ERISA requires no prior administrative steps to advance a claim and ERISA but has strict deadlines. Contact Virginia Employment Law for a consultation.Our attorney Joshua Erlich has experience litigating ERISA claims and will fight for your right to keep the pension benefits you rightly earned. A severance policy may be treated as an ERISA plan even if the policy is not in writing. Usually, Virginia employers are not legally required to pay severance, unless there is a contract or severance plan requiring them to. Under ERISA, a benefit plan administrator must give you a copy of your benefit plan within 30 days of you delivering a written request for the document. Severance Arrangement in Writing. A federal law, ERISA, requires that covered severance plans be in writing. 4. A severance plan may be subject to the requirements of ERISA as an employee welfare benefit plan. The Severance Payment will be in the form of a company check and will be mailed to Employee eight (8) days after the execution and delivery of this Agreement.