash-balance pension plans. A defined-benefit pension means that the employee will receive a fixed amount each month from the employer after retirement. Cash-balance plans give employees the same interest rate, but not necessarily the same benefit. Because employees who join the company at a younger age receive more compounded interest, the plaintiffs in the case argued that it discriminated against older workers and those who began their pension under the earlier plan.More than 1,000 U.S. companies now offer cash-balance pension plans, according to a statement by Covington and Burling, IBM’s attorneys in the appeal. Because the lower court’s ruling had said that cash-balance plans were unlawful, the ruling could have a significant impact on the implementation of pension plans in the United States now that the decision is overturned. By Steven Schwankert, IDG News Service (Beijing Bureau)Related Links: Microsoft, IBM, Others Team Up on SML IBM Finally Unveils Opteron BladesCheck out our CIO News Alerts and Tech Informer pages for more updated news coverage. Related content BrandPost Are tech layoffs inevitable, or can your company avoid them? Despite tech industry layoffs, one ITSM company remains committed to growth and expansion of internal teams. The company’s successful endeavor is largely credited to one difference between TOPdesk and other tech organizations. By TOPdesk Mar 30, 2023 6 mins IT Leadership Analysis CIOs must evolve to stave off existential threat to their role With LOB leaders learning tech faster than CIOs gain business-savvy, IT leaders must strengthen advisory skills, build relationships, and embrace strategic transformation before losing out to business counterparts. By Yashvendra Singh Mar 30, 2023 10 mins Roles Opinion 5 ways AI will transform CRM Recent announcements by Microsoft and Salesforce on how they’re ramping up integration of AI tools into their software offerings mark the start of a revolution in the CRM marketplace. By Martin De Saulles Mar 30, 2023 4 mins Channel Sales CRM Systems Artificial Intelligence Interview From CIO to CX SVP, Cisco’s Jacqueline Guichelaar takes a road less travelled By David Binning Mar 29, 2023 7 mins Careers IT Leadership Podcasts Videos Resources Events SUBSCRIBE TO OUR NEWSLETTER From our editors straight to your inbox Get started by entering your email address below. Please enter a valid email address Subscribe