ERISA does not require any employer to establish a retirement plan. It only requires that those who establish plans must meet certain minimum standards.ERISA includes document retention rules for employers. The annual report of employee welfare and pension plans may be filed with the Department of Labor (DOL) in compliance with Section 103 of ERISA. This GRIST provides a basic primer on ERISA's preemption of state laws, including various exceptions, exclusions and court rulings. For a plan to qualify, your employer must set it up for you. Below, we'll take a look at a few ERISA-qualified plans. 401(k)s. Summary of ERISA Regulations, Opinions, and Court Decisions, Section 3 Definitions (Selected), Section 4 Plans Covered, Section 404 Fiduciary Duties. An administrator or sponsor of an employee benefit plan subject to ERISA must file information about each plan every year. However, significant differences from 401(k) plans remain both in the operation of the plans and in the applicable regulatory requirements.