Document Requests And FOIA

The Employee Benefits Security Administration (EBSA) makes available online and through its Public Disclosure Room certain employee benefit plan documents and other materials required by the Employee Retirement Income Security Act of 1974 (ERISA).

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• How to Obtain Documents
• FOIA

ERISA is a Federal law that is designed to protect the rights of millions of American workers and beneficiaries in private-sector retirement plans, group health plans, and certain other employee benefit plans.

Visitors may view and copy the following documents at the EBSA Public Disclosure Room or submit written requests for the documents to the Disclosure Room staff for coping and mailing. Disclosure Room hours and copying charges are listed at the end of this document. Many of these public documents can be accessed on EBSA’s Web site at the links provided below.

Annual Report Form 5500 This report is required to be submitted annually by many ERISA-covered plans. It contains various schedules with information on the financial condition and operation of the plan. Certain entities in which plans invest or participate also file annual reports with the Department of Labor. These entities, called Direct Filing Entities or “DFEs,” include banks, common or collective trusts, insurance company pooled separate accounts, master trusts, group insurance arrangements and entities covered by Department of Labor regulation 29 CFR 2520.103-12. These reports include financial information regarding the DFE and a list of the investing or participating plans. Generally, the six most recent reports filed by employers or plan administrators are available.

Electronic copies of the data contained on all of the Forms 5500 and schedules filed each year are available for a fee by submitting a Freedom of Information Act request. For instructions on filing a Freedom of Information Act request, see How to Make a FOIA Request.

Summary Plan Descriptions (SPDs) and Summary of Material Modifications (SMMs) are important disclosure documents prepared by the plan that describe, in understandable terms, the rights, benefits, and responsibilities of participants and beneficiaries in ERISA covered retirement, health and other employee benefit plans. The SPD must include important information regarding the plan, such as information on how the plan works, eligibility requirements, what benefits the plan provides, and how those benefits may be obtained. SMMs describe changes made to the plan and changes in the information in the SPD.

Plan sponsors are required to automatically provide copies of these documents to plan participants upon enrollment and upon written request of a plan participant or beneficiary. ERISA also gives the Department of Labor the authority to request copies of these documents from plan administrators/employers on behalf of participants and beneficiaries.

The Taxpayer Relief Act of 1997 eliminated the requirement of plans to file SPDs and SMMs with EBSA. SPDs and SMMs filed with the Agency before that date may be on file and are available upon request if they are maintained. If a plan participant or beneficiary wishes a more recent copy of the SPD or SMM, the Agency will request a copy from the plan administrator.

Top Hat Plan Statements are documents that describe the terms and benefits in an an employer sponsored plan (or plans) that primarily provide deferred compensation for a select group of management or highly compensated employees.

Apprenticeship and Other Training Plan Notices. Information about apprenticeship and other training plans offered through the plan.

Critical Status and Endangered Status Notices. Under Federal pension law, if a multiemployer pension plan is determined to be in critical or endangered status, the plan must provide notice of this status to participants, beneficiaries, the bargaining parties, the Pension Benefit Guaranty Corporation and the Department of Labor. This requirement applies when a plan has funding or liquidity problems, or both, as described in the Federal law. If a plan is in critical status, adjustable benefits may be reduced and no lump sum distributions can be made. Pension plans in critical and endangered status are required to adopt a plan aimed at restoring the financial health of the pension plan.

Form M-1, Annual Reports for Multiple Employer Welfare Arrangements (MEWAs) and Certain Entities Claiming Exception (ECEs). Generally MEWAs are arrangements which offer medical benefits to the employees of two or more employers, or to their beneficiaries. An administrator of a MEWA generally files the one-page Form M-1 once a year. The form is generally due March 1 each year, but administrators can request an automatic 60-day extension to May 1.

Form M-1 first became effective with the 1999 plan year. The form contains general registration information including the states in which the entity operates and responses to questions regarding compliance with Part 7 of ERISA, including the Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act of 1996, the Mental Health Parity Act of 1996, the Newborns’ and Mothers’ Health Protection Act of 1996, and the Women’s Health and Cancer Rights Act of 1998.

Plan administrators of MEWAs must file the required form for every year that the MEWA offers benefits for medical care for the employees of two or more employers. MEWAs that are insurance companies are exempt from the filing requirement.

