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Glossary
The Employee Plans Compliance Resolutions System, under which the IRS correction programs are operated, including SCP, VCP, and Audit CAP.
The Employee Retirement Income Security Act of 1974, which governs employee benefit plans and is enforced and regulated by the DOL.
A letter issued by the IRS on the form of a qualified retirement plan document, issued to the individual plan sponsor.
Any person who (1) exercises any discretionary authority or control over the management of a plan or the management of disposition of assets, (2) renders investment advice for a fee, or other compensation with respect to the funds or property of a plan, or has authority to do so, or (3) has discretionary authority or responsibility in the administration of a plan.
Meeting your Fiduciary Responsibilities: https://www.dol.gov/sites/default/files/ebsa/about-ebsa/our-activities/resource-center/publications/meetingyourfiduciaryresponsibilities.pdf
The Family Medical Leave Act, which, among other things, provides eligible employees up to 12 workweeks of unpaid leave a year, and requires group health benefits to be maintained during the leave as if employees continued to work instead of taking leave.
The part of an employee’s account balance, attributable to employer contributions, that is lost because it is not vested when the employee terminates employment.
The annual report required to be filed with the DOL (or IRS for non-employee retirement plans) each plan year for retirement plans and health and welfare plans.
A flexible spending account, which is an arrangement under a Cafeteria Plan, through which an employee may reduce their taxable compensation and be reimbursed for qualifying expenses.
An employee welfare benefit plan established or maintained by an employer or by an employee organization (such as a union), or both, that provides medical care for participants or their dependents directly or through insurance, reimbursement, or otherwise.
Common reference to a series of laws affecting retirement plans, including the Uruguay Round Agreements Act (GATT); Uniformed Services Employment and Reemployment Rights Act (USERRA); Small Business Job Protection Act (SBJPA); Taxpayer Relief Act of 1997 (TRA’97); IRS Restructuring and Reform Act of 1998 (IRRA); and Community Renewal Tax Relief Act of 2000 (CRA), which required both interim amendments and restatements.
A distribution from a participant’s account that can only be made if the distribution is both: (1) due to an immediate and heavy financial need, and (2) limited to the amount necessary to satisfy that financial need.
A High Deductible Health Plan, which is a group health plan that has a deductible which is not lower than the annual minimum deductible amount required for HSA eligibility.
A health flexible spending account, which is an arrangement under a Cafeteria Plan, through which an employee may reduce their taxable compensation and be reimbursed for qualifying health expenses.
Department of Health and Human services, that oversees HIPAA Privacy compliance.
The Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act of 1996, which provides for privacy, security, nondiscrimination, and portability of group health plan coverage.
A Health Reimbursement Arrangement, under which an employer may reimburse a participant for qualified medical expenses.
A Health Savings Account, under which an eligible individual may make pre-tax or post-tax contributions to a custodial account, and from which the individual may be reimbursed for qualified medical expenses.
A distribution taken while the participant is still employed
A qualified plan which may not rely on a pre-approved plan Opinion or Advisory Letter. May be a completely individually drafted document, or a pre-approved plan document which has been significantly modified.
A statement that defines a plan’s general investment goals and objectives. The purpose of the statement is to be used as a guide to the plan’s investment strategy.
An Individual Retirement Account, which allows individuals to save money for retirement on a tax-advantaged basis.
The Internal Revenue Service, which enforces and regulates the Code requirements applicable to employee benefits plans.
An employee who, at any time during the plan year, is— (1) an officer of the employer having an annual compensation greater than $150,000, (2) a 5-percent owner of the employer, or (3) a 1-percent owner of the employer having an annual compensation from the employer of more than $170,000.
A qualified plan’s administrative policy regarding participant loans.
Employer contributions which are calculated based upon elective deferrals made by participants. Matching contributions may be discretionary or fixed under the terms of the plan document.
Multiple Employer Welfare Arrangement is a welfare benefit plan under which employees of at least one unrelated employer participates. MEWAS have special filing requirements and may be subject to different requirements by state law.
The Paul Wellstone and Pete Domenici Mental Health Parity and Addiction Equity Act of 2008, a federal law that generally prevents group health plans and health insurance issuers that provide mental health or substance use disorder benefits from imposing less favorable benefit limitations on those benefits than on medical/surgical benefits.
https://www.cms.gov/CCIIO/Programs-and-Initiatives/Other-Insurance-Protections/mhpaea_factsheet
A retirement plan created through an agreement between two or more employers and a union. The employers are usually in the same or related industries, like construction or transportation. Multiemployer plans are run by a board of trustees, with an equal number of employer and union trustees.
