ABA Family Legal Guide

Law and the Workplace

Leaving a Job

Pension Plans

What are the participation provisions of pension plans?

Employee Retirement Income Security Act (ERISA) provides that where an employer offers a pension plan, most workers must be allowed to participate if they are at least twenty-one years of age and have completed one year of service to the company. ERISA defines one year of service as a twelve-month period during which an employee has worked one thousand hours or more.