Employee Retirement Income Security Act Procedure 1976-1; Advisory Opinion Procedure

In 1976, the Department issued ERISA Procedure 76-1, the Procedure for ERISA Advisory Opinions (ERISA Procedure), in order to establish a public process for requesting guidance from the Employee Benefits Security Administration (EBSA) on the application of ERISA to particular circumstances. The ERISA Procedure sets forth specific administrative procedures for requesting either an advisory opinion or an information letter and describes the types of questions that may be submitted. As part of the ERISA Procedure, requesters are instructed to provide information to EBSA concerning the circumstances governing their request. Section 6 of ERISA Procedure 76-1 lists the information that must be supplied by the party requesting an advisory opinion. This information includes identifying information (name, type of plan, EIN Number, etc.), a detailed description of the act(s) or transaction(s) with respect to which an advisory opinion is being requested, a discussion of the issues presented by the act(s) or transaction(s), a statement of the party's views concerning the issues to be resolved and the legal basis for such views. The requesting party must also include copies of the relevant documents and may also request a conference with EBSA in the event that EBSA is considering issuing an adverse opinion.

The latest form for Employee Retirement Income Security Act Procedure 1976-1; Advisory Opinion Procedure expires 2027-12-31 and can be found here.