The Employee Retirement Income Security Act of 1974 (ERISA) is an American

United States

The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...

 federal statute

Act of Congress

An Act of Congress is a statute enacted by government with a legislature named "Congress," such as the United States Congress or the Congress of the Philippines....

 that establishes minimum standards for pension plans in private industry and provides for extensive rules on the federal income tax

Income tax in the United States

In the United States, a tax is imposed on income by the Federal, most states, and many local governments. The income tax is determined by applying a tax rate, which may increase as income increases, to taxable income as defined. Individuals and corporations are directly taxable, and estates and...

 effects of transactions associated with employee benefit plans. ERISA was enacted to protect the interests of employee benefit plan participants and their beneficiaries by:

• Requiring the disclosure of financial and other information concerning the plan to beneficiaries;
• Establishing standards of conduct for plan fiduciaries;
• Providing for appropriate remedies and access to the federal courts
  United States federal courts
  The United States federal courts make up the judiciary branch of federal government of the United States organized under the United States Constitution and laws of the federal government.-Categories:...
  
  .

ERISA is sometimes used to refer to the full body of laws regulating employee benefit plans, which are found mainly in the Internal Revenue Code

Internal Revenue Code

The Internal Revenue Code is the domestic portion of Federal statutory tax law in the United States, published in various volumes of the United States Statutes at Large, and separately as Title 26 of the United States Code...

 and ERISA itself.

Responsibility for the interpretation and enforcement of ERISA is divided among the Department of Labor

United States Department of Labor

The United States Department of Labor is a Cabinet department of the United States government responsible for occupational safety, wage and hour standards, unemployment insurance benefits, re-employment services, and some economic statistics. Many U.S. states also have such departments. The...

, the Department of the Treasury

United States Department of the Treasury

The Department of the Treasury is an executive department and the treasury of the United States federal government. It was established by an Act of Congress in 1789 to manage government revenue...

 (particularly the Internal Revenue Service

Internal Revenue Service

The Internal Revenue Service is the revenue service of the United States federal government. The agency is a bureau of the Department of the Treasury, and is under the immediate direction of the Commissioner of Internal Revenue...

), and the Pension Benefit Guaranty Corporation

Pension Benefit Guaranty Corporation

The Pension Benefit Guaranty Corporation is an independent agency of the United States government that was created by the Employee Retirement Income Security Act of 1974 to encourage the continuation and maintenance of voluntary private defined benefit pension plans, provide timely and...

.
The history of ERISA can be said to have begun in 1961 when President

President of the United States

The President of the United States of America is the head of state and head of government of the United States. The president leads the executive branch of the federal government and is the commander-in-chief of the United States Armed Forces....

 John F. Kennedy

John F. Kennedy

John Fitzgerald "Jack" Kennedy , often referred to by his initials JFK, was the 35th President of the United States, serving from 1961 until his assassination in 1963....

 created the President's Committee on Corporate Pension Plans.