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The Employee Retirement
Income Security Act (ERISA) protects your plan's assets by requiring that
those persons or entities who exercise discretionary control or authority over
plan management or plan assets, anyone with discretionary authority or
responsibility for the administration of a plan, or anyone who provides
investment advice to a plan for compensation or has any authority or
responsibility to do so are subject to fiduciary responsibilities. Plan
fiduciaries include, for example, plan trustees, plan administrators, and
members of a plan's investment committee.
The primary responsibility of fiduciaries is to run the plan
solely in the interest of participants and beneficiaries and for the exclusive
purpose of providing benefits and paying plan expenses. Fiduciaries must act
prudently and must diversify the plan's investments in order to minimize the
risk of large losses. In addition, they must follow the terms of plan documents
to the extent that the plan terms are consistent with ERISA. They also must
avoid conflicts of interest. In other words, they may not engage in
transactions on behalf of the plan that benefit parties related to the plan,
such as other fiduciaries, services providers or the plan sponsor.
Fiduciaries who do not follow these principles of conduct may be
personally liable to restore any losses to the plan, or to restore any profits
made through improper use of plan assets. Courts may take whatever action is
appropriate against fiduciaries who breach their duties under ERISA including
their removal.
DOL Web Pages on This
Topic
Compliance
Assistance
Provides publications and other materials designed to assist
employers and employee benefit plan practitioners in understanding and
complying with the requirements of ERISA as it applies to the administration of
employee pension and health benefit plans.
What You Should Know
About Your Pension Rights
Provides information about ERISA as it
pertains to pension plans.
Understanding
Retirement Plan Fees And Expenses
Provides information for asking the right questions to better understand and
evaluate the fees and expenses related to your 401(k) plan.
401(k) Plan Fees Disclosure
Tool (PDF)
Provides employers with a way to get uniform information on
fees from prospective plan service providers to make apples to apples
comparisons of prospective plan service providers.
Protect
Your Pension: A Quick Reference Guide
Provides an overview of the rules
that protect pension plans, including 10 warning signs that your 401(k)
contributions are being misused.
Frequently Asked Questions for
Plan Sponsors, Fiduciaries, and Service Providers Related to the Events of
September 11th
Answers to some of the most frequently asked questions by
plan sponsors, fiduciaries, and service providers whose pension and health
plans were impacted by the events of September 11, 2001.
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