WASHINGTON – On Monday, a New Jersey federal district court judge ruled that a pension plan established by religiously-affiliated hospital is not a “church plan” exempt from the protections of federal pension law. The Honorable Michael A. More...

On Monday, a U.S. District Court in New Jersey dismissed a motion by Saint Peter's Healthcare System, New Brunswick, N.J., to stop a lawsuit by pension plan participants challenging a recent ruling by the IRS that it was a church plan exempt from ERISA. The IRS determination, wrote Judge Michael Shipp, "conflicts with the plain text of the statute and is therefore unreasonable."

This should be good news: At a time when worry about the retirement security of American workers is rising, traditional pension plans finished 2013 in their best shape last year since the financial crisis of 2008. Yet that may only be setting the table for more corporations to stop offering them.