Erisa Law Explained In Massachusetts
Description
Form popularity
FAQ
ERISA covers general benefits that aid employees in the event of sickness, accident, disability, death, or unemployment.
ERISA applies to a wide range of employee benefits – pensions, 401(k) and 403(b) plans (non-government employees), disability, health, and life insurance benefits, along with severance and other benefits administered by employers.
Civil and criminal sanctions are enforced when employers fail to adhere to ERISA standards for private-sector employee benefit plans. Violations include denying benefits improperly, breaching fiduciary duties, or interfering with employee rights under the plan.
In summary, ERISA is bad because it provides very few consumer protections and instead, in practice, protects insurance companies and employers. Insurance companies and employers are aware of this protection and they may have an incentive to deny legitimate claims without fear of financial penalty.
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.
Types of prohibited transactions Fiduciary self-dealing transactions occur when a fiduciary (such as a plan administrator or trustee) uses plan income or assets for their own interest. Self-dealing can lead to conflicts of interest and is prohibited under ERISA.
The Employee Retirement Income Security Act of 1974 (ERISA) is a federal law that sets minimum standards for most voluntarily established retirement and health plans in private industry to provide protection for individuals in these plans.
In most instances, the maximum bond amount that can be required under ERISA with respect to any one plan official is $500,000 per plan. However, the maximum required bond amount is $1 million for officials of plans holding employer securities.
Under ERISA, each fund is subject to additional requirements and obligations once more than 25 percent of the fund's assets under management (AUM) are subject to ERISA (the 25 percent threshold).
The rule is triggered if you raise enough dollars through retirement accounts. Generally speaking, it is wise to stay below 25% of retirement plan assets unless you qualify for an exception. For "fund of funds", the fund acts as an ERISA investor.