Defined Benefits

Signed into law 40 years ago, ERISA spawned the PBGC, vesting and more.

The big, scary idea of fiduciary haunts many, as they fear the consequences of not meeting the required standards. But that's wrong.

Every law needs a non-renewable sunset provision. ERISA shows us why.

Although one of the goals of ERISA was to provide plan participants with a window into how their money is being spent, the new Short Form 5500 has had the opposite effect.

It's not perfect but ERISA gave us a greater degree of predictability and equity than had existed before.

ERISA itself cannot take all the blame for the decrease in DB coverage, but it certainly should share some of it.