29 U.S.C. § 1321 : US Code - Section 1321: Coverage

Search 29 U.S.C. § 1321 : US Code - Section 1321: Coverage

(a) Plans covered
Except as provided in subsection (b) of this section, 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,
(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,
(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 apply to it,
(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
(B) of which a trust described in section 501(c)(18) of title
26 is a part;
(5) which has not at any time after September 2, 1974, provided
for employer contributions;
(6) which is unfunded and which is maintained by an employer
primarily for the purpose of providing deferred compensation for
a select group of management or highly compensated employees;
(7) which is established and maintained outside of the United
States primarily for the benefit of individuals substantially all
of whom are nonresident aliens;
(8) which is maintained by an employer solely for the purpose
of providing benefits for certain employees in excess of the
limitations on contributions and benefits imposed by section 415
of title 26 on plans to which that section applies, without
regard to whether the plan is funded, and, to the extent that a
separable part of a plan (as determined by the corporation)
maintained by an employer is maintained for such purpose, that
part shall be treated for purposes of this subchapter, as a
separate plan which is an excess benefit plan;
(9) which is established and maintained exclusively for
substantial owners as defined in section 1322(b)(6) (!1) of this
title;
(10) of an international organization which is exempt from
taxation under the International Organizations Immunities Act [22
U.S.C. 288 et seq.];
(11) maintained solely for the purpose of complying with
applicable workmen's compensation laws or unemployment
compensation or disability insurance laws;
(12) which is a defined benefit plan, to the extent that it is
treated as an individual account plan under paragraph (35)(B) of
section 1002 of this title; or
(13) established and maintained by a professional service
employer which does not at any time after September 2, 1974, have
more than 25 active participants in the plan.
(c) Definitions
(1) For purposes of subsection (b)(1) of this section, the term
"individual account plan" does not include a plan under which a
fixed benefit is promised if the employer or his representative
participated in the determination of that benefit.
(2) For purposes of this paragraph and for purposes of subsection
(b)(13) of this section -
(A) the term "professional service employer" means any
proprietorship, partnership, corporation, or other association or
organization (i) owned or controlled by professional individuals
or by executors or administrators of professional individuals,
(ii) the principal business of which is the performance of
professional services, and
(B) the term "professional individuals" includes but is not
limited to, physicians, dentists, chiropractors, osteopaths,
optometrists, other licensed practitioners of the healing arts,
attorneys at law, public accountants, public engineers,
architects, draftsmen, actuaries, psychologists, social or
physical scientists, and performing artists.
(3) In the case of a plan established and maintained by more than
one professional service employer, the plan shall not be treated as
a plan described in subsection (b)(13) of this section if, at any
time after September 2, 1974, the plan has more than 25 active
participants.