29 U.S.C. § 1321 Coverage

• Library: United States Statutes
• Edition: 2023
• Currency: Current through P.L. 118-34 (published on www.congress.gov on 12/26/2023), except for [P. L. 118-31]
• Year: 2023
• Citation: 29 U.S.C. § 1321

(a) Plans covered

Except as provided in subsection (b), this subchapter applies to any plan (including a successor plan) which, for a plan year-

(1) is an employee pension benefit plan (as defined in paragraph (2) of section 1002 of this title) established or maintained-

(A) by an employer engaged in commerce or in any industry or activity affecting commerce, or

(B) by any employee organization, or organization representing employees, engaged in commerce or in any industry or activity affecting commerce, or

(C) by both,

which has, in practice, met the requirements of part I of subchapter D of chapter 1 of title 26 (as in effect for the preceding 5 plan years of the plan) applicable to the plans described in paragraph (2) for the preceding 5 plan years; or

(2) is, or has been determined by the Secretary of the Treasury to be, a plan described in section 401(a) of title 26, or which meets, or has been determined by the Secretary of the Treasury to meet, the requirements of section 404(a)(2) of title 26.

For purposes of this subchapter, a successor plan is considered to be a continuation of a predecessor plan. For this purpose, unless otherwise specifically indicated in this subchapter, a successor plan is a plan which covers a group of employees which includes substantially the same employees as a previously established plan, and provides substantially the same benefits as that plan provided.

(b) Plans not covered

This section does not apply to any plan-

(1) which is an individual account plan, as defined in paragraph (34) of section 1002 of this title,¹

(2) established and maintained for its employees by the Government of the United States, by the government of any State or political subdivision thereof, or by any agency or instrumentality of any of the foregoing, or to which the Railroad Retirement Act of 1935 or 1937 [ 45 U.S.C. 231 et seq.] applies and which is financed by contributions required under that Act, or which is described in the last sentence of section 1002(32) of this title ²

(3) which is a church plan as defined in section 414(e) of title 26, unless that plan has made an election under section 410(d) of title 26, and has notified the corporation in accordance with procedures prescribed by the corporation, that it wishes to have the provisions of this part ³ apply to it,¹

(4)

(A) established and maintained by a society, order, or association described in section 501(c)(8) or (9) of title 26, if no part of the contributions to or under the plan is made by employers of participants in the plan, or