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THE EMPLOYEE RETIREMENT INCOME SECURITY ACT
OF 1974

The U.S. Department of Labor defines The Employee Retirement Income Security Act
(ERISA) as

a federal law that sets minimum standards for pension plans in private industry. ERISA
does not require any employer to establish a pension plan; it only requires that those
who establish plans must meet certain minimum standards. The law generally does not
specify how much money a participant must be paid as a benefit. ERISA requires plans
to regularly provide participants with information about the plan including information
about plan features and funding; sets minimum standards for participation, vesting,
benefit accrual and funding; requires accountability of plan fiduciaries; and gives
participants the right to sue for benefits and breaches of fiduciary duty.
ERISA also guarantees payment of certain benefits through the Pension Benefit
Guaranty Company, a federally chartered company, if a defined plan is terminated. The
Department of Labor’s (DOL) Employee Benefits Security Administration (EBSA)
enforces ERISA. The EBSA Compliance Assistance Portal assists employers and employee
benefit plan officials in understanding and complying with the requirements of ERISA as
it applies to the administration of employee pension and welfare benefit plans.
Under ERISA, COBRA Continuation Coverage and The American Recovery and
Reinvestment Act of 2009 (ARRA) provide for premium reductions and additional
election opportunities for health benefits under the Consolidated Omnibus Budget
Reconciliation Act of 1985 (COBRA). The TAA Health Coverage Improvement Act of
2009, enacted as part of ARRA, also made changes with regard to COBRA continuation
coverage.
The Employment Law Guide: Employee Benefit Plans provides a summary of the
requirements for most private sector employee benefit plans under ERISA. The Cash
Balance Pension Plans Guide provides general information on cash balance pension
plans. The Division of Pensions Through Qualified Domestic Relations Orders (QDROs)
are generally qualified domestic relations orders that create or recognize the existence
of an alternate payee’s right to receive, or assign to an alternate payee the right to
receive, all or a portion of benefits payable with respect to a participant under a pension
plan. The EBSA’s Orphan Plan Project describes an enforcement project to locate
pension plans, particularly 401(k) plans, which have been abandoned by fiduciaries
through death, neglect, bankruptcy, or incarceration and to determine if a fiduciary
could be located. Another guide, Your Employer’s Bankruptcy: How Will It Affect Your
Employee Benefits? provides information on bankruptcy’s effect on pension plans and
group health plans. FEAST is a computerized processing system that simplifies and
expedites the receipt and processing of the Form 5500 and Form 5500-EZ.
E-TOOLS for ERISA are found at the “elaws Health Benefits Advisor,” which helps
workers and their families better understand employer and employee company (such as

124 The H R Toolkit