ERISA also does not cover plans maintained outside the United States primarily for the benefit of nonresident aliens or unfunded excess benefit plans.
The Employee Retirement Income Security Act of 1974 (ERISA) covers most voluntarily established private sector employee benefit plans. Private-sector employers are responsible for making sure their retirement plans comply with ERISA regulations.
The Employee Benefits Security Administration is an agency within the Department of Labor that administers and enforces the provisions of Title I of the Employee Retirement Income Security Act (ERISA). ERISA established fiduciary and other standards for employee benefit plans sponsored by private-sector employers.
ERISA is administered in part by the Employee Benefits Security Administration (EBSA), a branch of the U.S. Department of Labor. The law establishes requirements and guidelines for employers and benefit plan managers, trustees and certain other service providers.
Employers offering an employee welfare benefit plan, such as health insurance or a retirement plan, are subject to the provisions of the the Employee Retirement Income Security Act (ERISA).
All private employers and employee organizations, such as unions, that offer health plans to employees have to follow ERISA. Only churches and government groups are exempt.
In general, ERISA does not cover group health 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.
ERISA plan is not subject to the strict ERISA fiduciary standards, but it is subject to state law and other standards.
Health insurance that is offered by a church or a governmental entity is not governed by ERISA. Neither are publicly- subsidized health insurance plans (such as Medicaid, NC Health Choice, or Medicare), or private health insurance bought in the non-group market.