Background
ERISA section 412 and related regulations (29 C.F.R. § 2550.412-1 and 29 C.F.R. Part 2580) generally require that every fiduciary of an employee benefit plan and every person who handles funds or other property of such a plan shall be bonded. ERISA's bonding requirements are intended to protect employee benefit plans from risk of loss due to fraud or dishonesty on the part of persons who handle plan funds or other property. ERISA refers to persons who handle funds or other property of an employee benefit plan as plan officials. A plan official must be bonded for at least 10% of the amount of funds he or she handles, subject to a minimum bond amount of $1,000 per plan with respect to which the plan official has handling functions. In most instances, the maximum bond amount that can be required under ERISA with respect to any one plan official is $500,000 per plan. Effective for plan years beginning on or after January 1, 2008, however, the maximum required bond amount is $1,000,000 for plan officials of plans that hold employer securities.(1)
Since enactment of ERISA, the Agency has provided various forms of guidance concerning the application of ERISA's bonding requirements. Over the past several years, however, a number of questions have been raised by our Regional Offices and others concerning the bonding rules. In addition, amendments to section 412 that were enacted in the Pension Protection Act of 2006 (PPA) have presented questions concerning the application of those changes to plan fiduciaries and other persons handling plan funds or other property. This Bulletin provides guidance, in a question and answer format, for our Regional Offices concerning the application of ERISA's bonding requirements and the PPA changes thereto. This Bulletin is not intended to address any civil or criminal liability that may result from losses to a plan caused by acts of fraud or dishonesty or violations of ERISA's fiduciary provisions.
ERISA Fidelity Bonds
Q1: What losses must an ERISA bond cover?
An ERISA section 412 bond (sometimes referred to as an ERISA fidelity bond) must protect the plan against loss by reason of acts of fraud or dishonesty on the part of persons required to be bonded, whether the person acts directly or through connivance with others. ERISA § 412; 29 C.F.R. § 2580.412-1. The term "fraud or dishonesty" for this purpose encompasses risks of loss that might arise through dishonest or fraudulent acts in handling plan funds or other property. This includes, but is not limited to, larceny, theft, embezzlement, forgery, misappropriation, wrongful abstraction, wrongful conversion, willful misapplication, and other acts where losses result through any act or arrangement prohibited by 18 U.S.C. § 1954. The bond must provide recovery for loss occasioned by such acts even though no personal gain accrues to the person committing the act and the act is not subject to punishment as a crime or misdemeanor, provided that within the law of the state in which the act is committed, a court would afford recovery under a bond providing protection against fraud or dishonesty. 29 C.F.R. 2580.412-9. Deductibles or other similar features that transfer risk to the plan are prohibited. 29 C.F.R. § 2580.412-11. [See also Bond Terms and Provisions, Q26 through Q30.]
Q2: Is an ERISA fidelity bond the same thing as fiduciary liability insurance?
No. The fidelity bond required under section 412 of ERISA specifically insures a plan against losses due to fraud or dishonesty (e.g., theft) on the part of persons (including, but not limited to, plan fiduciaries) who handle plan funds or other property. Fiduciary liability insurance, on the other hand, generally insures the plan against losses caused by breaches of fiduciary responsibilities.
Fiduciary liability insurance is neither required by nor subject to section 412 of ERISA. Whether a plan purchases fiduciary liability insurance is subject, generally, to ERISA's fiduciary standards, including section 410 of ERISA. ERISA section 410 allows, but does not require, a plan to purchase insurance for its fiduciaries or for itself covering losses occurring from acts or omissions of a fiduciary. Any such policy paid for by the plan must, however, permit recourse by the insurer against the fiduciary in the case of a fiduciary breach. In some cases, the fiduciary may purchase, at his or her expense, protection against the insurer's recourse rights.
Q3: Who are the parties to an ERISA fidelity bond?
In a typical bond, the plan is the named insured and a surety company is the party that provides the bond. The persons "covered" by the bond are the persons who "handle" funds or other property of the plan (i.e., plan officials). As the insured party, the plan can make a claim on the bond if a plan official causes a loss to the plan due to fraud or dishonesty. [See also Bond Terms and Provisions, Q31 and Q32.]
Q4: Can I get an ERISA bond from any bonding or insurance company?
