ERISA Fidelity Bond

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The Employee Retirement Income Security Act of 1974 (ERISA) was passed in to law because of concerns that the assets of private retirement plans were being mishandled and/orcriminally converted to improper ends. The ERISA bond requirement was the result of a long line of legislation concerned with the labor and tax exposures of employee benefit plans. The fundamental purpose of the Act was to create certain civil enforcement provisions to assure that plan assets are properly protected and that participants in those plans receive the promised benefits. ERISA section 412 and 29 C.F.R. §2550.412-1 and 29 C.F.R. Part 2580) require that every fiduciary (trustee) of an employee benefit plan and every person who handles the assets of a regulated plan be covered by an ERISA fidelity bond. The ERISA bond must be equal to no less than ten percent (10%) of the total asset value in the plan when those assets are "qualified". "Non-qualified" assets require fidelity bonding of one hundred percent (100%) of the plan total and there is no maximum contemplated. The maximum ERISA fidelity bond amount required under the law for any one plan is generally $500,000 however, the maximum required ERISA bond amount is $1,000,000 if the plan includes employer-issued securities (ESOPs).

ERISA fidelity bonds are required by federal law AND must be issued by an insurer that appears on the U.S. Treasury's circular ("T-List") of approved sureties approved for federal obligations. Unless the insurance company appears on this list, the fidelity bond will not bring the plan in to compliance. The surety's rating is also and important consideration. You may learn more about the ERISA fidelity bond on our website at SuretyOne.com, or use one of the following applications for your need.

Retro-Dating of ERISA Bond Coverage

Surety companies are generally not willing to backdate fidelity bonds because it would require that the insurer assume potential liabilities without the benefit of previous underwriting and receipt of premium. We can backdate beyond the thirty-day window however additional application requirements apply AND further documents will be needed. Email Underwriting@SuretyOne.com, call (800) 373-2804 or click here for a live chat about this specific need.

ERISA Fidelity Bonds for Financial Advisers

Standard ERISA bonds do not offer coverage for independent registered investment advisers (RIAs). We offer a specialty product for RIAs that has been approved by the U.S. Department of Labor and complies with the requirements of ERISA:

RIA ERISA-compliant bond application.

This fidelity bond offers the following benefits:

Specialty coverage designed to support SEC and state registered financial advisers' ERISA-specific exposures and compliance issues.
May be issued to cover a single plan or offered as a blanket coverage for all plans that the RIA advises.
High aggregate limits available.
Policy form includes an "inflation guard" provision at no extra premium or fee.