ERISA Facts and the Need for ERISA Lawyers

While retirement should be easy, now it’s hardly ever is. Even as an employer, you will experience difficulties in meeting the standards and requirements imposed by the law. One law you should be familiar with, especially if you’re a private employer is the Employee Retirement Income Security Act of 1974 (ERISA).

It would be advisable for you to seek legal counsel to familiarize yourself with it and if you live in Los Angeles, there are ERISA lawyers who can help you meet the law’s minimum standards. To give you a better idea of this federal statute, read on:

• ERISA does not mandate that the employer establish a pension plan. However, if the employer does provide a retirement plan for its employees, the law provides the minimum standards that those in the private industry should comply with.
• The law was enacted for the following purposes:
• To protect the interests of employee benefit plan participants and their beneficiaries through the required disclosure of financial and other information concerning the plan to them.
• To establish standards of conduct for plan fiduciaries.
• To provide appropriate remedies and access to the federal court.
• Aside from setting certain standards and reliefs, if a plan is terminated, ERISA also ensures the provision of benefits from the Pension Benefit Guaranty Corporation, a federally chartered corporation.
• ERISA primarily protects the rights of employees to their benefits. Under the law, it provides the following rights:
• Participants are to be provided with information about the plan such as plan features and funding
• Set minimum standards for participation, vesting, benefit accrual and funding
• Requires accountability for plan fiduciaries
• The right to sue for benefits and breaches of fiduciary duty

In light of the economic situation, many employers who have promised pension benefits to their employees have since terminated or withdrawn such plans. Such employers can thus be sued by their employees for breach of contract, or by challenging the right of the health benefit plan to change its plan documents in order to eliminate those promised benefits.

To avoid costly litigation that may not just cost your company thousands of dollars as well as its reputation, consult with ERISA lawyers to find out how to go about providing pension plans to your employers without getting into legal trouble in the future.