No. Bonds must be placed with a surety or reinsurer that is named on the Department of the Treasury's Listing of Approved Sureties, Department Circular 570 (available at fms.treas.gov/c570/c570.html). 29 C.F.R. §2580.412-21, § 2580.412-23, § 2580.412-24. Under certain conditions, bonds may also be placed with the Underwriters at Lloyds of London. 29 C.F.R. § 580.412-25, § 2580.412.26. In addition, neither the plan nor a party-in-interest with respect to the plan may have any control or significant financial interest, whether direct or indirect, in the surety, or reinsurer, or in an agent or broker through which the bond is obtained. ERISA 412(c); 29 C.F.R. § 2580.412-22 and § § 2580.412-33 to 2580.412.36. If a surety becomes insolvent, is placed in receivership, or has its authority to act as an acceptable surety revoked, the administrator of any plan insured by the surety is responsible, upon learning of such facts, for securing a new bond with an acceptable surety. 29 C.F.R. § 2580.412-21(b).
Q5: Who must be bonded?
Every person who "handles funds or other property" of an employee benefit plan within the meaning of 29 C.F.R. § 2580.412-6 (i.e., a plan official) is required to be bonded unless covered under one of the exemptions in section 412 for certain banks, insurance companies, and registered brokers and dealers, or by one of the regulatory exemptions granted by the Department in its regulations. [See Exemptions From The Bonding Requirements, Q12 through Q15, Funds Or Other Property, Q17, and Handling Funds Or Other Property, Q18 through Q21.] Plan officials will usually include the plan administrator and those officers and employees of the plan or plan sponsor who handle plan funds by virtue of their duties relating to the receipt, safekeeping and disbursement of funds. Plan officials may also include other persons, such as service providers, whose duties and functions involve access to plan funds or decision-making authority that can give rise to a risk of loss through fraud or dishonesty. Where a plan administrator, service provider, or other plan official is an entity, such as a corporation or association, ERISA's bonding requirements apply to the natural persons who perform "handling" functions on behalf of the entity. See 29 C.F.R. § 2550.412-1(c), § 2580.412-3 and § 2580.412-6.
Q6: Who is responsible for making sure that plan officials are properly bonded?
The responsibility for ensuring that plan officials are bonded may fall upon a number of individuals simultaneously. In addition to a plan official being directly responsible for complying with the bonding requirements in section 412(a) of ERISA, section 412(b) specifically states that it is unlawful for any plan official to permit any other plan official to receive, handle, disburse, or otherwise exercise custody or control over plan funds or other property without first being properly bonded in accordance with section 412. In addition, section 412(b) makes it unlawful for "any other person having authority to direct the performance of such functions" to permit a plan official to perform such functions without being bonded. Thus, by way of example, if a named fiduciary hires a trustee for a plan, the named fiduciary must ensure that the trustee is either subject to an exemption or properly bonded in accordance with section 412, even if the named fiduciary is not himself or herself required to be bonded because he or she does not handle plan funds or other property.
Q7: Must all fiduciaries be bonded?
No. Fiduciaries must be bonded only if they "handle" funds or other property of an employee benefit plan and do not fall within one of the exemptions in section 412 or the regulations. [See also Exemptions From The Bonding Requirements, Q12 through Q15, and Handling Funds Or Other Property, Q18 through Q21.]
Q8: Must service providers to the plan be bonded?
As noted above, only those persons who "handle" funds or other property of an employee benefit plan are required to be bonded under section 412. Therefore, a service provider, such as a third-party administrator or investment advisor, will be subject to bonding under section 412 only if that service provider handles funds or other property of an employee benefit plan. See 29 C.F.R. § 2580.412-3(d), § 2580.412-4, § 2580.412-5 and §2580.412-6. [See also Funds Or Other Property, Q17, and Handling Funds Or Other Property, Q18.]
Q9: Must a person who renders investment advice to a plan be bonded solely by reason of rendering such investment advice?
No. A person who provides investment advice, but who does not exercise or have the right to exercise discretionary authority with respect to purchasing or selling securities or other property for the plan, is not required to be bonded solely by reason of providing such investment advice. If, however, in addition to rendering such investment advice, such person performs any additional functions that constitute "handling" plan funds or other property within the meaning of 29 C.F.R. § 2580.412-6, then that person must be bonded in accordance with section 412. [See also Handling Funds Or Other Property, Q18 through Q21.]
Q10: If a service provider is required to be bonded, must the plan purchase the bond?
