Brief Case
Pension Resource

ERISA § 403 (29 U.S.C. § 1103)

Establishment of trust
USC 2004 ed., current through 2005-01-03 · superseded Jan 8, 2008 · last amended by Pub. L. 108-357
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(a) Benefit plan assets to be held in trust; authority of trustees Except as provided in subsection (b) of this section, all assets of an employee benefit plan shall be held in trust by one or more trustees. Such trustee or trustees shall be either named in the trust instrument or in the plan instrument described in section 1102(a) of this title or appointed by a person who is a named fiduciary, and upon acceptance of being named or appointed, the trustee or trustees shall have exclusive authority and discretion to manage and control the assets of the plan, except to the extent that—
(1) the plan expressly provides that the trustee or trustees are subject to the direction of a named fiduciary who is not a trustee, in which case the trustees shall be subject to proper directions of such fiduciary which are made in accordance with the terms of the plan and which are not contrary to this chapter, or
(2) authority to manage, acquire, or dispose of assets of the plan is delegated to one or more investment managers pursuant to section 1102(c)(3) of this title.
(b) Exceptions The requirements of subsection (a) of this section shall not apply—
(1) to any assets of a plan which consist of insurance contracts or policies issued by an insurance company qualified to do business in a State;
(2) to any assets of such an insurance company or any assets of a plan which are held by such an insurance company;
(3) to a plan—
(A) some or all of the participants of which are employees described in section 401(c)(1) of title 26; or
(B) which consists of one or more individual retirement accounts described in section 408 of title 26;
to the extent that such plan's assets are held in one or more custodial accounts which qualify under section 401(f) or 408(h) of title 26, whichever is applicable.
(4) to a plan which the Secretary exempts from the requirement of subsection (a) of this section and which is not subject to any of the following provisions of this chapter—
(A) part 2 of this subtitle,
(B) part 3 of this subtitle, or
(C) subchapter III of this chapter; or
(5) to a contract established and maintained under section 403(b) of title 26 to the extent that the assets of the contract are held in one or more custodial accounts pursuant to section 403(b)(7) of title 26.
(6) Any plan, fund or program under which an employer, all of whose stock is directly or indirectly owned by employees, former employees or their beneficiaries, proposes through an unfunded arrangement to compensate retired employees for benefits which were forfeited by such employees under a pension plan maintained by a former employer prior to the date such pension plan became subject to this chapter.
(c) Assets of plan not to inure to benefit of employer; allowable purposes of holding plan assets
(1) Except as provided in paragraph (2), (3), or (4) or subsection (d) of this section, or under sections 1342 and 1344 of this title (relating to termination of insured plans), or under section 420 of title 26 (as in effect on October 22, 2004), the assets of a plan shall never inure to the benefit of any employer and shall be held for the exclusive purposes of providing benefits to participants in the plan and their beneficiaries and defraying reasonable expenses of administering the plan.
(2)
(A) In the case of a contribution, or a payment of withdrawal liability under part 1 of subtitle E of subchapter III of this chapter—
(i) if such contribution or payment is made by an employer to a plan (other than a multiemployer plan) by a mistake of fact, paragraph (1) shall not prohibit the return of such contribution to the employer within one year after the payment of the contribution, and
(ii) if such contribution or payment is made by an employer to a multiemployer plan by a mistake of fact or law (other than a mistake relating to whether the plan is described in section 401(a) of title 26 or the trust which is part of such plan is exempt from taxation under section 501(a) of title 26), paragraph (1) shall not prohibit the return of such contribution or payment to the employer within 6 months after the plan administrator determines that the contribution was made by such a mistake.
(B) If a contribution is conditioned on initial qualification of the plan under section 401 or 403(a) of title 26, and if the plan receives an adverse determination with respect to its initial qualification, then paragraph (1) shall not prohibit the return of such contribution to the employer within one year after such determination, but only if the application for the determination is made by the time prescribed by law for filing the employer's return for the taxable year in which such plan was adopted, or such later date as the Secretary of the Treasury may prescribe.
(C) If a contribution is conditioned upon the deductibility of the contribution under section 404 of title 26, then, to the extent the deduction is disallowed, paragraph (1) shall not prohibit the return to the employer of such contribution (to the extent disallowed) within one year after the disallowance of the deduction.
(3) In the case of a withdrawal liability payment which has been determined to be an overpayment, paragraph (1) shall not prohibit the return of such payment to the employer within 6 months after the date of such determination.
(d) Termination of plan
(1) Upon termination of a pension plan to which section 1321 of this title does not apply at the time of termination and to which this part applies (other than a plan to which no employer contributions have been made) the assets of the plan shall be allocated in accordance with the provisions of section 1344 of this title, except as otherwise provided in regulations of the Secretary.
(2) The assets of a welfare plan which terminates shall be distributed in accordance with the terms of the plan, except as otherwise provided in regulations of the Secretary.
Source credit, amendments & notes

