How employers prepare for a DOL health plan investigation, what records ERISA requires them to keep and for how long, and what makes fiduciary files legally defensible.
Prepare before the letter arrives. Maintain a complete, organized fiduciary file — plan documents, SPDs, Form 5500s, committee minutes, vendor agreements, fee disclosures, and CAA compliance evidence — engage ERISA counsel early, and respond through a single coordinator. Audit readiness is a byproduct of good ongoing governance, not a last-minute project.
Read the full answerEBSA document requests commonly cover plan documents and amendments, SPDs and SMMs, Form 5500 filings, committee minutes, service provider agreements, broker compensation disclosures, the fidelity bond, claims and appeals records, HIPAA documentation, and CAA compliance evidence like gag clause attestations and RxDC submissions.
Read the full answerERISA Section 107 requires records supporting Form 5500 filings and other disclosures to be kept at least six years after the filing date. Section 209 requires records sufficient to determine participants' benefits with no fixed endpoint — effectively as long as they remain relevant. Most plans keep core governance records permanently.
Read the full answerYes. DOL regulations at 29 CFR 2520.107-1 expressly permit ERISA records to be maintained and retained electronically, provided the system has reasonable controls to ensure accuracy and integrity, records remain legible and retrievable, and they can be converted to paper when needed. Properly managed digital files are fully defensible.
Read the full answerOrganize around how a DOL request reads — governance records (charters, appointments, minutes), plan documents and participant disclosures, filings, vendor files with contracts and fee disclosures, claims and appeals, and compliance evidence. One system, current, with an owner. Scattered inboxes and personal drives are where fiduciary defenses go to die.
Read the full answerProcess, not perfection. Counsel and auditors look for contemporaneous evidence that decisions were made deliberately — who had authority, what was considered, what was decided, and what followed up. Minutes, charters, vendor review records, and consistent files demonstrate prudence; gaps and after-the-fact reconstructions undermine it.
Read the full answerPut these answers to work
Fiduciary In A Box keeps plan documents, committee minutes, vendor files, and compliance evidence organized and audit-ready — so a DOL document request becomes a download, not a scramble.
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