Labor Department Issues Reporting And Disclosure Guide for Employee Benefit Plans

Archived News Release — Caution: Information may be out of date.

Washington, DC - The U.S. Department of Labor’s Employee Benefits Security Administration (EBSA) today issued the Reporting and Disclosure Guide for Employee Benefit Plans. The guide will assist employers, plan sponsors, service providers and other plan officials in meeting their reporting and disclosure obligations under the Employee Retirement Income Security Act of 1974 (ERISA).

“This guide is designed to help plan officials understand the scope of ERISA’s basic reporting and disclosure rules,” said Assistant Secretary of Labor Ann L. Combs. “It is the latest of EBSA’s compliance assistance efforts to help the benefits community protect workers by giving them the tools and programs necessary to comply with ERISA.”

For the first time, the booklet includes information on group health plan disclosure requirements under Part 7 of ERISA and the new blackout period notice, which requires 401(k) and other individual account pension plans to provide advance notice when participants’ rights are suspended for direct investments, loans or distributions.

Prepared with the assistance of the Pension Benefit Guaranty Corporation (PBGC), the guide provides information and overview charts on:

• Basic ERISA disclosures that retirement, group health and other welfare benefit plans must furnish to participants and beneficiaries;
• PBGC reporting and disclosure requirements for single-employer defined benefit pension plans, and
• Annual reporting requirements for the Form 5500 and Form M-1.

The guide also contains a list of EBSA and PBGC resources, including the agencies’ Internet sites that containing laws, regulations and other guidance relating to ERISA’s reporting and disclosure requirements. The publication is available by calling toll-free, 1.866.444.EBSA (3272) or online at www.dol.gov/ebsa under Publications.

As part of its educational and outreach efforts, EBSA routinely issues publications and guidance to explain the rights and responsibilities associated with establishing and maintaining a retirement, group health or other welfare benefit plan under ERISA.

U.S. Department of Labor news releases are accessible on the Internet. The information in this news release will be made available in alternate format upon request (large print, Braille, audio tape or disc) from the Central Office for Assistive Services and Technology. Please specify which news release when placing your request. Call 202.693.7773 or TTY 202.693.7755.

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Archived News Release — Caution: Information may be out of date.