HR and Employment Law Topics
ERISA
National Summary
What is ERISA? The Employee Retirement Income
Security Act (ERISA) was enacted to ensure that employees
receive the pension and other benefits promised by their employers.
ERISA also incorporates and is tied to Internal Revenue
Code (IRC) provisions designed to encourage employers
to provide retirement and other benefits to their employees. Most
provisions of ERISA and the IRC are intended to ensure that tax-favored
pension plans do not favor the highest-paid employees over rank-and-file
employees. ERISA has a complex series of rules that cover pension,
profit-sharing, stock bonus, and most “welfare benefit plans,” such
as health and life insurance. ERISA has created a single federal standard
for employee benefits, and it supersedes almost all state laws that
affect employee benefit plans. An employer's responsibilities under
ERISA vary depending on the type of plan involved.
Summary for [Your State]
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