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Pension Resource

29 C.F.R. § 2520.104-20

Limited exemption for certain small welfare plans.
CFR 2001 annual edition (revised as of 2001-07-01) · superseded Jul 1, 2002 · last amended by 46 FR 5884, Jan. 21, 1981
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(a) Scope. Under the authority of section 104(a)(3) of the Act, the administrator of any employee welfare benefit plan which covers fewer than 100 participants at the beginning of the plan year and which meets the requirements of paragraph (b) of this section is exempted from certain reporting and disclosure provisions of the Act. Specifically, the administrator of such plan is not required to file with the Secretary any of the following documents: Plan description, copy of the summary plan description, description of a material modification in the terms of a plan or change in the information required to be included in the plan description, annual report, and terminal report. In addition, the administrator of a plan exempted under this section—
(1) Is not required to furnish participants covered under the plan and beneficiaries receiving benefits under the plan with statements of the plan's assets and liabilities and receipts and disbursements and a summary of the annual report required by section 104(b)(3) of the Act;
(2) Is not required to furnish upon written request of any participant or beneficiary a copy of the plan description, annual report, and any terminal report, as required by section 104(b)(4) of the Act;
(3) Is not required to make copies of the plan description and annual report available for examination by any participant or beneficiary in the principal office of the administrator and such other places as may be necessary, as required by section 104(b)(2) of the Act.
(b) Application. This exemption applies only to welfare benefit plans—
(1) Which have fewer than 100 participants at the beginning of the plan year;
(2)
(i) For which benefits are paid as needed solely from the general assets of the employer or employee organization maintaining the plan, or
(ii) The benefits of which are provided exclusively through insurance contracts or policies issued by an insurance company or similar organization which is qualified to do business in any State or through a qualified health maintenance organization as defined in section 1310(d) of the Public Health Service Act, as amended, 42 U.S.C. 300e-9(d), the premiums for which are paid directly by the employer or employee organization from its general assets or partly from its general assets and partly from contributions by its employees or members, Provided, That contributions by participants are forwarded by the employer or employee organization within three months of receipt, or
(iii) Both; and
(3) For which, in the case of an insured plan—
(i) Refunds, to which contributing participants are entitled, are returned to them within three months of receipt by the employer or employee organization, and
(ii) Contributing participants are informed upon entry into the plan of the provisions of the plan concerning the allocation of refunds.
(c) Limitations. This exemption does not exempt the administrator of an employee benefit plan from any other requirement of title I of the Act, including the provisions which require that plan administrators furnish copies of the summary plan description to participants and beneficiaries (section 104(b)(1)) and furnish certain documents to the Secretary of Labor upon request (section 104(a)(1)), and which authorize the Secretary of Labor to collect information and data from employee benefit plans for research and analysis (section 513).
(d) Examples.
(1) A welfare plan has 75 participants at the beginning of the plan year and 105 participants at the end of the plan year. Plan benefits are fully insured and premiums are paid directly to the insurance company by the employer pursuant to an insurance contract purchased with premium payments derived half from the general assets of the employer and half from employee contributions (which the employer forwards within three months of receipt). Refunds to the plan are paid to participating employees within three months of receipt as provided in the plan and as described to each participant upon entering the plan. The plan appoints the employer as its plan administrator. The employer, as plan administrator, provides summary plan descriptions to participants and beneficiaries. He also makes copies of certain plan documents available at the plan's principal office and such other places as necessary to give participants reasonable access to them. The exemption provided by § 2520.104-20 applies even though the plan has more than 100 participants by the end of the plan year, because it had fewer than 100 participants at the beginning of the plan year and otherwise satisfied the conditions of the exemption.
(2) A welfare plan is established and maintained in the same way as the plan described in example (1), except that a trade association which sponsors the plan is the holder of the insurance contract. Since the plan still sends the premium payments directly to the insurance company, the exemption applies, as in example (1).
Source credit, amendments & notes

[43 FR 10148, Mar. 10, 1978, as amended at 46 FR 5884, Jan. 21, 1981]

