ERISA: A Comprehensive Guide, Fourth Edition

The Fourth Edition of ERISA: A Comprehensive Guide provides a thorough and authoritative analysis of the principal statutory provisions of the Employee Retirement Income Security Act of 1974 (ERISA) and the corresponding provisions of the Internal Revenue Code (Code) dealing with employee benefits.

It also discusses and explains the multitude of regulations, rulings, and interpretations issued by the Department of the Treasury, the Internal Revenue Service, the Department of Labor, and the Pension Benefit Guaranty Corporation in explanation of ERISA; the Code provisions relating to the requirements for tax-qualified retirement plans; and the subsequent legislation amending or supplementing ERISA and such Code provisions.

Cited by the Supreme Court, ERISA: A Comprehensive Guide discusses and explains the multitude of regulations, rulings, and interpretations issued by the Department of the Treasury, the Internal Revenue Service, the Department of Labor, and the Pension Benefit Guaranty Corporation in explanation of ERISA and the subsequent legislation amending or supplementing ERISA.

ERISA: A Comprehensive Guide has been updated to include:

• A new chapter that focuses on the key federal employment laws, such as the antidiscrimination, wage and hour, and leave laws, which often must be considered by benefits professionals when providing benefits advice to their clients
• A revised chapter on ERISA preemption, which includes a new discussion of what constitutes a "plan" for purposes of applying ERISA preemption and an updated discussion of the impact of the Supreme Court's decision in Cigna Corp. v. Amara on ERISA preemption
• A summary of the requirement of providing health plan participants with a Summary of Benefits and Coverage has been added to the discussion of benefit plan notice requirements
• An update on recent court decisions involving 401(k) fee litigation and the extent to which excessive or undisclosed fees can constitute a breach of ERISA fiduciary duty.
• The Department of Labor's final regulations issued under ERISA Section 408(b)(2), regarding the disclosure that must be made by service providers to plan fiduciaries concerning the direct and indirect compensation that the service providers receive in connection with providing services to a covered plan
• A discussion regarding the income tax consequences of employer-paid COBRA premiums
• A discussion regarding successor liability in asset sale transactions has been added to the chapter on mergers and acquisitions
• A discussion regarding the extent to which an employer's interference with the benefits of union supporters may constitute an unfair labor practice under the National Labor Relations Act

