What employers need to know about retirement laws

On Behalf of | Feb 23, 2018 | Employment Litigation |

As an employer, it is natural to feel overwhelmed by all of the different employee protections and legislation in place. The important thing is that you continue to stay up-to-date on state, federal and local employee-related matters and take advantage of all the resources available to you.

Many employers find themselves confused about the terms of The Employee Retirement Income Security Act of 1974, more commonly known as ERISA. This act serves as the basis for the minimum that employers are obliged to do in order to help employees to financially prepare for their retirement.

What standards does ERISA put in place?

ERISA establishes a wide range of safeguards to ensure that employers are doing all they should for employees and their retirement. This means that there should be detailed reporting to the federal government. It also seeks to ensure that all funds held in retirement plans are protected for the sole advantage of the members of the plan.

Who needs to follow the ERISA laws?

If you are a non-government employer, then the ERISA law applies to you, as long as you offer employer-sponsored health insurance or other similar benefits. It mainly helps to protect employees, therefore as an employer it is important that you understand the law so that you can avoid any lawsuits that have the potential to arise in the future.

In addition to retirement plans, ERISA has also been amended to provide regulations in regard to health insurance plans. It is important that you learn more about the implications of ERISA so that you can prevent liability going forward.

Source: FindLaw, “Learn About Erisa and What It Covers,” accessed Feb. 23, 2018

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