29 C.F.R. § 2520.104-20 — Limited exemption for certain small welfare plans. · CFR 2001 annual edition (revised as of 2001-07-01) · https://pensionresource.website/EAMain?content=EAMain.Law&id=cfr29-2520.104-20&asof=1994-12-08 · printed Oct 16, 2026
On this page
Implements
ERISA § 104 (29 U.S.C. § 1024) Filing with Secretary and furnishing information to participants and certain employers
Cited by (code & regs)
Guidance addressing this section

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Also cited in 45 other documents
Department of Labor (EBSA)
Proposed Rules
  • 91 FR 46602Proposed Jul 23, 2026 — Electronic Disclosure by Group Health Plans Under ERISA Comments due Sep 21, 2026
  • 91 FR 9213Proposed Feb 25, 2026 — Requirement To Provide Paper Statements in Certain Cases-Amendments to Electronic Disclosure Safe Harbors Comments due Apr 27, 2026
  • 91 FR 4348Proposed Jan 30, 2026 — Improving Transparency Into Pharmacy Benefit Manager Fee Disclosure Comments due Mar 31, 2026
  • 87 FR 56912Proposed Sep 16, 2022 — Initial Regulatory Flexibility Analysis for Proposed Amendment to Prohibited Transaction Class Exemption 84-14 (the QPAM Exemption) Comments due Oct 11, 2022
  • 87 FR 14722Proposed Mar 15, 2022 — Procedures Governing the Filing and Processing of Prohibited Transaction Exemption Applications Comments due Apr 14, 2022
  • 86 FR 57272Proposed Oct 14, 2021 — Prudence and Loyalty in Selecting Plan Investments and Exercising Shareholder Rights Comments due Dec 13, 2021
  • 85 FR 55219Proposed Sep 4, 2020 — Fiduciary Duties Regarding Proxy Voting and Shareholder Rights Comments due Oct 5, 2020
  • 85 FR 39113Proposed Jun 30, 2020 — Financial Factors in Selecting Plan Investments Comments due Jul 30, 2020
  • 84 FR 56894Proposed Oct 23, 2019 — Default Electronic Disclosure by Employee Pension Benefit Plans Under ERISA Comments due Nov 22, 2019
  • 83 FR 614Proposed Jan 5, 2018 — Definition of “Employer” Under Section 3(5) of ERISA-Association Health Plans Comments due Mar 6, 2018
  • 81 FR 47534Proposed Jul 21, 2016 — Proposed Revision of Annual Information Return/Reports Comments due Oct 4, 2016
  • 81 FR 47496Proposed Jul 21, 2016 — Annual Reporting and Disclosure Comments due Oct 4, 2016
  • 77 FR 74063Proposed Dec 12, 2012 — Amendments to the Abandoned Plan Regulations Comments due Feb 11, 2013
  • 76 FR 76222Proposed Dec 6, 2011 — Filings Required of Multiple Employer Welfare Arrangements and Certain Other Related Entities Comments due Mar 5, 2012
  • 75 FR 53172Proposed Aug 30, 2010 — Prohibited Transaction Exemption Procedures; Employee Benefit Plans Comments due Oct 14, 2010
Final Rules
  • 89 FR 4662 Jan 24, 2024 — Procedures Governing the Filing and Processing of Prohibited Transaction Exemption Applications
  • 87 FR 73822 Dec 1, 2022 — Prudence and Loyalty in Selecting Plan Investments and Exercising Shareholder Rights
  • 85 FR 81658 Dec 16, 2020 — Fiduciary Duties Regarding Proxy Voting and Shareholder Rights
  • 85 FR 72846 Nov 13, 2020 — Financial Factors in Selecting Plan Investments
  • 85 FR 31884 May 27, 2020 — Default Electronic Disclosure by Employee Pension Benefit Plans Under ERISA
  • 78 FR 13781 Mar 1, 2013 — Filings Required of Multiple Employer Welfare Arrangements and Certain Other Related Entities
  • 76 FR 66637 Oct 27, 2011 — Prohibited Transaction Exemption Procedures; Employee Benefit Plans
