General Introduction
The office of Employee Plans (EP) under the Tax Exempt & Government Entities (TE/GE) operating division of the Internal Revenue Service helps retirement plan sponsors, plan participants, and practitioners working in the retirement benefits arena understand and comply with the pension law.

Historical Background
In 1974 the Employee Retirement Income Security Act of 1974 (ERISA) was signed into law. It completely revised the legal framework of the qualified pension plan and made significant changes in the areas of minimum participation, vesting, benefits, surviving spouse benefit protection and minimum funding requirements.

Administrative Responsibility for Retirement Plans
Under ERISA, jurisdiction over employee benefit plans was divided among the Internal Revenue Service (IRS), the Department of Labor (DOL) and the Pension Benefit Guaranty Corporation (PBGC).

The responsibility of the IRS centers on plans covered by Internal Revenue Code (IRC) section 401(a), and includes pension, profit-sharing, and stock-bonus plans. The DOL shares some responsibility in this area, but primarily from the perspective of fiduciary responsibility and prohibited transactions. DOL is also responsible for such plans as health and welfare plans, legal aid plans and other plans that are not designed to provide retirement benefits or the deferral of income.

The PBGC is a government corporation created by ERISA that functions as insurer of a minimum guaranteed benefit for certain pension plans. Although jurisdiction is divided among the agencies, the Act requires that they coordinate their activities. This activity most commonly occurs between the IRS and DOL due to the overlap in the nature of their responsibilities.

What We Do
The pension law provides significant tax benefits for sponsors of certain retirement plans (such as 401(k) plans) and the employees that participate in them. Our Examinations activities promote voluntary compliance by analyzing operational features of retirement plans. A centralized examination case selection and review process is used to enhance consistency of enforcement activities and to focus resources on the areas of highest noncompliance. Through our Customer Education & Outreach office, we provide services and information about retirement plan requirements. Our services under Rulings and Agreements are designed to help customers understand and comply with the pension law, and assist customers in correcting mistakes that may occur when administering the plan. These services help conserve plan benefits until an employee’s retirement, and help preserve the tax benefits associated with these plans. Additional information regarding our unique services is presented in our online brochure, Publication 3636. The Employee Plans Work Plan sets forth the operating priorities and program guidance that will guide our work over the coming year.

Statistical Information on Retirement Plans

• Tax Exempt/Employee Plans Statistics - Employee Plans
  IRS statistics on determinations, examinations and annual returns filed.
  
  
• Private Pension Plan Bulletin - Abstract of Form 5500 Annual Reports
  DOL statistics on plans, participants, assets, income and expenses based upon Form 5500 filings.
  
  
• PBGC Annual Report
  PBGC statistics on defined benefit plans, including multiemployer plans.
  
  
• Pension Insurance Data Book
  Detailed statistics on PBGC program operations and benefit protection.

Additional Resources

• Retirement Plans Community
  A brief description of the types of retirement plans and taxpayer groups that are covered by the Retirement Plans Community web pages.
  
  
• Retirement Planning (mymoney.gov)
  Useful tools for retirement planning from the mymoney.gov web site.