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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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.
ERISA Documents Available
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.
How To Obtain Documents From the Public Disclosure Room
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.
Copying Charge
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.
Records Authentication Certificate
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.
Address And Hours Of Operation
U.S. Department of Labor
Employee Benefits Security Administration
Public Disclosure Room
200 Constitution Avenue, NW, Room N-1513
Washington, DC 20210
Tel 202.693.8673
Hours: 8:30 am - 4:30 pm weekdays (except Federal
holidays)
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.
How To Make a FOIA Request
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
Public Disclosure Room
200 Constitution Avenue, NW, Suite N-1513
Washington, DC 20210
Tel 202.693.8673
Or email foiarequest@dol.gov
Other FOIA Resources
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