ERISA
The federal law that sets minimum standards for most employer-sponsored group health and retirement plans, including reporting, disclosure, and fiduciary duties.
ERISA (the Employee Retirement Income Security Act) governs how most private-sector employer group health plans must be documented, administered, and disclosed to participants. It requires things like a formal plan document, a Summary Plan Description (SPD) given to employees, and certain annual filings depending on plan size.
Who it applies to: most private employers offering a group health plan, with some exceptions — notably, government and church-sponsored plans are generally not subject to ERISA.
Why employers should care: ERISA imposes fiduciary responsibilities on whoever administers the plan, meaning decisions have to be made in the best interest of plan participants, not the employer’s convenience. Missing required disclosures or plan documents is one of the more common — and avoidable — compliance gaps employers run into, and it’s an area where a broker or benefits counsel typically gets involved to keep documentation current.
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