{"id":2886,"date":"2019-11-17T23:22:21","date_gmt":"2019-11-17T23:22:21","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/suretyone.com\/blog\/?p=2886"},"modified":"2021-07-14T20:08:14","modified_gmt":"2021-07-14T20:08:14","slug":"erisa-fidelity-bond-multi-employer-plans","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/suretyone.com\/blog\/erisa-fidelity-bond-multi-employer-plans\/","title":{"rendered":"An ERISA Fidelity Bond and Multi Employer Plans"},"content":{"rendered":"

Pursuant to Federal Code (ERISA<\/a>) and the Rules promulgated by the U.S. Department of Labor for implementation of the Employee Retirement Income Security Act of 1974, each and every employee benefit plan except for very few exceptions must purchase and maintain in effect an ERISA fidelity bond. Per the D.o.L., the ERISA bond covers the acts of all of those “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.” To-date many surety companies have been less than willing to provide fidelity bonds to multi employer plans. That may have to change soon.<\/p>\n

In August of 2018, the President signed an executive order strengthening retirement plan security, called the “Multi Employer Plan Rule”. The MEP Rule states specifically, “\u201cExpanding access to multiple employer plans (MEPs), under which employees of different private-sector employers may participate in a single retirement plan, is an efficient way to reduce administrative costs of retirement plan establishment and maintenance and would encourage more plan formation and broader availability of workplace retirement plans, especially among small employers.\u201d\u00a0The D.o.L.’s\u00a0final rule on\u00a0MEPs\u00a0was published in July,2019, and took effect in September of 2019.\u00a0The protocols will enable small businesses, trade groups, chambers of commerce, PEOs, and the like to offer\u00a0participants in a retirement plan lower fees and simplified administration. What are the practical effects?<\/p>\n