(Pub. L. 93–406, title I, §403, Sept. 2, 1974, 88 Stat. 876; Pub. L. 96–364, title III, §310, title IV, §§402(b)(2), 410(a), 411(c), Sept. 26, 1980, 94 Stat. 1296, 1299, 1308; Pub. L. 100–203, title IX, §9343(c), Dec. 22, 1987, 101 Stat. 1330–372; Pub. L. 101–239, title VII, §§7881(k), 7891(a)(1), 7894(e)(1)(A), (3), Dec. 19, 1989, 103 Stat. 2443, 2445, 2450; Pub. L. 101–508, title XII, §12012(a), Nov. 5, 1990, 104 Stat. 1388–571; Pub. L. 103–465, title VII, §731(c)(4)(B), Dec. 8, 1994, 108 Stat. 5004; Pub. L. 106–170, title V, §535(a)(2)(B), Dec. 17, 1999, 113 Stat. 1934; Pub. L. 108–218, title II, §204(b)(2), Apr. 10, 2004, 118 Stat. 609; Pub. L. 108–357, title VII, §709(a)(2), Oct. 22, 2004, 118 Stat. 1551; Pub. L. 109–280, title I, §107(a)(11), Aug. 17, 2006, 120 Stat. 819.)

Amendment of Subsection (c)(1)

Pub. L. 109–280, title I, §107(a)(11), (e), Aug. 17, 2006, 120 Stat. 819, 820, provided that, applicable to plan years beginning after 2007, subsection (c)(1) of this section is amended by substituting “August 17, 2006” for “October 22, 2004”.

References in Text

This chapter, referred to in subsecs. (a)(1) and (b)(4), (6), was in the original “this Act”, meaning Pub. L. 93–406, known as the Employee Retirement Income Security Act of 1974. Titles I, III, and IV of such Act are classified principally to this chapter. For complete classification of this Act to the Code, see Short Title note set out under section 1001 of this title and Tables.

Amendments

2004—Subsec. (c)(1). Pub. L. 108–357 substituted “October 22, 2004” for “April 10, 2004”.

Pub. L. 108–218 substituted “April 10, 2004” for “December 17, 1999”.

1999—Subsec. (c)(1). Pub. L. 106–170 substituted “December 17, 1999” for “January 1, 1995”.

1994—Subsec. (c)(1). Pub. L. 103–465 substituted “1995” for “1991”.

1990—Subsec. (c)(1). Pub. L. 101–508 inserted “, or under section 420 of title 26 (as in effect on January 1, 1991)” after “insured plans”.

1989—Subsecs. (b)(3), (5), (c)(2)(A)(ii), (C). Pub. L. 101–239, §7891(a)(1), substituted “Internal Revenue Code of 1986” for “Internal Revenue Code of 1954”, which for purposes of codification was translated as “title 26” thus requiring no change in text.

Subsec. (b)(3). Pub. L. 101–239, §7894(e)(3), redesignated cls. (i) and (ii) as subpars. (A) and (B), respectively, struck out “, to the extent that such plan's assets are held in one or more custodial accounts which qualify under section 401(f) or 408(h) of title 26, whichever is applicable” before the semicolon in subpar. (B), and inserted concluding provision “to the extent that such plan's assets are held in one or more custodial accounts which qualify under section 401(f) or 408(h) of title 26, whichever is applicable.”

Subsec. (c)(2)(A). Pub. L. 101–239, §7894(e)(1)(A), in introductory provisions, made technical amendment to reference to part 1 of subtitle E of subchapter III of this chapter to correct reference to corresponding part of original Act, requiring no change in text, and in cls. (i) and (ii), inserted “if such contribution or payment is” before “made by an employer”.

