Important: This handbook focuses on those private sector pension plans where someone, such as a trustee or investment manager, is responsible for investing the plan's assets. Although many of the same rules apply, special rules can apply to employee stock ownership plans and to pension plans where participants personally direct investment of assets in their individual plan accounts.
It is only a quick reference tool. Thus, it is not a complete description or legal interpretation of all the ERISA rules. For further information, you should contact the nearest office of the U.S. Department of Labor, Pension and Welfare Benefits Administration listed at the end of this handbook. You can also write us at:
U.S. Department of Labor Pension and Welfare Benefits Administration 200 Constitution Ave., N.W. - Room N5625 Washington, D.C. 20210
IntroductionPolicing
Your PensionWhat
Are The Rules?How
To Find Out If The Rules Are Being FollowedHow
To Get A Form 5500 Or Form 5500-C/RHow
To Find Out If Your Pension Money Is Being Invested In Your InterestHow
To Find Out About Your Plan's ExpensesHow
To Find Out If Investments Are DiversifiedHow
To Find Out If Your Pension Money Is Being Invested Widely And
Carefully
How To Find Out About Your Pension BenefitsTips
On Tracking Your ContributionsWhat
To Do If You Think The Rules Have Been BrokenAppendixRegional
and District Offices DirectoryIf you kept your life savings in a cookie jar, you would need a very large watchdog to keep the money safe.
Like millions of Americans, a large part of your savings may be in a pension fund sponsored by a private corporation or union. The task of protecting that money may require policing your plan as well as those who operate it and make investments on its behalf. You have to be your own watchdog.
"Protect Your Pension" was written for workers and retirees who are participating in or receiving benefits from company or union pension plans. The information in this handbook is based on a federal law called the Employee Retirement Income Security Act, known as ERISA. It focuses on that part of ERISA that deals with the duties of persons or organizations with responsibility for managing or administering pension plans or investing their assets.
This handbook will tell you how to find out who is managing your pension money and will explain the rules that pension managers must follow. It also will help you learn whether those rules are being broken and what to do if you think there are problems. It also provides basic guidance on how to read the annual financial reports that ERISA requires private sector pension plans to file with the federal government.
Another valuable source of plan information is the summary of the plan, known as the summary plan description (SPD). It tells when you begin to participate in the plan, how service and benefits are calculated, when your benefits become vested, when you will receive payment and in what form, and how to file a claim for benefits. The plan administrator must automatically provide you with a copy of the SPD when you become a participant of the plan and give you notice of any major changes in the plan adopted since your receipt of the SPD.
You also can make a written request to the plan administrator every twelve months for a copy of your individual benefit statement. The statement describes your total accrued and vested benefits in the plan. Plans to which more than one unaffiliated employer contributes are not currently required to furnish this statement.
A handy reference chart ("Sources of Plan Information") about plan documents and how to obtain them has been included on page 38 of this booklet.
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