No. A service provider can purchase its own separate bond insuring the plan, and nothing in ERISA specifically requires the plan to pay for that bond. If, on the other hand, a plan chooses to add a service provider to the plan's existing bond, that decision is within the discretion of the plan fiduciaries. Regardless of who pays for the bond, section 412 provides that if a service provider to the plan is required to be bonded, the plan fiduciaries who are responsible for retaining and monitoring the service provider, and any plan officials who have authority to permit the service provider to perform handling functions, are responsible for ensuring that such service provider is properly bonded before he or she handles plan funds. ERISA § 412(b). [See also Q6, above, and Form And Scope Of Bond, Q22 and Q25.]
Q11: If the plan purchases a bond to meet section 412's requirements, may the plan pay for the bond out of plan assets?
Yes. Because the purpose of ERISA's bonding requirements is to protect employee benefit plans, and because such bonds do not benefit plan officials or relieve them from their obligations to the plan, a plan's purchase of a proper section 412 bond will not contravene ERISA's fiduciary provisions in sections 406(a) and 406(b). See 29 C.F.R. § 2509.75-5, FR-9.
Exemptions from the Bonding Requirements
Q12: Do ERISA's bonding requirements apply to all employee benefit plans?
No. The bonding requirements under ERISA section 412 do not apply to employee benefit plans that are completely unfunded or that are not subject to Title I of ERISA. ERISA § 412(a)(1); 29 C.F.R. § 2580.412-1, § 2580.412-2.
Q13: What plans are considered "unfunded" so as to be exempt from ERISAs bonding requirements?
An unfunded plan is one that pays benefits only from the general assets of a union or employer. The assets used to pay the benefits must remain in, and not be segregated in any way from, the employer's or unions general assets until the benefits are distributed. Thus, a plan will not be exempt from ERISAs bonding requirements as "unfunded" if:
- any benefits under the plan are provided or underwritten by an insurance carrier or service other organization;
- there is a trust or other separate entity to which contributions are made or out of which benefits are paid;
- contributions to the plan are made by the employees, either through withholding or otherwise, or from any source other than the employer or union involved; or
- there is a separately maintained bank account or separately maintained books and records for the plan or other evidence of the existence of a segregated or separately maintained or administered fund out of which plan benefits are to be provided.
As a general rule, however, the presence of special ledger accounts or accounting entries for plan funds as an integral part of the general books and records of an employer or union will not, in and of itself, be deemed sufficient evidence of segregation of plan funds to take a plan out of the exempt category, but shall be considered along with the other factors and criteria discussed above in determining whether the exemption applies. 29 § 2580.412-1, § 580.412-2.
As noted above, an employee benefit plan that receives employee contributions is generally not considered to be unfunded. Nevertheless, the Department treats an employee welfare benefit plan that is associated with a fringe benefit plan under Internal Revenue Code section 125 as unfunded, for annual reporting purposes, if it meets the requirements of DOL Technical Release 92-01,(2) even though it includes employee contributions. As an enforcement policy, the Department will treat plans that meet such requirements as unfunded for bonding purposes as well.
Q14: Are fully-insured plans "unfunded" for purposes of ERISAs bonding requirements?
No. As noted above, a plan is considered "unfunded" for bonding purposes only if all benefits are paid directly out of an employer's or union's general assets. 29 C.F.R. § 2580.412-2. Thus, insured plan arrangements are not considered "unfunded" and are not exempt from the bonding requirements in section 412 of ERISA. The insurance company that insures benefits provided under the plan may, however, fall within a separate exemption from ERISAs bonding requirements. See ERISA § 412; 29 C.F.R. § 2580.412-31, § 2580.412-32. In addition, if no one "handles" funds or other property of the insured plan, no bond will be required under section 412. For example, as described in 29 C.F.R. § 2580.412-6(b)(7), in many cases contributions made by employers or employee organizations or by withholding from employees' salaries are not segregated from the general assets of the employer or employee organization until paid out to purchase benefits from an insurance carrier, insurance service or other similar organization. No bonding is required with respect to the payment of premiums, or other payments made to purchase such benefits, directly from general assets, nor with respect to the bare existence of the contract obligation to pay benefits. Such insured arrangements would not normally be subject to bonding except to the extent that monies returned by way of benefit payments, cash surrender, dividends, credits or otherwise, and which by the terms of the plan belong to the plan (rather than to the employer, employee organization, or insurance carrier), were subject to "handling" by a plan official. [See also 29 C.F.R. § 2580.412-5(b)(2); Q15, below; and Handling Funds Or Other Property, Q18.]
Q15: Are there any other exemptions from ERISA's bonding provisions for persons who handle funds or other property of employee benefit plans?