Subsec. (c)(3), (4). Pub. L. 101–239, §7881(k), redesignated par. (4) as (3) and struck out former par. (3) which read as follows: “In the case of a contribution which would otherwise be an excess contribution (as defined in section 4979(c) of title 26) paragraph (1) shall not prohibit a correcting distribution with respect to such contribution from the plan to the employer to the extent permitted in such section to avoid payment of an excise tax on excess contributions under such section.”

1987—Subsec. (c)(2)(B). Pub. L. 100–203, §9343(c)(1), amended subpar. (B) generally. Prior to amendment, subpar. (B) read as follows: “If a contribution is conditioned on qualification of the plan under section 401, 403(a), or 405(a) of title 26, and if the plan does not qualify, then paragraph (1) shall not prohibit the return of such contributions to the employer within one year after the date of denial of qualification of the plan.”

Subsec. (c)(3). Pub. L. 100–203, §9343(c)(2), substituted “section 4979(c) of title 26” for “section 4972(b) of title 26”.

1980—Subsec. (a)(1). Pub. L. 96–364, §402(b)(2), substituted “chapter” for “subchapter”.

Subsec. (b)(6). Pub. L. 96–364, §411(c), added par. (6).

Subsec. (c)(1). Pub. L. 96–364, §310(1), inserted reference to par. (4).

Subsec. (c)(2)(A). Pub. L. 96–364, §410(a), substituted provisions relating to contributions or payments of withdrawal liability under part 1 of subtitle E of subchapter III of this chapter made by an employer to a plan by a mistake of fact, and by an employer to a multiemployer plan by a mistake of fact or law, for provisions relating to contributions made by an employer by a mistake of fact.

Subsec. (c)(4). Pub. L. 96–364, §310(2), added par. (4).

Effective Date of 2006 Amendment

Amendment by Pub. L. 109–280 applicable to plan years beginning after 2007, see section 107(e) of Pub. L. 109–280, set out as a note under section 1021 of this title.

Effective Date of 1999 Amendment

Amendment by Pub. L. 106–170 applicable to qualified transfers occurring after Dec. 17, 1999, see section 535(c)(1) of Pub. L. 106–170, set out as a note under section 420 of Title 26, Internal Revenue Code.

Effective Date of 1990 Amendment

Amendment by Pub. L. 101–508 applicable to qualified transfers under section 420 of title 26 made after Nov. 5, 1990, see section 12012(e) of Pub. L. 101–508, set out as a note under section 1021 of this title.

Effective Date of 1989 Amendment

Amendment by section 7881(k) of Pub. L. 101–239 effective, except as otherwise provided, as if included in the provision of the Pension Protection Act, Pub. L. 100–203, §§9302–9346, to which such amendment relates, see section 7882 of Pub. L. 101–239, set out as a note under section 401 of Title 26, Internal Revenue Code.

Amendment by section 7891(a)(1) of Pub. L. 101–239 effective, except as otherwise provided, as if included in the provision of the Tax Reform Act of 1986, Pub. L. 99–514, to which such amendment relates, see section 7891(f) of Pub. L. 101–239, set out as a note under section 1002 of this title.

Section 7894(e)(1)(B) of Pub. L. 101–239 provided that: “The amendments made by subparagraph (A) [amending this section] shall take effect as if included in section 410 of the Multiemployer Pension Plan Amendments Act of 1980 [Pub. L. 96–364].”

Amendment by section 7894(e)(3) of Pub. L. 101–239 effective, except as otherwise provided, as if originally included in the provision of the Employee Retirement Income Security Act of 1974, Pub. L. 93–406, to which such amendment relates, see section 7894(i) of Pub. L. 101–239, set out as a note under section 1002 of this title.

Effective Date of 1980 Amendment

Amendment by Pub. L. 96–364 effective Sept. 26, 1980, except as specifically provided, see section 1461(e) of this title.

Amendment by section 410(a) of Pub. L. 96–364 effective Jan. 1, 1975, except with respect to contributions received by a collectively bargained plan maintained by more than one employer before Sept. 26, 1980, see section 410(c) of Pub. L. 96–364, set out as a note under section 401 of Title 26, Internal Revenue Code.

Regulations

Secretary authorized, effective Sept. 2, 1974, to promulgate regulations wherever provisions of this part call for the promulgation of regulations, see sections 1031 and 1114 of this title.

