(a) Purpose and scope. (1) This section, under the authority of
section 104(a)(3) of the Employee Retirement Income Security Act of
1974, exempts unfunded or insured welfare plans maintained by an
employer for the purpose of providing benefits for a select group of
management or highly compensated employees from the reporting and
disclosure provisions of part 1 of title I of the Act, except for the
requirement to provide plan documents to the Secretary of Labor upon
request under section 104(a)(1) of the Act.
(2) Under section 104(a)(3) of the Act, the Secretary is authorized
to exempt by regulation any welfare benefit plan from all or part of the
reporting and disclosure requirements of title I of the Act.
(b) Exemption. Under the authority of section 104(a)(3) of the Act,
each employee welfare benefit plan described in paragraph (c) of this
section is exempted from the reporting and disclosure provisions of part
1 of title I of the Act, except for providing plan documents to the
Secretary of Labor upon request as required by section 104(a)(6).
(c) Application. This exemption is available only to employee
welfare benefit plans:
(1) Which are maintained by an employer primarily for the purpose of
providing benefits for a select group of management or highly
compensated employees, and
(2) For which benefits (i) are paid as needed solely from the
general assets of the employer, (ii) are provided exclusively through
insurance contracts or policies, the premiums for which are paid
directly by the employer from its general assets, issued by an insurance
company or similar organization which is qualified to do business in any
State, or (iii) both.
[40 FR 34533, Aug. 15, 1975, as amended at 67 FR 776, Jan. 7, 2002]
