Understanding ERISA

by Retirement Advisor | Feb 2, 2023 | Qualified Retirement Plan | 1 comment

The last health insurance mandate that we will discuss covers employers who provide a group retirement plan and/or group health and welfare plans of basically any type, including medical, dental, vision, life insurance and others. Employee Retirement Income Security Act (ERISA) guidance must be followed in any of these cases

Any organization that provides retirement or health and welfare plans must provide a document called a Summary Plan Description (SPD) telling beneficiaries about the plan and how it works—in plain language that the average employee can understand. The organization also has to provide similar information whenever the plan changes significantly and send an annual report to members, as well as meet some other requirements.

A major provision of ERISA is guidance on retirement (pension) plan eligibility. If the company provides employees with a retirement plan, the guidelines in ERISA say that the plan has to be available to all employees over 21 years of age who have worked in the company for 1 year.

Vesting provides for a maximum amount of time beyond which the employee will have unfettered access to their retirement funds, both employee contributions and employer contributions. Most retirement plans today take in contributions from both the employer and the employee.

ERISA identifies the maximum amount of time that the company can retain company contributions to the employee’s retirement account. The portability rule allows us to take our retirement fund and move it from our employer to another qualified fund. The employer cannot require that we keep the funds with them or under their control. Once the vesting requirements have been met, the employee has the ability to move funds from the employer’s control into another qualified retirement account….(read more)