Resources for Employee Benefits Research

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Federal Statutes (U.S. Code)

• Handy shortcuts for employee benefits practitioners:

  • Cross-Reference Table: ERISA Sections and Corresponding Sections in U.S. Code Title 29 (unofficial)
    https://benefitslink.com/erisa/cross-reference.html

  • Text of ERISA (unofficial)
    https://www.law.cornell.edu/uscode/text/29/chapter-18

  • Text of the Internal Revenue Code (unofficial) https://www.law.cornell.edu/uscode/text/26

• United States Code

  • Office of the Law Revision Counsel of the U.S. House of Representatives is the principal source.
    https://uscode.house.gov/

    • Note: It does not include recently enacted statutes, which can be found in the Classification Tables. ("These tables show where recently enacted laws will appear in the United States Code and which sections of the Code have been amended by those laws.")

  • Another source is the Legal Information Institute, sponsored by Cornell Law School.
    https://www.law.cornell.edu/uscode/text

    • Most or all of the Classification Tables (see above) have been incorporated into the text of the U.S. Code sections, according to "How Current Is This?" by the Legal Information Institute.

  • The U.S. Government Printing Office (GovInfo.gov) is another source, with some added functionality.
    https://www.govinfo.gov/app/collection/uscode/

    • Its text is from the Office of the Law Revision Counsel of the U.S. House of Representatives, so it's necessary to use the Classification Tables to see the text of recently enacted laws, as described above.

  • Bloomberg Tax is another source.
    https://irc.bloombergtax.com/

Federal Regulations

• eCFR is the electronic version of the current Code of Federal Regulations, by the National Archives and Records Administration (NARA) and the U.S. Government Publishing Office (GPO). Note, from the website: "The content of eCFR is authoritative but unofficial. While we try to ensure that the material on the eCFR is accurate, those relying on it for legal research should verify their results against the most current official edition of the CFR, the daily Federal Register, and the List of CFR Sections Affected (LSA), available online."

• Federal Register links from the U.S. Government Publishing Office:

  • Today's issue
    https://www.govinfo.gov/app/frtoc/today

  • Browse previous issues
    https://www.govinfo.gov/app/browse/date

  • View a specific page
    https://www.govinfo.gov/#citation

  • Search the full text of today's issue or previous issues
    https://www.govinfo.gov/#advanced

• A wide variety of tax-related online resources, including the federal regulations, is published without charge by Tax Notes.

Internal Revenue Service

• IRS Regulations

  • Final and temporary IRS regulations
    https://www.irs.gov/privacy-disclosure/tax-code-regulations-and-official-guidance

  • Proposed IRS regulations that are still open for comment are published in the Federal Register; see "Federal Regulations," above. There is a list of them on the regulations.gov website: https://www.regulations.gov/

• Revenue Rulings, Revenue Procedures, and Announcements

  • Revenue rulings that concern retirement plans are listed by the IRS Employee Plans office.
    https://www.irs.gov/retirement-plans/revenue-rulings

  • Revenue procedures that concern retirement plans are listed by the IRS Employee Plans office.
    https://www.irs.gov/retirement-plans/revenue-procedures

  • Announcements that concern retirement plans are listed by the IRS Employee Plans office.
    https://www.irs.gov/retirement-plans/announcements

  • Internal Revenue Bulletins are where all revenue rulings, revenue procedures and announcements are published.
    https://www.irs.gov/irb

  • Advance copies of IRS revenue rulings, revenue procedures, announcements and other administrative documents are published for the press and tax professionals by the IRS.
    https://www.irs.gov/downloads/irs-drop

• IRS Forms and Publications
  https://www.irs.gov/forms-instructions

• Private Letter Rulings, Technical Advice Memoranda, and Chief Counsel Advice. These can be sorted by "Uniform Issue List number" (e.g., UIL 423.00-00 is "Employee Stock Purchase Plans").
  https://www.irs.gov/written-determinations

• Federal Interest Rates:

  • Applicable Federal Rates are on the IRS web page (back to 2000):
    https://www.irs.gov/applicable-federal-rates

    • They are on the TimeValue Software web page back to 1996:
      https://www.timevalue.com/applicable-federal-rates