Applicability of Amendments by Subtitles A and B of Title I of Pub. L. 109–280

For special rules on applicability of amendments by subtitles A (§§101–107) and B (§§111–116) of title I of Pub. L. 109–280 to certain eligible cooperative plans, PBGC settlement plans, and eligible government contractor plans, see sections 104, 105, and 106 of Pub. L. 109–280, set out as notes under section 401 of Title 26, Internal Revenue Code.

ERISA § 403 (29 U.S.C. § 1103) — Establishment of trust · USC 2004 ed., current through 2005-01-03 · https://pensionresource.website/EAMain?content=EAMain.Law&id=usc29-1103&asof=2005-01-03 · printed Oct 16, 2026
On this page
  • (a) Benefit plan assets to be held in trust; authority of trust…
  • (b) Exceptions
  • (c) Assets of plan not to inure to benefit of employer; allowab…
  • (d) Termination of plan
Cited by (code & regs)
Department of Labor Regulations
Guidance addressing this section
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 (a)(b)
  • 86 FR 57272Proposed Oct 14, 2021 — Prudence and Loyalty in Selecting Plan Investments and Exercising Shareholder Rights Comments due Dec 13, 2021 (a)(1)(a)(2)(c)
  • 86 FR 51488Proposed Sep 15, 2021 — Proposed Revision of Annual Information Return/Reports Comments due Nov 1, 2021 (a)(b)
  • 85 FR 55219Proposed Sep 4, 2020 — Fiduciary Duties Regarding Proxy Voting and Shareholder Rights Comments due Oct 5, 2020 (a)(1)(a)(2)(c)(c)(1)
  • 85 FR 39113Proposed Jun 30, 2020 — Financial Factors in Selecting Plan Investments Comments due Jul 30, 2020 (c)
Final Rules
  • 85 FR 81658 Dec 16, 2020 — Fiduciary Duties Regarding Proxy Voting and Shareholder Rights (a)(1)(a)(2)(c)(1)
  • 85 FR 72846 Nov 13, 2020 — Financial Factors in Selecting Plan Investments (c)
  • 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 (a)(a)(1)(a)(2)
  • 80 FR 65135 Oct 26, 2015 — Interpretive Bulletin Relating to the Fiduciary Standard Under ERISA in Considering Economically Targeted Investments
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… (c)(1)
Information Letters
  • DOL Info. Ltr. 06-03-2020 — Information Letter under the Employee Retirement Income Security Act (ERISA) concerning private equity investments as a component of a professionally managed a…
PBGC
Final Rules
  • 79 FR 25667 May 6, 2014 — Benefits Payable in Terminated Single-Employer Plans; Limitations on Guaranteed Benefits; Shutdown and Similar Benefits
Proposed Rules
  • 76 FR 13304Proposed Mar 11, 2011 — Benefits Payable in Terminated Single-Employer Plans; Limitations on Guaranteed Benefits Comments due May 10, 2011
Also cited in 29 other documents
Department of Labor (EBSA)
Proposed Rules
  • 91 FR 16088Proposed Mar 31, 2026 — Fiduciary Duties in Selecting Designated Investment Alternatives Comments due Jun 1, 2026
  • 91 FR 4348Proposed Jan 30, 2026 — Improving Transparency Into Pharmacy Benefit Manager Fee Disclosure Comments due Mar 31, 2026 (c)(c)(1)
  • 89 FR 5624Proposed Jan 29, 2024 — Automatic Portability Transaction Regulations Comments due Mar 29, 2024 (a)(b)
  • 88 FR 76004Proposed Nov 3, 2023 — Proposed Amendment to Prohibited Transaction Exemption 84-24 Comments due Jan 2, 2024 (a)(1)
  • 87 FR 14722Proposed Mar 15, 2022 — Procedures Governing the Filing and Processing of Prohibited Transaction Exemption Applications Comments due Apr 14, 2022
  • 86 FR 51284Proposed Sep 15, 2021 — Annual Reporting and Disclosure Comments due Nov 1, 2021 (a)
  • 81 FR 47534Proposed Jul 21, 2016 — Proposed Revision of Annual Information Return/Reports Comments due Oct 4, 2016 (b)(b)(1)(b)(7)
  • 80 FR 22010Proposed Apr 20, 2015 — Proposed Amendment to and Proposed Partial Revocation of Prohibited Transaction Exemption (PTE) 84-24 for Certain Transactions Involving Insurance Agents and B… Comments due Jul 6, 2015 (a)(1)
  • 77 FR 74063Proposed Dec 12, 2012 — Amendments to the Abandoned Plan Regulations Comments due Feb 11, 2013 (a)(b)
  • 75 FR 53172Proposed Aug 30, 2010 — Prohibited Transaction Exemption Procedures; Employee Benefit Plans Comments due Oct 14, 2010
Final Rules
  • 89 FR 43636 May 17, 2024 — Abandoned Plan Regulations (a)(b)
  • 89 FR 32302 Apr 25, 2024 — Amendment to Prohibited Transaction Exemption 84-24 (a)(1)
  • 89 FR 4662 Jan 24, 2024 — Procedures Governing the Filing and Processing of Prohibited Transaction Exemption Applications
  • 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 (a)(1)(a)(2)(c)
  • 85 FR 40589 Jul 7, 2020 — Conflict of Interest Rule-Retirement Investment Advice: Notice of Court Vacatur
  • 81 FR 21147 Apr 8, 2016 — Amendment to and Partial Revocation of Prohibited Transaction Exemption (PTE) 84-24 for Certain Transactions Involving Insurance Agents and Brokers, Pension Co… (a)(1)
  • 81 FR 21089 Apr 8, 2016 — Class Exemption for Principal Transactions in Certain Assets Between Investment Advice Fiduciaries and Employee Benefit Plans and IRAs (c)(1)
  • 81 FR 21002 Apr 8, 2016 — Best Interest Contract Exemption (c)(1)
  • 76 FR 66637 Oct 27, 2011 — Prohibited Transaction Exemption Procedures; Employee Benefit Plans
  • 75 FR 8796 Feb 26, 2010 — Civil Penalties Under ERISA Section 502(c)(8)
  • 75 FR 2068 Jan 14, 2010 — Definition of “Plan Assets”-Participant Contributions (b)
Technical Releases
IRS / Treasury
Proposed Rules
  • 88 FR 44596Proposed Jul 12, 2023 — Short-Term, Limited-Duration Insurance; Independent, Noncoordinated Excepted Benefits Coverage; Level-Funded Plan Arrangements; and Tax Treatment of Certain Ac… Comments due Sep 11, 2023
Final Rules
PBGC
Final Rules
  • 82 FR 60800 Dec 22, 2017 — Missing Participants (b)
  • 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
Proposed Rules
  • 81 FR 64700Proposed Sep 20, 2016 — Missing Participants Comments due Nov 21, 2016 (b)
Opinion Letters
Tax Court (3) · DOL/Federal (1)
U.S. Tax Court (3)
Rulings that address this provision
Also cite this provision (2)
DOL and federal courts (1)
Also cite this provision (1)
Private Letter Rulings (3)
Private Letter Rulings (3)
Also cite this provision (3)