A retirement plan under which more than one employer participates and at least one employer is not a “related employer” with the others.
Testing which evaluates whether HCEs or Key Employees are receiving disproportionate benefits under a qualified retirement plan, a cafeteria plan, or a self-insured health plan.
Contributions made to a participant’s retirement plan account by the employer. These contributions may be discretionary or fixed, subject to profits or not, pro rata or tiered, based on participant compensation or integrated with social security.
An elective or non-elective plan, agreement, method, or arrangement between an employer and an employee (or service recipient and service provider) to pay the employee or independent contractor compensation in the future.
A letter issued by the IRS which approves the form of a pre-approved plan document. An employer who adopts a pre-approved plan document may generally rely on the Opinion or Advisory Letter.
Where there has been a significant turnover in participants during a plan year, such as due to a lay-off or series of lay-offs, triggering full vesting of affected participants.
Almost any individual or any entity having anything to do with the plan, including fiduciaries; employees of the employer maintaining the plan; owners of the employer maintaining the plan; service providers to the plan, including recordkeepers; and certain others who are related to any of these people or entities.
The Pension Benefit Guaranty Corporation, which is a federal agency created by ERISA to protect pension benefits in private-sector defined benefit plans.
A plan administrator is a person or company responsible for managing a retirement plan on behalf of its participants and beneficiaries.
Typically, the administrator is the employer or a committee to which plan administrator responsibilities have been delegated.
The combining of two or more plans into a single plan.
A new version of an existing plan, which incorporates prior amendments. May be a discretionary restatement, a restatement required by law, or a restatement necessitated by a change in recordkeeper.
The splitting of a single plan into two or more plans.
The party that establishes and maintains the plan, typically the employer, or an employee organization.
Where a plan sponsor takes corporate action resulting in the cessation of all contributions to a retirement plan, no new participants enter the plan, and all assets of the plan are distributed.
The period over which a plan’s records are maintained, either a calendar year or other 12-month period.
A premium only plan, which is a plan which provides for the pre-tax payment of premiums under Code §125.
The Pension Protection Act of 2006, a comprehensive retirement plan law which required both interim amendments and restatements.
A qualified plan document which has been pre-approved by the IRS. Pre-approved plans may be standardized, non-standardized, or a volume submitter, and are generally, but not always, comprised of an Adoption Agreement and a Base Plan Document.
A transaction between a plan and a disqualified person that is prohibited by law. For example:
a transfer of plan income or assets to, or use of them by or for the benefit of, a disqualified person;
any act of a fiduciary by which plan income or assets are used for his or her own interest;
the receipt of consideration by a fiduciary for his or her own account from any party dealing with the plan in a transaction that involves plan income or assets;
the sale, exchange, or lease of property between a plan and a disqualified person;
lending money or extending credit between a plan and a disqualified person; and
furnishing goods, services, or facilities between a plan and a disqualified person.
A ruling by the DOL based on specific facts and circumstances that a transaction is allowable under ERISA regulations. In addition, there are statutory and class exemptions that apply to specified situations.
A qualified default investment alternative, which is an investment in which the plan fiduciary invests assets in the absence of investment direction from the participant, that meets the requirements under 404(c) regulations providing a safe harbor to the “control over plan assets” requirement.
A qualified domestic relations order, which is a court order establishing the interest of an Alternate Payee in the account of a plan participant, generally in the case of a divorce.
Required written procedures for the administration of qualified domestic relations orders.
A qualified medical child support order, which is an order providing for the coverage of an individual, generally a child of a participant, under an employee’s group health plan.
Required written procedures for the administration of qualified medical child support orders
A qualified non-elective contribution, which is an employer contribution subject to certain requirements, generally made to correct for testing or failures.
A retirement plan which is intended to be tax-qualified under Code §401(a).
A plan service provider that provides recordkeeping services to the plan. These services typically include maintaining records of the plan’s contributions, providing calculations, and dispersing enrollment and educational materials.
A domestic partner, whose partnership with the participant is registered with the applicable state.
An amendment required by law to be adopted by a plan sponsor between plan restatements.