• 1. INTRODUCTION
  • Background
  • Pension Plan Abuses
  • Enactment of ERISA
  • ERISA Provisions Protect Workers
  • Amendments: MPPAA and SEPPAA
  • Adding Health Care Protections and Pension Portability
  • Addressing Evolving Business and Political Realities
  • The Pension Protection Act of 2006 - Comprehensive Pension Reform
  • Worker, Retiree, and Employer Recovery Act of 2008
  • Heroes Earnings Assistance and Relief Tax Act of 2008
  • Congressional Response to the 2008 Financial Crisis
  • Preservation of Access to Care for Medicare Beneficiaries and Pension Relief Act of 2010
  • Dodd-Frank Wall Street Reform and Consumer Protection Act
• 2. REPORTING AND DISCLOSURE REQUIREMENTS FOR PLANS COVERED BY ERISA
  • Basic Disclosure Requirements for Pension and Welfare Plans
  • Additional Requirements for Welfare Plans
  • Additional Requirements for Pension Plans
  • Annual Reports (Form 5500)
  • PBGC Filings and Notices
  • Electronic Disclosure
• 3. QUALIFIED RETIREMENT PLANS
  • Written Plan and Trust
  • Types of Plans
  • Minimum Funding
  • Benefit Accrual Rules
  • Calculating Service
  • Minimum Participation Standards
  • Minimum Vesting Standards
  • Limitations on Plan Benefits
  • Top-Heavy Requirements
  • Distribution Rules
  • Section 401(k) Distribution Rules
  • Antialienation
  • IRS Determination Letters and Correction Procedures
  • Military Service
• 4. COVERAGE AND NONDISCRIMINATION REQUIREMENTS
  • Highly Compensated Employees
  • Minimum Participation
  • Minimum Coverage
  • Employer Aggregation and Disaggregation
  • Rules Prohibiting Discrimination in Contributions or Benefits
  • Permitted Disparity
• 5. IRS AND DOL CORRECTION PROCEDURES
  • IRS Disqualification of Qualified Plans and Tax Consequences
  • IRS Correction Programs
  • Qualification Errors Covered Under EPCRS
  • Errors and Programs Not Covered Under EPCRS
  • Correction Principles Under EPCRS and Rules of General Applicability
  • Correction Procedures Under SCP
  • General Correction Procedures Under VCP
  • Special VCP Procedures
  • VCP Fees
  • Audit Cap
  • Employer Eligibility Failures
  • Recommended Corrections
  • Earnings Adjustment Methods
  • The VFC Program
  • Corrections Under the VFC Program
  • Excise Tax Relief for VFC Corrections
  • Delinquent Filer Voluntary Compliance Program
• 6. ERISA'S FIDUCIARY RESPONSIBILITY PROVISIONS
  • Coverage
  • Who Is a Fiduciary
  • What Is a Plan Asset
  • Plan and Trust Structure
  • ERISA's Fiduciary Duties
  • Indicia of Ownership Prohibition
  • Self-Directed Accounts
  • Liability for Breach of Fiduciary Duty
  • Voluntary Fiduciary Correction Program
• 7. PROHIBITED TRANSACTION PROVISIONS
  • Section 406 - Prohibited Transactions
  • Section 407 - Employer Securities and Employer Real Property
  • Section 408
• 8. CIVIL ENFORCEMENT
  • Causes of Action
  • Actions for Benefits
  • Actions for Breach of Fiduciary Duty
  • Actions for Equitable Relief
  • Attorneys' Fees
  • Preemption and ERISA Section 514
• 9. THE COMPLEX WORLD OF ERISA PREEMPTION
  • Scope of ERISA Preemption
  • ERISA's Savings Clause
  • ERISA's Deemer Clause
  • Application of ERISA Preemption Analysis
• 10. SINGLE-EMPLOYER PENSION PLAN TERMINATIONS AND INSURANCE
  • Benefit Valuation
  • Asset Valuation
  • Pretermination Procedures
  • Premiums
  • Termination Procedures
  • Employer Liability
  • Participant Liability
  • Participant Benefits
• 11. WITHDRAWAL LIABILITY UNDER THE MULTIEMPLOYER PENSION PLAN AMENDMENTS ACT
  • Imposition of Withdrawal Liability
  • Complete Withdrawals
  • Partial Withdrawals
  • Calculating Withdrawal Liability
  • Date of Withdrawal
  • Procedure Under MPPAA
  • Identity of the Employer Liable for Payment
• 12. CONTINUING HEALTH CARE COVERAGE UNDER COBRA
  • Covered Private Employer
  • Covered Public Employer
  • Group Health Plans Covered by COBRA
  • Group Health Plans Not Covered by COBRA
  • Distinguishing a Single Group Health Plan from Two or More Separate Group Health Plans
  • Plan Year
  • Qualifying Events
  • Covered Employee
  • Qualified Beneficiary
  • Identical Pre-Event Coverage for Qualified Beneficiaries
  • Notification Requirements and Time Limitations
  • Qualified Beneficiary's Right to 60-Day Election
  • Duration of COBRA Coverage
  • Paying for COBRA Continuation Coverage
  • COBRA Penalty Provisions
  • Employee Remedies for Noncompliance
  • COBRA Responsibilities in Mergers and Acquisitions
• 13. EMPLOYEE BENEFITS IN MERGERS AND ACQUISITIONS
  • Issues
  • Employee Benefit Liabilities
  • Goals of Parties
  • The Process
  • Forms of Transactions
  • Types of Qualified Pension Plans
  • Buyer's Assumption of Single-Employer Qualified Pension Plan
  • Spin-Off of Assets and Liabilities to Buyer's Plan
  • Other Possible Approaches
  • Other Considerations
  • Multiemployer Pension Plans
  • Employee Welfare Benefit Plans
  • Executive Benefits
  • Negotiation Checklist
• 14. EMPLOYEE BENEFITS AND THE UNIONIZED WORKFORCE
  • National Labor Relations Act
  • Labor Management Relations Act
  • Reporting Under the Labor-Management Reporting and Disclosure Act
  • Other Laws
  • Union Organizing Campaigns
  • Collective Bargaining Process
  • Benefit Disputes During the Term of an Agreement
  • Unilateral Changes in Employee Benefits
  • Multiemployer Plans
• 15. EMPLOYEE BENEFITS IN BANKRUPTCY
  • Bankruptcy Framework
  • Automatic Stay
  • Property of the Estate
  • Actions to Collect Property of the Estate
  • Operation of the Debtor
  • Claims in Bankruptcy
  • Discharge
  • Other Insolvencies
• 16. EXECUTIVE COMPENSATION
  • In General
  • SEC Disclosure Framework
  • Impact of Tax Laws
  • Impact of the Dodd-Frank Act
  • Long-Term Incentive, Performance, and Equity-Based Compensation
  • Agreements
  • Shareholders and Executive Compensation