ERISA plans must provide an SPD that clearly states they are an ERISA plan. Look at Employer Contributions: If your employer contributes to the plan or matches your contributions, it's likely an ERISA plan. Consider Your Employer: If you work for a private company, your plan is more likely to be ERISA.
Because specified foreign financial assets usually include foreign retirement plans, U.S. persons with a threshold amount of specified foreign financial assets must usually report their plans on IRS Form 8938.
For example, Federal, state, or local government plans and some church plans are not covered.
Qualified plans include 401(k) plans, 403(b) plans, profit-sharing plans, and Keogh (HR-10) plans. Nonqualified plans include deferred-compensation plans, executive bonus plans, and split-dollar life insurance plans.
Look at Employer Contributions: If your employer contributes to the plan or matches your contributions, it's likely an ERISA plan. Consider Your Employer: If you work for a private company, your plan is more likely to be ERISA. Government and church employees typically have non-ERISA plans.
ERISA also does not cover plans maintained outside the United States primarily for the benefit of nonresident aliens or unfunded excess benefit plans.
Governmental entities, churches for their employees, and plans maintained solely for workers' compensation, unemployment, or disability laws are generally not covered by ERISA regulations. ERISA does not typically cover government and religious employers or plans maintained solely to comply with certain state laws.
Foreign plans. Plans maintained outside the United States for the benefit of non-resident foreigners are exempt. This ensures that U.S. companies with overseas employees can provide them with benefits without having to comply with ERISA's stringent provisions.
Foreign retirement is reported on Form 1040 just as if it were a domestic retirement. Noting, that the tax implications of a foreign retirement versus a domestic retirement may be different — but at the end of the day, the retirement income is reported on Form 1040.
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.