ERISA prohibits cross trades, the exchange of assets between two accounts without going through a public market. There have been numerous exemption requests motivated by a desire to reduce transaction costs. Mutual funds are permitted to cross trade under Rule 17a-7.
ERISA requires plans to provide participants with plan information including important information about plan features and funding; sets minimum standards for participation, vesting, benefit accrual and funding; provides fiduciary responsibilities for those who manage and control plan assets; requires plans to ...
ERISA restricts certain actions related to how benefit plans are designed and administered. For example, it limits the types of investments that retirement plans can make, imposes fiduciary duties on plan administrators, and mandates specific reporting and disclosure requirements.
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.
Vesting and Participation: ERISA sets rules regarding eligibility and vesting in 401(k) plans. It requires plans to offer participation to eligible employees and sets guidelines for when employees become vested in their accrued benefits, including employer matching contributions.
In a defined benefit plan, an employer can require that employees have 5 years of service in order to become 100 percent vested in the employer funded benefits (called cliff vesting).
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.
403(b) plans and 401(k) plans are very similar but with one key difference: whom they're offered to. While 401(k) plans are primarily offered to employees in for-profit companies, 403(b) plans are offered to not-for-profit organizations and government employees.
About the Form 5500 Any administrator or sponsor of an employee benefit plan subject to ERISA must file information about each benefit plan every year (pursuant to Code section 6058 and ERISA sections 104 and 4065).
What IS an Expense Account, also known as an ERISA Account, ERISA Budgets Account, or Revenue- Sharing Account? Simply put, it's an account to which your plan provider/recordkeeper deposits the excess revenue sharing dollars they collect from the investment products used by your plan.