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 22, 2000USC 1994 ed., current through 1995-01-04 run 49Pub. L. 103-465View
Jan 23, 2000Jan 2, 2005USC 1999 ed., current through 2000-01-23 run 70Pub. L. 106-170View · Redline (sign in)
Jan 3, 2005Jan 7, 2008USC 2004 ed., current through 2005-01-03 run 90Pub. L. 108-357View · Redline (sign in)
Jan 8, 2008Jan 14, 2013USC 2007 ed., current through 2008-01-08 run 101Pub. L. 109-280View · Redline (sign in)
Jan 15, 2013Jan 2, 2016USC 2013 ed., current through 2014-01-16 run 13Pub. L. 112-141View · Redline (sign in)
Jan 3, 2016Jan 5, 2017USC 2015 ed., current through 2016-01-03 run 15Pub. L. 114-41View · Redline (sign in)
Jan 6, 2017Jan 23, 2020USC 2016 ed., current through 2017-01-06 run 16Pub. L. 114-41View · Redline (sign in)
Jan 24, 2020Jan 4, 2023USC 2019 ed., current through 2020-01-24 run 19Pub. L. 114-41View · Redline (sign in)
Jan 5, 2023currentUSC 2024 ed., current through 2025-01-06 run 1Pub. L. 117-328View · Redline (sign in)
Provision-level history (blame)