A required minimum distribution, which is the minimum amount a participant (or beneficiary) must withdraw from the participant’s account each year
An after-tax contribution made by the participant to the plan. Distributions are generally tax-free at retirement.
A plan which provides certain employer contributions and is subject to notice and other requirements, which relieves the plan of some nondiscrimination testing requirements.
Reductions in a participant’s salary that are contributed to a cafeteria plan on the participant’s behalf and are used for non-cash benefits under the cafeteria plan, such as the payment of premiums.
Summary Annual Report, which is a summary of the Form 5500, which is required to be provided to participants each year.
Summary of Benefits and Coverage for group health plans that offer major medical coverage, that must be provided to participants.
The Self-Correction Program, under EPCRS, which allows plan sponsors to self-correct recent plan failures or insignificant plan failures, without IRS approval.
A Simplified Employee Pension Plan, which allows employers to contribute to traditional IRAs set up for employees. A business of any size, even self-employed, can establish a SEP.
https://www.irs.gov/retirement-plans/plan-sponsor/simplified-employee-pension-plan-sep
The agreement under which a service provider such as a Recordkeeper, TPA, or other vendor provides services to a plan.
A plan year which is shorter than 12 consecutive months. Short plan years generally occur either in the first plan year, the final plan year, or if the plan year is being changed to a different 12-month period.
A Savings Incentive Match Plan for Employees, which allows employees and employers to contribute to traditional IRAs set up for employees.
https://www.irs.gov/retirement-plans/plan-sponsor/simple-ira-plan
Summary of Material Modifications is a summary of an amendment to a plan which modifies the SPD.
Summary Plan Description is a summary of key plan provisions and must be provided to participants.
Short Term Disability insurance is a plan which replaces income in the event of disability for a short period, generally less than 6 months.
A spouse of a participant who is alive at the time of the participant’s death.
A type of nonqualified deferred compensation plan that is established to provide unfunded deferred compensation benefits only to a select group of management or highly compensated employees and is exempt from most of the provisions of ERISA.
A plan is top-heavy when Key Employees are allocated more than 60% of the value of the plan assets. This ratio is tested every year based on the account balances on the last day of the prior plan year.
A third-party administrator, which is an outside entity hired by the plan sponsor that administers the plan. TPAs typically provide a variety of services including non-discrimination testing, determining contribution limits, and preparing annual returns and reports.
A trust associated with an employee benefits plan, which holds the plan’s assets and is administered by an appointed trustee or trustees.
The agreement between the plan and the trustee setting out the terms of the trustee’s powers and responsibilities with regards to the assets of the plan.
Individual(s) or institution who are responsible for plan assets held in the plan’s trust.
Funds for benefits are not formally set aside by employers but are paid out general assets or a rabbi trust.
Uniformed Services Employment and Reemployment Rights Act
The Voluntary Closing Agreement Program, which allows plan sponsors to voluntarily submit plan failures and proposed corrections that do not qualify for correction under VCP and receive IRS approval through a negotiated closing agreement and sanction amount.
The Voluntary Correction Program, under EPCRS, which allows plan sponsors to voluntarily submit plan failures and proposed corrections and receive IRS approval evidenced by a compliance statement.
Voluntary Fiduciary Correction Program, under which fiduciaries may self-correct certain violations with the DOL.
A program which meets the safe harbor requirements that exempt it from the requirements of ERISA. These requirements are (i) No contributions are made by an employer, (ii) Participation in the program is completely voluntary for employees; (iii) The sole functions of the employer with respect to the program are, without endorsing the program, to permit the insurer to publicize the program to employees, to collect premiums through payroll deductions and to remit them to the insurer; and (iv) The employer receives no consideration in the form of cash or otherwise in connection with the program, other than reasonable compensation, excluding any profit, for administrative services actually rendered in connection with payroll deductions.
Programs and activities intended to help employees improve health and reduce health care costs. Some wellness programs ask employees to engage in healthier behavior, while other programs obtain medical information from employees by asking them to complete a health risk assessment or undergo biometric screening for risk factors. Wellness programs must meet certain requirements to comply with the nondiscrimination requirements of HIPAA and the Americans with Disabilities Act.
A document which incorporates a variety of health and welfare benefits into a single ERISA plan, and which constitutes an ERISA-compliant governing plan document, SPD, or a combination of both.