Prepared by the U.S. Department of Labor

Chapter 2: Your Right to Plan Information

This chapter outlines the disclosure requirements of pension plans. It describes the documents that a plan administrator must make available to you, the information these documents should contain and alternative sources of the information. The following questions are addressed:

- What Information Is Your Plan Required to Disclose?

- Sources of Plan Information

- What Documents Are Available At Other Federal Agencies?

What Information Is Your Plan Required to Disclose?

ERISA requires plan administrators -- the people who run plans -- to give you in writing the most important facts you need to know about your pension plan. Some of these facts must be provided to you regularly and automatically by the plan administrator. Others are available upon request, free-of-charge or for copying fees. Your request should be made in writing.

One of the most important documents you are entitled to receive automatically when you become a participant of an ERISA-covered pension plan or a beneficiary receiving benefits under such a plan, is a summary of the plan, called the summary plan description or SPD. Your plan administrator is legally obligated to provide to you, free of charge, the SPD. The summary plan description is an important document that tells you what the plan provides and how it operates. It tells you when you begin to participate in the plan, how your service and benefits are calculated, when your benefit becomes vested, when you will receive payment and in what form, and how to file a claim for benefits. You should read your summary plan description to learn about the particular provisions that apply to you. If a plan is changed, you must be informed, either through a revised summary plan description, or in a separate document, called a summary of material modifications, which also must be given to you free of charge.

In addition to the summary plan description, the plan administrator must automatically give you each year a copy of the plan s summary annual report. This is a summary of the annual financial report that most pension plans must file with the Department of Labor. These reports are filed on government forms called Form 5500 or 5500-C/R. The summary annual report is available to you at no cost. To learn more about your plan s assets, you may ask the plan administrator for a copy of the annual report in its entirety.

If you are unable to get the summary plan description, the summary annual report or the annual report from the plan administrator, you may be able to obtain a copy by writing to the Department of Labor, PWBA, Public Disclosure Room, Room N-5638, 200 Constitution Avenue, N.W., Washington, D.C. 20210, for a nominal copying charge. If possible, provide the name of the plan, employer identification number (a 9-digit number assigned by the IRS) and the plan number (a 3-digit number, such as 002). If you do not have this information, give the name of the plan and the city and state.

If you have information that plan assets are being mismanaged or misused, sent details to the nearest regional or district office of the Department of Labor, see paragraphs 46 thru 48 for a list of PWBA office.

Following is a list and description of the documents that must be made available to you. If a plan administrator refuses to comply with your request for documents, and the reasons are within his or her control, a court may impose a penalty of up to $100 per day. The Department of Labor does not have the authority to impose this penalty. See Chapter 6 on your right to sue under ERISA to enforce your rights.

Sources of Plan Information

*Documents filed with the Labor Department can be obtained by contacting the U. S. Department of Labor, PWBA, Public Disclosure Facility, Room N5638, 200 Constitution Avenue, NW, Washington, D.C. 20210, (202) 219-8771.

What Documents Are Available At Other Federal Agencies?

Documents for some plans are available for public inspection at the Internal Revenue Service. These documents include the applications filed by pension plans to determine if they meet federal tax-qualification requirements, applications filed by certain organizations to determine if they qualify as tax-exempt, and the Internal Revenue Service responses to these applications. Get in touch with the Internal Revenue Service Freedom of Information Reading Room, P.O. Box 795, Washington, D.C. 20044, tel. (202) 622-5164, for information on available documents.

If you terminate employment and you have a vested pension benefit (see Chapter 3 for an explanation of vested benefits) that you are not eligible to receive until later, that information will be reported by your plan to the Internal Revenue Service, which, in turn, will inform the Social Security Administration. This information must also be provided to you by the plan. The Social Security Administration will tell you, upon request, whether you were reported as having a deferred vested benefit under any plan; for information about making these requests, call 1-800-772-1213 (toll-free). The Administration will automatically give you this information when you apply for social security benefits. Nevertheless, it is in your interest to keep the plan administrator informed about any change of address or name change after you leave employment to assure that you will receive the pension benefit due to you.

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