ERISA sets the rules your benefit plan has to follow.
The Employee Retirement Income Security Act is the federal law behind plan documents, participant notices, fiduciary duties and annual filings for employer-sponsored benefit plans.
The Basics for Employers.
A plain-English summary. This is general information, not legal advice, and the rules change, so check the current text.
Plan Documents and Notices
Employer plans need a written plan document and a summary plan description, and participants receive required notices on a set schedule.
Fiduciary Duties
People who run the plan or choose its providers must act prudently and in the interest of participants.
Reporting and Claims
Many plans file an annual Form 5500, and the law sets how claims and appeals are handled.
How it plays out.
ERISA is the reason an employer benefit plan is more than a payroll perk. It requires a written plan, a summary of it for participants, and a set of notices and reports on a schedule. The duties fall on the plan sponsor and on anyone with control over the plan or its money.
The most common gap is documentation. Many employers have carrier certificates and an enrollment guide, but no single plan document that reads as the governing text. A carrier certificate and a benefits guide are generally not a substitute for a plan document and a summary plan description.
Where this gets practical is during a change: a new carrier, a new plan year, an audit or a claim dispute. The documents, notices and filings are then checked against each other, and gaps show up.
Where This Shows Up in Your Plan.
ERISA, ACA Reporting and Form 5500 Support
How we help with the filings and the plan documents.
Fully Insured, Level-Funded and Self-Funded Plans Compared
How the funding choice changes the compliance picture.
A basic ERISA review.
Find the Plan Document
Locate the written plan for each benefit and confirm it is current.
Check the SPD
Confirm participants have a current summary plan description.
Review Notices
List the notices due this year and who sends each.
Check Filings
Confirm which plans file an annual return and when.
Common gaps.
Relying on Carrier Documents Alone
A certificate may not cover everything a plan document must.
Stale Documents
Plans change each year, and the documents have to change with them.
No Named Fiduciary
Someone has to be responsible for decisions about the plan.
Other Rules Employers Work With.
COBRA Continuation Coverage
29 U.S.C. 1161
Family and Medical Leave Act
29 U.S.C. Chapter 28
Medicare Secondary Payer
42 U.S.C. 1395y
Laws and Rules Referenced
ERISA (29 U.S.C. Chapter 18) — The statute text, published by Cornell Law School’s Legal Information Institute.
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