Erisa Rules For 403b In Illinois
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Employees who normally work fewer than 20 hours per week (or such lower number of hours per week as the plan may provide), subject to the conditions applicable under Code Section 410(b)(4).
The primary responsibility of fiduciaries is to run the plan solely in the interest of participants and beneficiaries and for the exclusive purpose of providing benefits and paying plan expenses. Fiduciaries must act prudently and must diversify the plan's investments in order to minimize the risk of large losses.
All 403(b) plans are subject to Title I of ERISA unless an exemption applies.
One key exception is the ADP test that normally applies to salary deferrals. As a trade-off to the universal availability requirement (described above), 403(b) plans are not required to pass the ADP test. This allows any highly compensated employees to maximize their deferrals.
Under this provision, if you have 15 or more years of service at the same employer, you can contribute an additional $3,000 a year if you have not maxed out your 403(b) contributions in previous years. The 15-year service catch-up contribution, however, has a $15,000 lifetime limit.
A 403(b) plan must generally allow all employees to make elective deferrals to the plan. Under the universal availability rule, if an employer permits one employee to defer salary by contributing it to a 403(b) plan, the employer must extend this offer to all employees of the organization.
Five-year post severance contributions are employer contributions made to a 403(b) plan after the employee's severance from employment. In general, post severance contributions must meet the following: Employer contributions may be made for an employee for up to 5 years after the employee's employment ends.
403(b) plans sponsored by church plans and governmental plans are exempt from ERISA, but may elect ERISA coverage if they want it.
Basic ERISA compliance requires employers provide notice to participants about plan information, their rights under the plan, and how the plan is funded. This includes ensuring plans comply with ERISA's minimum standards, recordkeeping, annual filing and reporting, and fiduciary compliance.
However, not all retirement plans are covered by ERISA. For example, Federal, state, or local government plans and some church plans are not covered.