Filed M-1 forms can be searched and viewed online once they've been reviewed and processed by the Agency. For information and instructions on how to use the M-1 Search, select EPDS User Manual at the bottom of the page. Copies may also be requested from the Public Disclosure Room.

Advisory Opinion Letters. Requests for interpretations and other rulings under Title 1 of ERISA are handled by EBSA’s Office of Regulations and Interpretations under the provisions established by ERISA Procedure 76-1. These letters interpret and apply ERISA to specific factual situations and are issued by EBSA in response to written requests for opinions. These letters may be viewed online or obtained from the Public Disclosure Room.

Exemptions. Applications for exemptions from the prohibited transaction rules of ERISA are handled by EBSA's Office of Exemption Determinations in accordance with the Exemption Procedures Under Federal Pension Law. Individual, class and EXPRO exemptions granted by the Agency may be viewed online requested from the Public Disclosure Room.

Comment Letters expressing views from the public on ERISA regulations and exemptions from the prohibited transaction provisions proposed by the Department may be viewed online or obtained from the Public Disclosure Room.

Information Letters which merely call attention to well established principles or interpretations can be accessed online or obtained from the Public Disclosure Room.

Field Assistance Bulletins are guidance usually issued during the course of an investigation and address a specific subject and issue and can be accessed online or obtained from the Public Disclosure Room.

EBSA Federal Register Notices are publications related to certain guidance such as exemptions from prohibited transactions, requests for information and notices of public meetings and hearings. These notices may be viewed online or obtained from the Public Disclosure Room.

State Registered Investment Advisor Filings - Instead of filing a copy of their state registration forms with the Department of Labor, state-registered investment advisers seeking to obtain or maintain investment manager status under Title I of ERISA must electronically register through the Investment Adviser Registration Depository (IARD) as an investment adviser with the state in which they maintain their principal office and place of business. The IARD is a centralized electronic filing system established by the Securities and Exchange Commission in conjunction with state securities authorities. All states accept forms filed via the IARD to satisfy state registration requirements. Pertinent state registration information in the IARD database is available to the general public through the Investment Advisor Public Disclosure Web site.

Announcements and Transcripts of hearings held on ERISA regulations and of meetings of the ERISA Advisory Council on Employee Welfare and Pension Benefit Plans may be obtained from the Public Disclosure Room.

EBSA Enforcement Manual provides detailed information on procedures used by the EBSA Office of Enforcement in its investigative programs.

You may call, write or visit the EBSA Public Disclosure Room for copies of the documents mentioned. Generally, requests made in person may be picked up on the same day.

To help locate your plan documents, please provide enough information to assist EBSA in identifying the document, such as the name of the plan and the city and state in which it is located, the name of the multiple employer welfare arrangement, the approximate date of the hearing, etc., as relevant to the document.(1)

Written and phone requests are generally filled within 5 working days. Requests for documents related to more than five plans may take more time to process. SPD requests that require contact with the plan to obtain a copy may take 30 to 60 days.

The copying charge is 15 cents per page. Do not send advance payment or postage stamps with your request. We will mail an invoice with the materials. Visitors can pay by check or money order.

Upon request, we can certify the authenticity of the documents requested. If the documents are not on file, a certificate to that effect can also be made available. Same day service is generally not available for this service.

The Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) provides that any person has the right to request access to federal agency records or information. Like all federal agencies, the Employee Benefits Security Administration is required to disclose records requested in writing by any person. However, agencies may withhold information pursuant to nine exemptions and three exclusions contained in the statute. FOIA applies only to federal agencies and does not create a right of access to records held by Congress, the courts, or by state or local government agencies.

In an effort to assist the public, below are quick links to specific FOIA-related information. Please use these if you are unsure of how to make a FOIA request. We encourage the public to explore EBSA and DOLs Web sites or use our search engine to see if the information you seek is already available to the public via the Web.

FOIA provides for public access to records maintained by EBSA. A FOIA request is a written request for records held or believed to be held by EBSA. The written request need not specifically refer to the FOIA. The Act requires that agencies provide records unless they are exempt from disclosure as defined in the Act.

Requests related to an investigation should be sent to the appropriate EBSA office. All other requests should be submitted to:

	U.S. Department of Labor Employee Benefits Security Administration