Yes. Both section 412 and the regulations found in 29 C.F.R. Part 2580 contain exemptions from ERISA's bonding requirements. Section 412 specifically excludes any fiduciary (or any director, officer, or employee of such fiduciary) that is a bank or insurance company and which, among other criteria, is organized and doing business under state or federal law, is subject to state or federal supervision or examination, and meets certain capitalization requirements. ERISA § 412(a)(3). Section 412 also excludes from its requirements any entity which is registered as a broker or a dealer under section 15(b) of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934 (SEA), 15 U.S.C. 78o(b), if the broker or dealer is subject to the fidelity bond requirements of a "self regulatory organization" within the meaning of SEA section 3(a)(26), 15 U.S.C. 78c(a)(26). ERISA § 412(a)(2). As with section 412's other statutory and regulatory exemptions, this exemption for brokers and dealers applies to both the broker-dealer entity and its officers, directors and employees.
In addition to the exemptions outlined in section 412, the Secretary has issued regulatory exemptions from the bonding requirements. These include an exemption for banking institutions and trust companies that are subject to regulation and examination by the Comptroller of the Currency, the Board of Governors of the Federal Reserve System, or the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation. 29 C.F.R. § 2580.412-27, § 2580.412-28. Unlike the exemption in section 412 for banks and trust companies, this regulatory exemption applies to banking institutions even if they are not fiduciaries to the plan, but it does not apply if the bank or trust company is subject only to state regulation.
The Department's regulations also exempt any insurance carrier (or service or similar organization) that provides or underwrites welfare or pension benefits in accordance with state law. This exemption applies only with respect to employee benefit plans that are maintained for the benefit of persons other than the insurance carrier or organization's own employees. 29 C.F.R. § 2580.412-31, § 2580.412-32. Unlike the exemption in section 412 for insurance companies, this regulatory exemption applies to insurance carriers even if they are not plan fiduciaries, but it does not apply to plans that are for the benefit of the insurance company's own employees.
In addition to the exemptions described above, the Secretary has issued specific regulatory exemptions for certain savings and loan associations when they are the administrators of plans for the benefit of their own employees. 29 C.F.R. § 2580.412-29, § 2580.412-30.
Q16: Are SEPs and SIMPLE IRAs subject to ERISA's bonding requirements?
There is no specific exemption in section 412 for SEP (IRC § 408(k)) or SIMPLE IRA (IRC § 408(p)) retirement plans. Such plans are generally structured in such a way, however, that if any person does "handle" funds or other property of such plans that person will fall under one of ERISA's financial institution exemptions. ERISA § 412; 29 C.F.R. § 2580.412-27, § 2580.412-28.
Funds or other Property
Q17: What constitutes "funds or other property" of the plan?
The term "funds or other property" generally refers to all funds or property that the plan uses or may use as a source for the payment of benefits to plan participants or beneficiaries. 29 C.F.R. § 2580.412-4. Thus, plan "funds or other property" include contributions from any source, including employers, employees, and employee organizations, that are received by the plan, or segregated from an employer or employee organization's general assets, or otherwise paid out or used for plan purposes. 29 C.F.R. § 2580.412-5(b)(2). Plan "funds or other property" also include all items in the nature of quick assets, such as cash, checks and other negotiable instruments, government obligations, marketable securities, and all other property or items that are convertible into cash or have a cash value that are held or acquired for the ultimate purpose of distribution to plan participants or beneficiaries.
Plan "funds or other property" include all plan investments, even those that are not in the nature of quick assets, such as land and buildings, mortgages, and securities in closely-held corporations, although permanent assets that are used in operating the plan, such as land and buildings, furniture and fixtures, or office and delivery equipment used in the operation of the plan, are generally not considered to be "funds or other property" of the plan for bonding purposes. 29 C.F.R. § 2580.412-4. It is important to note, however, that ERISA's bonding requirements apply only to persons who "handle" plan "funds or other property." Whether a person is "handling" any given plan "funds or other property" so as to require bonding will depend on whether that person's relationship to the property is such that there is a risk that the person, acting alone or in connivance with others, could cause a loss of such funds or other property though fraud or dishonesty. [See Handling Funds Or Other Property, Q18.]
Leading Retirement Solutions
(206) 430-5084 phone
(800) 974-2814 (toll free)
service@leadingretirement.com
www.leadingretirement.com
Our mission: to proactively support organizations and lead them toward a secure future.