Our company is the plan administrator for our employee benefit plans. Can we retain records in electronic form and destroy the paper records for our ERISA plans?
Answer ERISA plan records may be maintained electronically so long as you comply with applicable rules to ensure that the records are as secure, accessible, legible, and usable as paper ones. ERISA, the Code, and other laws require your company to maintain numerous records. ERISA Section 107 requires records necessary to substantiate information required by Form 5500, and ERISA Section 209, applicable to pension plans, requires records sufficient to determine pension benefits due to employees; the Code imposes various recordkeeping requirements; and the HIPAA privacy and security rules impose their own record retention rules for health plans. You are permitted to retain most records electronically due to (1) the Electronic Signatures in Global and National Commerce Act (E-SIGN), which provides federal standards for the use of electronic records in a broad array of transactions; and (2) specific DOL and IRS guidance relating to benefit plan recordkeeping. Requirements imposed by the DOL