  • 75 FR 2068 Jan 14, 2010 — Definition of “Plan Assets”-Participant Contributions
Technical Releases
IRS / Treasury
Proposed Rules
  • 91 FR 27140Proposed May 13, 2026 — Excepted Fertility Benefits Comments due Jul 13, 2026
  • 88 FR 75744Proposed Nov 3, 2023 — Federal Independent Dispute Resolution Operations Comments due Jan 2, 2024
  • 88 FR 65888Proposed Sep 26, 2023 — Federal Independent Dispute Resolution (IDR) Process Administrative Fee and Certified IDR Entity Fee Ranges Comments due Oct 26, 2023
  • 88 FR 51552Proposed Aug 3, 2023 — Requirements Related to the Mental Health Parity and Addiction Equity Act Comments due Oct 2, 2023
  • 85 FR 42782Proposed Jul 15, 2020 — Grandfathered Group Health Plans and Grandfathered Group Health Insurance Coverage Comments due Aug 14, 2020
  • 79 FR 76931Proposed Dec 23, 2014 — Amendments to Excepted Benefits Comments due Jan 22, 2015
  • 79 FR 10320Proposed Feb 24, 2014 — Ninety-Day Waiting Period Limitation Comments due Apr 25, 2014
  • 78 FR 77632Proposed Dec 24, 2013 — Amendments to Excepted Benefits Comments due Feb 24, 2014
  • 78 FR 17313Proposed Mar 21, 2013 — Ninety-Day Waiting Period Limitation and Technical Amendments to Certain Health Coverage Requirements Under the Affordable Care Act Comments due May 20, 2013
  • 77 FR 70620Proposed Nov 26, 2012 — Incentives for Nondiscriminatory Wellness Programs in Group Health Plans Comments due Jan 25, 2013
  • REG-130370-04Proposed Feb 22, 2005 — Proposed regulations under section 9801of the Code would provide guidance on the HIPAA portability requirements relating to interaction with the Family and Med…
Final Rules
  • 89 FR 77586 Sep 23, 2024 — Requirements Related to the Mental Health Parity and Addiction Equity Act
  • 88 FR 88494 Dec 21, 2023 — Federal Independent Dispute Resolution (IDR) Process Administrative Fee and Certified IDR Entity Fee Ranges
  • 87 FR 52618 Aug 26, 2022 — Requirements Related to Surprise Billing
  • 85 FR 81097 Dec 15, 2020 — Grandfathered Group Health Plans and Grandfathered Group Health Insurance Coverage
  • 84 FR 28888 Jun 20, 2019 — Health Reimbursement Arrangements and Other Account-Based Group Health Plans
  • 80 FR 13995 Mar 18, 2015 — Amendments to Excepted Benefits
  • 79 FR 59130 Oct 1, 2014 — Amendments to Excepted Benefits
  • 78 FR 33158 Jun 3, 2013 — Incentives for Nondiscriminatory Wellness Programs in Group Health Plans
Treasury Decisions
  • T.D. 9166 Feb 22, 2005 — Final regulations under section 9801 of the Code provide guidance on the Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act of 1996 (HIPAA) portability requir…
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Each row is a version of the text as published by the official source. Code dates are the edition/release point that first reflected the change; regulation dates are eCFR effective dates. The library checks the official sources automatically, so new versions appear here on their own; “run” opens the sync that recorded a version.

EffectiveThroughSourceAmended by
Jul 1, 1997Jun 30, 2002CFR 2001 annual edition (revised as of 2001-07-01) run 12746 FR 5884, Jan. 21, 1981View
Jul 1, 2002Jun 30, 2013CFR 2012 annual edition (revised as of 2012-07-01) run 12767 FR 776, Jan. 7, 2002View · Redline (sign in)
Jul 1, 2013currenteCFR editorial change effective 2017-01-01 run 278 FR 13796, Mar. 1, 2013View · Redline (sign in)
Provision-level history (blame)