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The Employee Benefits Security Administration (EBSA)
makes available through its Public Disclosure Room certain employee
benefit plan documents and other materials required by the Employee
Retirement Income Security Act of 1974 (ERISA). ERISA is a Federal
law that is designed to protect the rights of millions of American Workers
and beneficiaries in private-sector pension plans, group health plans, and
certain other employee benefit plans. |
Visitors may view and copy the following ERISA-required
documents or submit written requests and have the documents copied. Disclosure Room hours, copying charges, and additional resources are
listed at the end of this document.
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Annual Report Form 5500 -
This report is required to be submitted annually by many ERISA-covered
plans. It contains various schedules with information on the
financial condition and operation of the plan. Certain entities in
which plans invest or participate also file annual reports with the
Department of Labor. These entities, called Direct Filing Entities
or "DFEs", include bank, common or collective trust, insurance
company pooled separate accounts, master trusts, group insurance
arrangements, and entities covered by Department of Labor regulation 29
CFR 2520.103-12. These reports include financial information
regarding the DFE and a list of the investing or participating
plans. Generally, the six most recent reports filed by employers or
plan administrators are available. (Note: electronic copies of the
data contained on all of the Forms 5500 and schedules filed each year are
available for a fee by submitting a Freedom of Information Act request.) |
Form M-1, Annual Reports for Multiple Employer
Welfare Arrangements (MEWAs) and Certain Entities Claiming Exception (ECEs)
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Generally MEWAs are arrangements which offer medical benefits to the
employees of two or more employers, or to their beneficiaries. An
administrator of a MEWA generally files the one-page Form M-1 once a
year. The form is generally due March 1 each year, but
administrators can request an automatic 60-day extension to May 1. |
Form M-1 is effective beginning with the 1999 plan
year. The form contains general registration information including
the states in which the entity operates and responses to questions
regarding compliance with Part 7 of ERISA, including the Health Insurance
Portability and Accountability Act of 1996, the Mental Health Parity Act
of 1996, the Newborns' and Mothers' Health Protection Act of 1996, and the
Women's Health and Cancer Rights Act of 1998. |
Plan administrators of MEWAs must file the required
form for every year that the MEWA offers benefits for medical care for the
employees of two or more employers. MEWAs that are insurance
companies are exempt from the filing requirement. |
Summary Plan Descriptions (SPDs) and Summary of
Material Modifications (SMMs) -
SPDs are important disclosure documents prepared by the plan that
describe, in understandable terms, the rights, benefits, and
responsibilities of participants and beneficiaries in ERISA covered
pension, health, and other employee benefit plans. The SPD must
include important information regarding the plan, such as information on
how the plan works, eligibility requirements, what benefits the plan
provides, and how those benefits may be obtained. SMMs describe
changes made to the plan and changes in the information in the SPD. |
Plan sponsors are required to automatically provide
copies of these documents to plan participants upon enrollment and upon
written request of a plan participant or beneficiary. ERISA also
give the Department of Labor the authority to request copies of these
documents from plan administrators/employers on behalf o participants and
beneficiaries. |
The Taxpayer Relief Act of 1997 eliminates the
requirement of plans file SPDs and SMMs with EBSA. SPDs and SMMs
filed with the agency before that date may be on file and are available
upon request if they are maintained. If a plan participant or
beneficiary wishes a more recent copy of the SPD or SMM, the agency will
request a copy from the plan administrator. |
Top Hat Plan Statements -
This is a statement that an employer maintains a plan (or plans)
primarily for the purpose of providing deferred compensation for a select
group of management or highly compensated employees. |
Advisory Opinion Letters -
These interpret and apply ERISA to specific factual situations and are
issued by EBSA in response to written requests for opinions by their
assigned number. |
Comment Letters -
These present views from the public on ERISA regulations and
exemptions from the prohibited transaction provisions proposed by the
department. |
Announcements and Transcripts -
These cover hearings held on ERISA regulations and meetings of the
Advisory Council on Employee Welfare and Pension Benefit Plans. |
Apprenticeship and Other Training Plan Notices -
This brief notice identifies the name and place where employees can
get information about courses offered by the plan. |
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The following EBSA documents are also available in the
Public Disclosure Room:
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Advisory Opinion Letters
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Comment Letters submitted in response to EBSA
requests for information
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Announcements and transcripts of public hearings
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Investment Adviser Filings
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You may call, write, or visit the EBSA Public Disclosure
Room for document copies. Generally, requests made in person may be
picked up on the same day.
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To help locate your plan documents, please provide enough
information to assist EBSA in identifying the document, such as the name of
the plan and the city and state in which it is located, the name of the
multiple employer welfare arrangement, the approximate date of the hearing,
etc., as relevant to the document.(1)
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Written and phone requests are generally filled within 5
working days. Requests for documents related to more than five plans
may take more time to process. SPD requests that require contact with
the plan to obtain a copy may take 30 to 60 days.
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The copying charge is 15˘ per page. Do not send
advance payment or postage stamps with your request. We will mail an
invoice with the materials. Visitors can pay in cash, by check or by
money order.
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Upon request, we can certify the authenticity of the
documents requested. If the documents are not on file, a certificate
to that effect can also be made available. (Note: Same day service is
generally not available for this service.)
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U.S. Department of Labor
Employee Benefits Security Administration
Public Disclosure Room
200 Constitution Avenue, NW, Room N-1513
Washington, DC 20210
Tel 202.693.8673
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Hours: 8:30 am - 4:30 pm weekdays (except Federal holidays)
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For more information, see EBSAs web
site.
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For a list of publications, call EBSAs Toll-Free Employee
& Employer Hotline number, 1.866.444.EBSA (3272).
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The information we need to identify a plan such as
plan name and EIN, is an information collection request approved under
Office of Management and Budget control number 1225-0059. You
are not required to respond to an information collection request
unless it displays a currently valid OMB control number.
Providing this information is entirely voluntary. The time
needed to provide the information is expected to average 30 seconds.
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