Q: What protections do the fiduciary rules of ERISA provide?

ERISA protects your plan from mismanagement and misuse of assets through its fiduciary provisions.  ERISA defines a fiduciary as anyone who exercises discretionary control or authority over plan management or plan assets, anyone with discretionary authority or responsibility for the administration of a plan, or anyone who provides investment advice to a plan for compensation or has any authority or responsibility to do so.  Plan fiduciaries include, for example, plan trustees, plan administrators, and members of a plan's investment committee.

The primary responsibility of fiduciaries is to run the plan solely in the interest of participants and beneficiaries and for the exclusive purpose of providing benefits and paying plan expenses.  Fiduciaries must act prudently and must diversify the plan's investments in order to minimize the risk of large losses.  In addition, they must follow the terms of plan documents to the extent that the plan terms are consistent with ERISA.  They also must avoid conflicts on behalf of the plan that benefit parties related to the plan, such as other fiduciaries, service providers, or the plan sponsor.

Fiduciaries who do not follow these principles of conduct may be personally liable to restore any losses to the plan, or to restore any profits made through improper use of plan assets.  Courts may take whatever action is appropriate against fiduciaries who breach their duties under ERISA including their removal.

Q: When must employers deposit withheld employee contributions into a 401(k) plan or other pension plan?

Employers must transmit employee contributions to pension plans as soon as they can reasonably be segregated from the employer's general assets, but not later than the 15th  business day of the month immediately after the month in which the contributions either were withheld or received by the employer.

Q: When can you choose your own investments?