Links to Employee Benefits Research Resources

Research Guides

• Using the Web for Employee Benefits Research
• ACA Resource Guide

Statutes

• Cross-Reference Table: ERISA Sections and Corresponding Sections in U.S. Code Title 29 (as published by the Legal Information Institute; see below)
• Text of ERISA (as published by the Legal Information Institute; see below)
• Text of the Internal Revenue Code (as published by the Legal Information Institute; see below)
• United States Code
  • Principal source: Office of the Law Revision Counsel of the U.S. House of Representatives
    • 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: Legal Information Institute (sponsored by Cornell Law School)
    • Most or all of the Classification Tables (see above) have been incorporated into the text of the U.S. Code sections, thanks to Cornell Law School. See its page entitled: "How Current Is This?"
  • Another source, with certain additional functionality: U.S. Government Printing Office (GovInfo.gov)
    • The text is taken from the Office of the Law Revision Counsel of the U.S. House of Representatives (see above), so one also must the Classification Tables (see above) for the text of recently enacted laws.
  • Another source: Bloomberg Tax

Federal Regulations

Promulgated by IRS, DOL, PBGC, and all agencies of the U.S. Government)

• Federal Register (govinfo.com, by the U.S. Government Publishing Office)
  • Contents
  • Today's Edition
• eGov 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. From the site: "The Electronic Code of Federal Regulations (eCFR) is a continuously updated online version of the CFR. It is not an official legal edition of the CFR."
• A wide variety of tax-related online resources, including the federal regulations, is published without charge by Tax Notes.

IRS

• IRS (Treasury) Regulations

  IRS recommends eGov (see above).

• Tax Information for Benefits Practioner[s] Topics published by the IRS include:
  • Amend or update a plan
  • Operational Compliance List
  • Determination, opinion and advisory letters
  • Examinations and enforcement
  • Conferences and educational services
  • Employee plans abusive tax transactions
  • Approved nonbank trustees and custodians
• Published Guidance
• Internal Revenue Bulletins
• Correcting Plan Errors

DOL

• DOL Regulations
• EBSA Enforcement Manual
• Laws and Regulations
• Technical Guidance (Exemptions and Interpretations)

PBGC

• PBGC Regulations
• Interest Rates
• Opinion Letters
• Code of Federal Regulations

Congress

• Congressional Record
• Joint Committee on Taxation
• Pending Legislation

Miscellaneous

• Applicable Federal Rates
• Inflation-Adjusted Limits
• Form 5500 Series