Skip to main content

Terms and Provisions

A Plan must be maintained under written program requirements, which contains:

  • The terms and conditions for eligibility
  • Benefits
  • Limitations
  • The form and timing of distributions and contracts available under the Plan
  • The party who has fiduciary responsibility for the Plan

The written Plan requirement does not mean that the Plan must be contained in a single document.

For example, the Plan may consist of:

  • Multiple documents that contain the various Plan provisions regarding salary reduction agreements
  • Contracts that fund the Plan
  • Policies about eligibility rules
  • Policies about how the Plan will pay benefits
  • Policies about non-discrimination rules

A written Plan must identify the rules of the Plan and establish approved providers. Plan rules will be determined, within legal restraints, by the employer and will govern the operation of the Plan and how it will be administered.