Do ERISA regulations require all companies to offer a retirement plan?

Federal law does not require employers to offer retirement plans to their employees. If employers choose to offer retirement plans, they must follow strict guidelines regarding how the plans are managed, operated, and presented to employees. The Employee Retirement Income Security Act (ERISA) is the law that governs all retirement plans in the United States.

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Employer Medical and Health Coverage of Stepchildren

Employer-provided health insurance does not always have to cover step-children, even though policies may generally cover biological and legally adopted children. Employer-provided health insurance only needs to cover those people that it specifically states it will cover, based upon company policy, employer plans, and state laws. When someone pays for “family coverage,” that coverage is necessarily based on a definition of “family” of legal relationships, such as those of blood, marriage, or adoption. If someone does not meet those specific definitions, they may not be covered by insurance, even if they are part of family” by modern —though non-legal —definitions.

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What is cliff vesting?

Cliff vesting means an employee becomes 100 percent vested (and entitled to the full amount of promised pension benefits) all at once. When an employer offers graduated vesting, the employee obtains the absolute right to his benefits over time. For instance, an employee might become 20 percent vested after one year; 50 percent vested after two years and 100 percent vested after three years. With cliff vesting, an employee who leaves the company before the designated vesting time will leave with no portion of the employer-provided retirement benefits at all.

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What can I do if my employer has not paid my insurance premiums and is now filing for bankruptcy?

If you pay health insurance premiums to your company, and the company declares bankruptcy – and so does not actually make the payments to the health insurance company – what happens may depend on the type of bankruptcy filed as well as the specifics of your health plan. In general, however, if your company declares bankruptcy, you will have your health insurance premiums paid or you will get a refund for the money withheld from you.

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