Retirement Plans, Benefits & Savings
Subtopics
Employee Retirement Income Security Act (ERISA)
The Employee Retirement Income Security Act of 1974 (ERISA) is a federal law that sets minimum standards for most voluntarily established pension and health plans in private industry to provide protection for individuals in these plans.
ERISA requires plans to provide participants with plan information including important information about plan features and funding; sets minimum standards for participation, vesting, benefit accrual and funding; provides fiduciary responsibilities for those who manage and control plan assets; requires plans to establish a grievance and appeals process for participants to get benefits from their plans; gives participants the right to sue for benefits and breaches of fiduciary duty; and, if a defined benefit plan is terminated, guarantees payment of certain benefits through a federally chartered corporation, known as the Pension Benefit Guaranty Corporation (PBGC).
In general, ERISA does not cover retirement plans established or maintained by governmental entities, churches for their employees, or plans which are maintained solely to comply with applicable workers compensation, unemployment or disability laws. ERISA also does not cover plans maintained outside the United States primarily for the benefit of nonresident aliens or unfunded excess benefit plans.
DOL Web Pages on This Topic
Compliance
Assistance
Provides publications and other materials 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 welfare benefit plans.
Consumer Information on
Retirement Plans
Provides fact sheets, booklets, and other retirement plan
information from the Department's Employee Benefits Security Administration
(EBSA).
Consumer Information on
Health Plans
Provides fact sheets, booklets, and other health plan
information from EBSA.