The Employee Retirement Income Security Act (ERISA) was passed in 1974, and since then it's been amended numerous times to encompass the changing landscape of American retirement rights, including disability benefits, pension plans, benefit claims and other worker's rights. One of the major areas of focus of ERISA is the rights of workers when it comes to their employer's retirement plans.

Here are a few of the things ERISA does:

• Requires plans to give participants information about their plan as well as changes to the plan.
• Sets rules for funding your retirement plan for both participants and fund managers.
• Allows plan participants to sue for benefits or a breach of duty.
• What age you can begin to collect retirement and how long you need to be invested in your employer's plan to make a benefit claim.
• It doesn't, however, require employers to provide a retirement plan of any kind.

ERISA law is incredibly complicated, especially within the ever-changing landscape of American retirement. There are so many types of plans out there and the laws that govern them are complicated and dense. While ERISA was put in place to protect the American worker, some companies have found loopholes within the Act that they attempt to exploit for their own gain.

If you believe that your retirement benefit claims have been wrongfully denied, your retirement fund mismanaged, or another violation of ERISA law, please contact our legal team in Tuscaloosa. Our experienced legal team works with clients all over the state and we're happy to help you, too. Call us for a free consultation and let's talk about how our team can help you.