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.
A 401k is an ERISA qualified plan because it is a corporate defined-benefit plan and therefore employer-sponsored. The only time this isn't true is for employees who work for government agencies, religious institutions, or nonprofits. If your 401k is employer-sponsored, it's typically an ERISA plan.
However, ERISA plans are required to file a Form 5500 each year and such filings are publicly available. The filing of such forms is a good indication that a plan is governed by ERISA; however, it is not determinative and further investigation may be necessary.
The Employee Retirement Income Security Act (ERISA) covers two types of retirement plans: defined benefit plans and defined contribution plans. A defined benefit plan promises a specified monthly benefit at retirement.
ERISA exempts only two types of employers: Employee benefit plans maintained by governmental employers are exempt from ERISA's requirements. This exemption includes plans maintained by the federal, state or local (for example, a city, county or township) governments. Church plans are also exempt from ERISA.
(Under ERISA, states can regulate “the business of insurance.”) As a result, when issues arise with their health coverage, residents of California, like those in other states, may or may not have recourse to state regulatory agencies, depending on whether their employers have purchased fully insured products or have ...
ERISA stands for Employee Retirement Income Security Act, which is a federal law that sets minimum standards for retirement plans in the private sector. Non-ERISA plans, on the other hand, are not governed by ERISA and are not subject to its regulations.
Under ERISA, each person must be bonded for at least 10% of the $1 million or $100,000. (Note: Bonds covering more than one plan may be required to be over $500,000 to meet the ERISA requirement because persons covered by a bond may handle funds or other property for more than one plan.)
ERISA also does not cover plans maintained outside the United States primarily for the benefit of nonresident aliens or unfunded excess benefit plans.