  • Weighted Average Interest Rate Table
    https://www.irs.gov/retirement-plans/weighted-average-interest-rate-table

  • Funding Yield Curve Segment Rates
    https://www.irs.gov/retirement-plans/pension-plan-funding-segment-rates

  • Composite Corporate Bond Rate Table
    https://www.irs.gov/retirement-plans/composite-corporate-bond-rate-table

• IRS Published Guidance web page is a list in chronological order (back to October 2000) of IRS Notices, Revenue Rulings, regulations, Announcements and more, all pertaining to retirement plans, with links to the full text of those documents.
  https://www.irs.gov/retirement-plans/published-guidance

  • It has links to interest rate tables (monthly weighted-average interest rates), actuarial tables (section 7520 tables for valuing annuities, life estates, remainders and reversions), the IRS Priority Guidance Plan, and key legislative history affecting retirement plans.

• Tax Information for the Benefits Practitioner
  https://www.irs.gov/retirement-plans/benefits-practitioner

  • Contains hypertext links to information on retirement plan forms and publications; plan language resources (LRMs, alert guidelines, cumulative lists, etc.); overview of rules governing 401(k), SEP, SIMPLE IRA, and 403(b), etc.; list of IRS phone forums, benefits conferences, and educational services; the Employee Plans Compliance Resolution System; determination, opinion and advisory letters; examinations; retirement tax shelters requiring special disclosure ("abusive tax transactions"); and more.

• Employee Plans News is a newsletter for practitioners that is published by IRS
  https://www.irs.gov/retirement-plans/employee-plans-news

• Listing of Required Modifications (LRM) Language
  https://www.irs.gov/retirement-plans/listing-of-required-modifications-lrms

• Alert Guidelines, Explanations & Plan Deficiency Paragraphs
  https://www.irs.gov/retirement-plans/irs-checklists-for-retirement-plan-documents

• Cumulative List of Changes in Retirement Plan Qualification Requirements
  https://www.irs.gov/retirement-plans/cumulative-list-of-changes-in-retirement-plan-qualification-requirements

• Employee Plans CPE Texts
  https://web.archive.org/web/20170212203854/https://www.irs.gov/retirement-plans/ep-cpe-texts (Internet Archive)

  • Published by the IRS as the Employee Plans Continuing Professional Education Technical Instruction Program for fiscal years 1998, 1999, 2001, 2002, 2003, 2004, 2013 and 2014. (Not online: 2000, 2005-2012, and all fiscal years subsequent to 2014.)

Employee Benefits Security Administration (DOL)

• DOL Regulations
  https://www.dol.gov/general/cfr

  • Regulations also are published in the Federal Register (see "Federal Regulations," above). See also the items listed under "Rulemaking and Regulations Resources" at https://www.dol.gov/agencies/oasp/regulatory-programmatic-policy

• EBSA Enforcement Manual
  https://www.dol.gov/agencies/ebsa/about-ebsa/our-activities/enforcement/oe-manual

• Advisory Opinions
  https://www.dol.gov/agencies/ebsa/about-ebsa/our-activities/resource-center/advisory-opinions

• Information Letters
  https://www.dol.gov/agencies/ebsa/about-ebsa/our-activities/resource-center/information-letters

• Field Assistance Bulletins
  https://www.dol.gov/agencies/ebsa/employers-and-advisers/guidance/field-assistance-bulletins

• Technical Releases
  https://www.dol.gov/agencies/ebsa/employers-and-advisers/guidance/technical-releases

• Class Prohibited Transaction Exemptions, Individual PTEs, and EXPRO Exemptions
  https://www.dol.gov/agencies/ebsa/laws-and-regulations/rules-and-regulations/exemptions (some are not yet online, though)

• Publications
  https://www.dol.gov/agencies/ebsa/about-ebsa/our-activities/resource-center/publications

• ERISA Advisory Council Reports
  https://www.dol.gov/agencies/ebsa/about-ebsa/about-us/erisa-advisory-council/reports

  • See also: https://www.dol.gov/agencies/ebsa/about-ebsa/about-us/erisa-advisory-council (includes links to recent written witness statements submitted to the Council)

• Search the Form 5500/5500-SF Filings
  https://www.efast.dol.gov/welcome.html (for 2009 and later plan years; see the link entitled "To search for Form 5500/5500-SF filings submitted via the EFAST2 system, use the Form 5500/Form 5500-SF Search.")

