Employee Retirement Income Security Act

Employee Retirement Income Security Act

The Employee Retirement Income Security Act of 1974 (ERISA) (Pub. L. No. 93-406, codified in part at 29 USCS § 1002 et seq.) was enacted on September 2, 1974. ERISA is a federal law that establishes minimum standards for pension plans in private industry and provides for extensive rules on the federal income tax effects of transactions associated with employee benefit plans. ERISA was enacted to protect the interests of employee benefit plan participants and their beneficiaries by:

• Requiring the disclosure of financial and other information concerning the plan to beneficiaries;
• Establishing standards of conduct for plan fiduciaries;
• Providing for appropriate remedies and access to the federal courts.

ERISA is sometimes used to refer to the full body of laws regulating employee benefit plans, which are found mainly in the Internal Revenue Code and ERISA itself.

Responsibility for the interpretation and enforcement of ERISA is divided among the Department of Labor, the Department of the Treasury (particularly the Internal Revenue Service), and the Pension Benefit Guaranty Corporation.