Glossary

ERISA

The 1974 federal law setting fiduciary, reporting and disclosure standards for private-sector retirement and welfare benefit plans, enforced by the DOL.

Also called: Employee Retirement Income Security Act, ERISA of 1974, Employee Retirement Income Security Act of 1974

ERISA, the Employee Retirement Income Security Act of 1974, governs most employer-sponsored retirement plans and welfare plans such as group health, disability and life. It does not require an employer to offer a plan. It sets the rules for the plans that exist: fiduciary standards, written plan documents, reporting and disclosure (including the annual Form 5500), claims and appeals procedures, and remedies for participants. The Department of Labor's Employee Benefits Security Administration enforces its fiduciary and reporting provisions.

Three features matter for insurance. Fiduciaries are personally liable for losses caused by a breach, which is why fiduciary liability insurance exists. Section 412 requires people who handle plan funds to be bonded, the subject of the ERISA bond. And ERISA generally preempts state law relating to covered plans, which is why a self-funded health plan can sidestep many state insurance mandates, while an insured plan stays subject to state regulation of the insurer.

Governmental plans, most church plans and plans maintained only to comply with workers' compensation laws are generally outside the law. An employer that sponsors a plan usually carries fiduciary duties for it.

ERISA basics for small employers: what the law requires of your benefit plans explains the duties in plain terms, and form 5500 for health and welfare plans: who files and when covers the annual filing.

Last reviewed October 10, 2026

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Related terms

ERISA bond A fidelity bond ERISA requires for people who handle benefit plan funds, protecting the plan from theft or fraud and set at 10% of the funds handled. Fiduciary liability Coverage for claims that the people running an employee benefit plan breached their duties, such as imprudent investments, excess fees or administrative errors. Employee benefits liability Coverage for claims that an employer's negligent mistakes in administering employee benefit plans, such as failing to enroll someone, caused a loss. COBRA A federal law letting workers and families keep their employer's group health coverage for a limited time after a job loss or other qualifying event. Self-funded health plan A group health plan where the employer pays employees' claims itself rather than paying an insurer premiums, usually backed by stop-loss insurance.

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