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Pension Resource

ERISA § 402 (29 U.S.C. § 1102)

Establishment of plan
USC 1994 ed., current through 1995-01-04 · superseded Jan 22, 2002 · last amended by Pub. L. 93-406
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(a) Named fiduciaries
(1) Every employee benefit plan shall be established and maintained pursuant to a written instrument. Such instrument shall provide for one or more named fiduciaries who jointly or severally shall have authority to control and manage the operation and administration of the plan.
(2) For purposes of this subchapter, the term “named fiduciary” means a fiduciary who is named in the plan instrument, or who, pursuant to a procedure specified in the plan, is identified as a fiduciary (A) by a person who is an employer or employee organization with respect to the plan or (B) by such an employer and such an employee organization acting jointly.
(b) Requisite features of plan Every employee benefit plan shall—
(1) provide a procedure for establishing and carrying out a funding policy and method consistent with the objectives of the plan and the requirements of this subchapter,
(2) describe any procedure under the plan for the allocation of responsibilities for the operation and administration of the plan (including any procedures described in section 1105(c)(1) of this title),
(3) provide a procedure for amending such plan, and for identifying the persons who have authority to amend the plan, and
(4) specify the basis on which payments are made to and from the plan.
(c) Optional features of plan Any employee benefit plan may provide—
(1) that any person or group of persons may serve in more than one fiduciary capacity with respect to the plan (including service both as trustee and administrator);
(2) that a named fiduciary, or a fiduciary designated by a named fiduciary pursuant to a plan procedure described in section 1105(c)(1) of this title, may employ one or more persons to render advice with regard to any responsibility such fiduciary has under the plan; or
(3) that a person who is a named fiduciary with respect to control or management of the assets of the plan may appoint an investment manager or managers to manage (including the power to acquire and dispose of) any assets of a plan.
Source credit, amendments & notes

(Pub. L. 93–406, title I, §402, Sept. 2, 1974, 88 Stat. 875.)

ERISA § 402 (29 U.S.C. § 1102) — Establishment of plan · USC 1994 ed., current through 1995-01-04 · https://pensionresource.website/EAMain?content=EAMain.Law&id=usc29-1102&asof=1995-01-04 · printed Oct 16, 2026
On this page
  • (a) Named fiduciaries
  • (b) Requisite features of plan
  • (c) Optional features of plan
Cited by (code & regs)

No regulations are linked to this section in the library.

Guidance addressing this section
Department of Labor (EBSA)
Proposed Rules
  • 86 FR 57272Proposed Oct 14, 2021 — Prudence and Loyalty in Selecting Plan Investments and Exercising Shareholder Rights Comments due Dec 13, 2021 (b)(1)(c)(3)
  • 85 FR 39113Proposed Jun 30, 2020 — Financial Factors in Selecting Plan Investments Comments due Jul 30, 2020 (a)(1)(c)(3)
Final Rules
  • 81 FR 95879 Dec 29, 2016 — Interpretive Bulletin Relating to the Exercise of Shareholder Rights and Written Statements of Investment Policy, Including Proxy Voting Policies or Guidelines (c)(3)
Also cited in 28 other documents
Department of Labor (EBSA)
Proposed Rules
  • 90 FR 35646Proposed Jul 29, 2025 — Pooled Employer Plans: Big Plans for Small Businesses Comments due Sep 29, 2025
  • 87 FR 45204Proposed Jul 27, 2022 — Proposed Amendment to Prohibited Transaction Class Exemption 84-14 (the QPAM Exemption) Comments due Sep 26, 2022 (a)(2)
  • 86 FR 51488Proposed Sep 15, 2021 — Proposed Revision of Annual Information Return/Reports Comments due Nov 1, 2021 (a)(c)(3)
  • 86 FR 51284Proposed Sep 15, 2021 — Annual Reporting and Disclosure Comments due Nov 1, 2021 (a)
  • 85 FR 55219Proposed Sep 4, 2020 — Fiduciary Duties Regarding Proxy Voting and Shareholder Rights Comments due Oct 5, 2020 (c)
  • 83 FR 53534Proposed Oct 23, 2018 — Definition of “Employer” Under Section 3(5) of ERISA-Association Retirement Plans and Other Multiple-Employer Plans Comments due Dec 24, 2018
  • 81 FR 47534Proposed Jul 21, 2016 — Proposed Revision of Annual Information Return/Reports Comments due Oct 4, 2016 (a)(a)(1)(a)(2)(b)(2)(e)(e)(3)(A)
  • 75 FR 70625Proposed Nov 18, 2010 — Annual Funding Notice for Defined Benefit Plans Comments due Jan 18, 2011
Final Rules
  • 89 FR 65779 Aug 13, 2024 — Prohibited Transaction Class Exemption 84-14 for Transactions Determined by Independent Qualified Professional Asset Managers (the QPAM Exemption); Correction (a)(2)
  • 89 FR 23090 Apr 3, 2024 — Amendment to Prohibited Transaction Class Exemption 84-14 for Transactions Determined by Independent Qualified Professional Asset Managers (the QPAM Exemption) (a)(2)
  • 88 FR 11793 Feb 24, 2023 — Annual Reporting and Disclosure (a)
  • 87 FR 73822 Dec 1, 2022 — Prudence and Loyalty in Selecting Plan Investments and Exercising Shareholder Rights (b)(1)(c)(3)
  • 85 FR 72846 Nov 13, 2020 — Financial Factors in Selecting Plan Investments (a)(1)(b)(1)(c)(3)
  • 84 FR 37508 Jul 31, 2019 — Definition of “Employer” Under Section 3(5) of ERISA-Association Retirement Plans and Other Multiple-Employer Plans
  • 83 FR 28912 Jun 21, 2018 — Definition of “Employer” Under Section 3(5) of ERISA-Association Health Plans
  • 80 FR 5626 Feb 2, 2015 — Annual Funding Notice for Defined Benefit Plans
Advisory Opinions
  • AO 2023-01A — This advisory opinion concerns the application of ERISA’s fiduciary responsibility provisions to a Citigroup program that involves a commitment by Citigroup an… (a)
IRS / Treasury
Final Rules
Proposed Rules
PBGC
Final Rules
  • 85 FR 6046 Feb 4, 2020 — Miscellaneous Corrections, Clarifications, and Improvements (b)
  • 79 FR 70090 Nov 25, 2014 — Title IV Treatment of Rollovers From Defined Contribution Plans to Defined Benefit Plans (c)
  • 76 FR 34590 Jun 14, 2011 — Bankruptcy Filing Date Treated as Plan Termination Date for Certain Purposes; Guaranteed Benefits; Allocation of Plan Assets; Pension Protection Act of 2006 (a)(1)(g)(2)(A)
Proposed Rules
  • 84 FR 30666Proposed Jun 27, 2019 — Miscellaneous Corrections, Clarifications, and Improvements Comments due Aug 26, 2019 (b)
  • 79 FR 18483Proposed Apr 2, 2014 — Title IV Treatment of Rollovers From Defined Contribution Plans To Defined Benefit Plans Comments due Jun 2, 2014 (c)
Opinion Letters
Tax Court (1) · DOL/Federal (5)
U.S. Tax Court (1)
Also cite this provision (1)
DOL and federal courts (5)
Also cite this provision (5)

No private letter rulings in the library cite this provision yet.

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
Jan 4, 1995Jan 21, 2002USC 1994 ed., current through 1995-01-04 run 49Pub. L. 93-406View
Jan 22, 2002currentUSC 2024 ed., current through 2025-01-06 run 1Pub. L. 93-406View · Redline (sign in)
Provision-level history (blame)