ERISA also does not cover plans maintained outside the United States primarily for the benefit of nonresident aliens or unfunded excess benefit plans.
None of the pension received while you were a nonresident of California is taxable by California. However, the pension received during the period that you are a California resident (May 1 through December 31) is taxable by California.
Check Your Plan Documents: Review your Summary Plan Description (SPD) or other documents. ERISA plans must provide an SPD that clearly states they are an ERISA plan. Look at Employer Contributions: If your employer contributes to the plan or matches your contributions, it's likely an ERISA plan.
Common types of employer-sponsored retirement accounts that fall under ERISA include 401(k) plans, pensions, deferred-compensation plans, and profit-sharing plans. In addition, ERISA laws don't apply to simplified employee pension (SEP) IRAs or other IRAs.
Qualified plans include 401(k) plans, 403(b) plans, profit-sharing plans, and Keogh (HR-10) plans. Nonqualified plans include deferred-compensation plans, executive bonus plans, and split-dollar life insurance plans.
Common types of employer-sponsored retirement accounts that fall under ERISA include 401(k) plans, pensions, deferred-compensation plans, and profit-sharing plans. In addition, ERISA laws don't apply to simplified employee pension (SEP) IRAs or other IRAs.
In general, ERISA does not cover plans established or maintained by governmental entities, churches for their employees, or plans which are maintained solely to comply with applicable workers compensation, unemployment or disability laws.
A claim for a comparable foreign pension with an 'agreement country' can be lodged with and processed by Centrelink. For any other country, a claim for a comparable foreign pension must be lodged directly with the country involved.
In Canada, there is no single piece of legislation which sets pension standards rules for all registered pension plans (e.g., like ERISA in the U.S.).
You may have to file multiple forms to report the details of your foreign pension, such as: Form 3520: Required if you have any transactions with a foreign trust. Form 3520-A: Required to be filed by the company that manages your foreign pension. Form 8621: Required if PFIC rules apply.