Fiduciary Responsibilities

The Employee Retirement Income Security Act (ERISA) protects your plan's assets by requiring that those persons or entities who exercise discretionary control or authority over plan management or plan assets, have discretionary authority or responsibility for the administration of a plan, or provide investment advice to a plan for compensation or have any authority or responsibility to do so are subject to fiduciary responsibilities. Plan fiduciaries include, for example, plan trustees, plan administrators, and members of a plan's investment committee.

The primary responsibility of fiduciaries is to run the plan solely in the interest of participants and beneficiaries and for the exclusive purpose of providing benefits and paying plan expenses. Fiduciaries must act prudently and must diversify the plan's investments in order to minimize the risk of large losses. In addition, they must follow the terms of plan documents to the extent that the plan terms are consistent with ERISA. They also must avoid conflicts of interest. In other words, they may not engage in transactions on behalf of the plan that benefit parties related to the plan, such as other fiduciaries, services providers, or the plan sponsor.

Fiduciaries who do not follow these principles of conduct may be personally liable to restore any losses to the plan, or to restore any profits made through improper use of plan assets. Courts may take whatever action is appropriate against fiduciaries who breach their duties under ERISA including their removal.

Webpages on This Topic

Compliance Assistance
Provides publications and other materials to assist employers and employee benefit plan practitioners in understanding and complying with the requirements of ERISA as it applies to the administration of employee pension and welfare benefit plans.

An Employee's Guide to Health Benefits Under COBRA
COBRA gives workers and their family members who lose their health benefits in certain circumstances the right to choose to continue group health benefits provided by their health plan. This publication provides a detailed overview of the law.

Questions & Answers on the HIPAA Nondiscrimination Requirements
Provides answers to frequently asked questions on final/interim regulations and proposed regulations issued on the nondiscrimination provisions under the Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act (HIPAA).

Questions & Answers: Women's Health & Cancer Rights Act
Provides general guidance about the Women's Health Act provisions that amend ERISA.

Disaster Relief
The Employee Benefits Security Administration, the Internal Revenue Service, and the Pension Benefit Guaranty Corporation extend the deadline for filing the Form 5500 and Form 5500-EZ in response to disasters. This webpage provides information about the filing and other relief issued in response to the identified disasters.