ERISA Bonds

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ERISA Bond Protection

ERISA or the Employee Retirement Income Security Act, is a federal law whose aim is to prevent mismanagement and abuse of funds in employee benefit plans and private pensions. The U.S. Department of Labor sets the rules and standards for this act. This includes responsibilities for those managing plan assets, a requirement for plans to have a grievance and appeals process, and the right for participants to sue for benefits due to breaches of fiduciary duty. They require any person or business that handles these funds, such as fiduciaries to be bonded with a specific type of fidelity bond, known as an ERISA bond.

ERISA (Employee Retirement Income Security Act) bonds are mandatory for anyone handling funds from an employee benefit plan, including plan administrators, officials, employers, service providers, employee organizations, and joint boards. The bond coverage protects against fraudulent and dishonest acts, as well as general mismanagement of plan funds by fiduciaries. The U.S. Department of Labor outlines specific responsibilities that require bonding, including physical contact with cash, transfer of funds, negotiation of plan property, disbursement authority, and supervisory or decision-making roles. Bond amounts are at least 10% of the funds handled in the previous year, with a minimum of $1,000 and maximum of $500,000. Retirement plans and select private-sector health plans must comply with the bonding requirement. Understanding who needs to be bonded is critical to obtain the correct bond coverage as there are some exemptions to this act.