The U.S. Department of Labor's Employee Benefits Security Administration (EBSA) has issued a Reporting and Disclosure Guide for Employee Benefit Plans. The guide was prepared to assist employers, plan sponsors, service providers and other plan officials in meeting their reporting and disclosure obligations under the Employee Retirement Income Security Act of 1974 (ERISA).

The booklet includes information on group health plan disclosure requirements under Part 7 of ERISA and the new blackout period notice, which requires 401(k) and other individual account pension plans to provide advance notice when participants' rights are suspended for direct investments, loans or distributions.

Prepared with the assistance of the Pension Benefit Guaranty Corporation (PBGC), the guide provides information and overview charts on: 

• Basic ERISA disclosures that retirement, group health and other welfare benefit plans must furnish to participants and beneficiaries;

• PBGC reporting and disclosure requirements for single-employer defined benefit pension plans; and

• Annual reporting requirements for the Form 5500 and Form M-1. 

The guide also contains a list of EBSA and PBGC resources, including agency Web sites that contain laws, regulations and other guidance relating to ERISA's reporting and disclosure requirements.