The Employee Retirement Income Security Act (ERISA) contains a set of regulations designed to protect your Missouri retirement benefits as well as your employer-based disability benefits and life insurance. The ERISA regulations help keep the benefits you are entitled to safe from mismanagement. If you have cause to question how your employer in Missouri is handling any aspect of your employee benefits under the regulation of ERISA law, you should bring it to the attention of a St. Louis ERISA lawyer.
Who manages your Missouri retirement benefits?
In private employer retirement plans individuals known as fiduciaries are given the power to manage many aspects of your Missouri retirement plan including:
- control of the plan's assets;
- where your money is invested;
- when the plan pays out claims; and
- payment of expenses related to the plan.
When the fiduciaries are negligent in these duties you may need a St. Louis ERISA lawyer who understands the nuances of ERISA regulations. If a violation of the ERISA law is present you may need to file a claim against the plan managers to recover your losses.
How do ERISA regulations protect your Missouri retirement?
According to ERISA regulations, if your Missouri retirement plan has more than 100 participants, it must be audited at least annually by an independent certified public accountant. This will help assure plan participants their investments are in secure accounts and earning them the optimal gains for the future.
The ERISA regulations also allow fiduciaries to be held personally liable for any losses related to their breach of duty to the plan participants. Most fiduciaries avoid this liability by offering you several options to your investments and allowing you to choose. When someone connected with your ERISA regulated benefits is negligent or dishonest, a St. Louis ERISA lawyer can help to determine if you have cause for legal action.
Questioning the Compliance with ERISA Regulations
When your Missouri retirement plan fiduciaries refuse to disclose information about your plan status, they are not only violating ERISA regulations, but also prompting you to question their actions. You should let your St. Louis ERISA lawyer know any time you are denied a request for information related to your Missouri retirement plan, as this may be a sign of other indiscretions relating to your ERISA regulated benefits.
ERISA regulations require that fiduciaries make certain details of your Missouri retirement and other employee benefits available upon request or on a scheduled basis. If basic details such as investment options, annual audits, and explanation of benefits are withheld from you it should be a warning sign that something is amiss.
To help conduct an investigation and file a claim against your Missouri retirement plan managers, you will want to seek the help of a qualified St. Louis ERISA lawyer. ERISA regulations can be a tricky and complicated part of the law, and it takes an experienced St. Louis ERISA lawyer to help you make sense of your Missouri retirement plan security.
Contacting a St. Louis ERISA Attorney to Protect Your Rights
If your ERISA-controlled disability benefits, life insurance or accidental death benefits have been unfairly denied, it's important you seek legal guidance from a St. Louis ERISA attorney who understands the intricacies of these very complex cases. The Missouri ERISA attorney team at Bollwerk & Tatlow, LLC fights for Missouri workers. Contact us today - 314-315-8111.