Employee Retirement Income Security Act of 1974

E34499

The Employee Retirement Income Security Act of 1974 is a U.S. federal law that sets minimum standards and protections for private-sector employee benefit plans, including pensions and health plans.


Statements (50)
Predicate Object
instanceOf United States federal statute
labor law
pension law
administeredBy Employee Benefits Security Administration
Internal Revenue Service
Pension Benefit Guaranty Corporation
U.S. Department of Labor
alsoCodifiedIn Internal Revenue Code
amendedBy Affordable Care Act
Consolidated Omnibus Budget Reconciliation Act of 1985
Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act of 1996
Pension Protection Act of 2006
appliesTo private-sector employee benefit plans
private-sector health benefit plans
private-sector pension plans
codifiedIn Title 29 of the United States Code
country United States
creates civil enforcement mechanisms for plan participants
preemption of many state laws relating to employee benefit plans
dateSigned 1974-09-02
doesNotApplyTo church plans (with certain exceptions)
governmental plans
enactedBy 93rd United States Congress
establishes fiduciary responsibilities for plan managers
rules on prohibited transactions between plans and related parties
standards of prudence for plan fiduciaries
historicalContext enacted in response to concerns about private pension plan failures such as the Studebaker plant closure
primaryUSCodeSection 29 U.S.C. § 1001 et seq.
provides for federal court jurisdiction over many benefit disputes
participants the right to sue for benefits and breaches of fiduciary duty
publicLawNumber Public Law 93-406
purpose to protect individuals in private-sector pension and health plans
to set minimum standards for most voluntarily established private-sector employee benefit plans
relatedTo COBRA continuation coverage requirements
Pension Benefit Guaranty Corporation
federal regulation of 401(k) plans
requires disclosure of plan information to participants
minimum funding standards for pension plans
minimum standards for participation in plans
minimum vesting standards
reporting of plan information to the federal government
section Section 404 (fiduciary duties)
Section 406 (prohibited transactions)
Section 502 (civil enforcement)
Section 514 (preemption)
shortName ERISA
signedBy Gerald Ford
signingPresident Gerald Ford
statutesAtLargeCitation 88 Stat. 829
yearEnacted 1974


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