Pension Benefit Guaranty Corporation

• PBGC Regulations
  https://www.pbgc.gov/employers-practitioners/legal-resources/federal-regulations

  Regulations also are published in the Federal Register (see "Federal Regulations," above).

• Interest Rates
  https://www.pbgc.gov/employers-practitioners/interest-rates

• Opinion Letters
  https://www.pbgc.gov/employers-practitioners/legal-resources/opinion-letters

• Technical Updates
  https://www.pbgc.gov/employers-practitioners/legal-resources/technical-updates

• Forms for pension practitioners and employers
  https://www.pbgc.gov/employers-practitioners/forms

• Find unclaimed retirement benefits
  https://www.pbgc.gov/workers-retirees/find-unclaimed-retirement-benefits/search-unclaimed

  This online database enables individuals to determine whether PBGC holds benefits for them, under defined benefit plans taken over by PBGC.

U.S. Congress

• Congressional Record

  • View a particular issue
    https://www.govinfo.gov/app/collection/CREC/

  • Searchable database (select "Congressional Record" in the list in the left-hand column)
    https://www.govinfo.gov/#advanced

• Congress.gov provides the full text of bills, committee reports and some committee hearings transcripts
  https://www.congress.gov

• House Committee on Ways and Means
  https://waysandmeans.house.gov

• House Committee on Education & the Workforce
  https://edworkforce.house.gov

• Senate Committee on Finance
  https://www.finance.senate.gov/

• Senate Committee on Health, Education, Labor & Pensions
  https://www.help.senate.gov/

• Senate Special Committee on Aging
  https://www.aging.senate.gov/

• The Joint Committee on Taxation "Blue Books" are excellent descriptions of recently introduced or enacted legislation.
  https://www.jct.gov

Court Opinions

• U.S. Supreme Court
  https://www.supremecourt.gov

• Cornell Law School's Legal Information Institute provides links to U.S. Court of Appeal, U.S. Tax Court, and U.S. Supreme Court cases
  https://www.law.cornell.edu/federal/opinions

• Law Library of Congress provides alternate links to U.S. Court of Appeal and U.S. Supreme Court cases
  https://guides.loc.gov/us-federal-law/judicial-branch

• District Court Opinions from many of the U.S. district courts
  https://www.uscourts.gov/federal-court-finder/find

• U.S. Tax Court Opinions
  https://www.ustaxcourt.gov/

• Another source: Leagle.com
  https://www.leagle.com/

Surveys and Research Reports

• Center for Retirement Research at Boston College
  https://crr.bc.edu

• Employee Benefit Research Institute
  https://www.ebri.org

  • EBRI Issue Briefs
    https://www.ebri.org/publications/research-publications/issue-briefs

• International Foundation of Employee Benefit Plans
  https://www.ifebp.org/resources---news/survey-reports

• National Bureau of Economic Research (working papers, generally available as PDF files for a $5 charge)
  https://www.nber.org/

• Pension Research Council of the Wharton School of the University of Pennsylvania
  https://pensionresearchcouncil.wharton.upenn.edu/

• Society of Actuaries
  https://www.soa.org

• U.S. Government Accountability Office (GAO)
  https://www.gao.gov

  • Note the GAO's Browse by Topic feature. Selecting "Retirement Security" retrieves retirement income-related articles. Another useful topic is "Health."
    https://www.gao.gov/topics

Miscellaneous

• Inflation-Adjusted Limits on Benefit Plans, Including Maximum Benefits and Contributions (1996-Present)
  https://benefitslink.com/limits.html

  • See also https://www.irs.gov/retirement-plans/cola-increases-for-dollar-limitations-on-benefits-and-contributions

• Form 5500 Series
  https://www.dol.gov/agencies/ebsa/employers-and-advisers/plan-administration-and-compliance/reporting-and-filing/form-5500

• Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act (ACA): Resources for Frequently Asked Questions
  https://sgp.fas.org/crs/misc/R43215.pdf