Life · Chapter 11 · ERISA Rules
ERISA (1974)
Definition
Federal law protecting workers covered by employer-sponsored plans. To be tax-qualified a plan must be a formal written document, be for the exclusive benefit of employees/beneficiaries, meet minimum age & service standards (age 21 + 1 year of service), not discriminate in favor of highly compensated employees, have actuarially determined contributions, provide survivor benefits, meet vesting standards, and keep plan assets legally segregated from the employer's.
Exam tip
Exempt from ERISA: governmental and church plans (plus workers'-comp/unemployment/disability compliance plans, foreign plans for nonresident aliens, and unfunded excess-benefit plans) — 29 U.S.C. §1003(b). ⚠️ Older course material adds "collectively bargained" — that's wrong: union plans ARE covered by ERISA; what they get is a carve-out from IRC coverage, nondiscrimination, and top-heavy testing. New participants get the Summary Plan Description within 90 days; Form 5500 is the annual ERISA disclosure filing. A plan may require 2 years of service instead of 1 — but only if participants are 100% vested on entry, and never for 401(k) salary deferrals. Long-term part-timers: a 401(k) or 403(b) must also let in an age-21 employee with 500+ hours in 2 consecutive years.
Easy to confuse with
These are what this term gets tested against — if you can't tell them apart cold, drill the contrast.
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