Files
republic-os/legal/us/code/title-29/chapter-18/section-1003.md
T
Fabio 76b8ec33a7 Legal corpus: the complete U.S. Code (59,740 sections, all 53 titles)
Ingested titles 12–51 and 54 from OLRC USLM XML @119-100 (the whole Code
now, uniform edition; Title 53 is reserved/empty). LegalText 11,221 ->
59,740; repo total 105,704 records. Deterministic (byte-identical rerun,
verified on Title 42's 8,356 sections); make check green. make
legal-us-code default now covers every title.

Co-Authored-By: Claude Opus 4.8 <noreply@anthropic.com>
2026-07-06 10:51:44 -04:00

76 lines
7.1 KiB
Markdown
Raw Blame History

This file contains ambiguous Unicode characters
This file contains Unicode characters that might be confused with other characters. If you think that this is intentional, you can safely ignore this warning. Use the Escape button to reveal them.
---
type: "LegalText"
title: "29 U.S.C. § 1003"
description: "Coverage"
jurisdiction: "us"
corpus: "united_states_code"
kind: "code_section"
title_number: 29
title_name: "LABOR"
chapter_number: "18"
chapter_name: "EMPLOYEE RETIREMENT INCOME SECURITY PROGRAM"
section: "1003"
citation: "29 U.S.C. § 1003"
status: "current"
release_point: "119-100"
release_date: "2026-06-26"
source: "official"
source_url: "https://uscode.house.gov/download/releasepoints/us/pl/119/100/xml_usc29@119-100.zip"
source_identifier: "/us/usc/t29/s1003"
source_file: "data/legal/raw/us/code/title-29/usc29.xml"
source_hash: "3250ddee67643e7570b8e086251a508b6c83b37c140ca99e4154ef5cb4f6773b"
raw_snapshot_hash: "123f65eaf0f6719b01d66f4a47cd03d5134b66fbd92ae96d7387b67454b98476"
text_hash: "e224e268dba86b011695d847fc5af23aa170e52987df22dd3bbabeee3f4670b3"
retrieved_at: "2026-07-04"
confidence: "official"
tags: ["legal", "us-code"]
---
# 29 U.S.C. § 1003 - Coverage
## Text
(a) In general Except as provided in subsection (b) or (c) and in sections 1051, 1081, and 1101 of this title, this subchapter shall apply to any employee benefit plan if it is established or maintained—
(1) by any employer engaged in commerce or in any industry or activity affecting commerce; or
(2) by any employee organization or organizations representing employees engaged in commerce or in any industry or activity affecting commerce; or
(3) by both.
(b) Exceptions for certain plans The provisions of this subchapter shall not apply to any employee benefit plan if—
(1) such plan is a governmental plan (as defined in section 1002(32) of this title);
(2) such plan is a church plan (as defined in section 1002(33) of this title) with respect to which no election has been made under section 410(d) of title 26;
(3) such plan is maintained solely for the purpose of complying with applicable workmens compensation laws or unemployment compensation or disability insurance laws;
(4) such plan is maintained outside of the United States primarily for the benefit of persons substantially all of whom are nonresident aliens; or
(5) such plan is an excess benefit plan (as defined in section 1002(36) of this title) and is unfunded.
The provisions of part 7 of subtitle B of this subchapter shall not apply to a health insurance issuer (as defined in section 1191b(b)(2) of this title) solely by reason of health insurance coverage (as defined in section 1191b(b)(1) of this title) provided by such issuer in connection with a group health plan (as defined in section 1191b(a)(1) of this title) if the provisions of this subchapter do not apply to such group health plan.
(c) Voluntary employee contributions to accounts and annuities If a pension plan allows an employee to elect to make voluntary employee contributions to accounts and annuities as provided in section 408(q) of title 26, such accounts and annuities (and contributions thereto) shall not be treated as part of such plan (or as a separate pension plan) for purposes of any provision of this subchapter other than section 1103(c), 1104, or 1105 of this title (relating to exclusive benefit, and fiduciary and co-fiduciary responsibilities) and part 5 of subtitle B of this subchapter 11 See References in Text note below. (relating to administration and enforcement). Such provisions shall apply to such accounts and annuities in a manner similar to their application to a simplified employee pension under section 408(k) of title 26.
(Pub. L. 93406, title I, § 4, Sept. 2, 1974, 88 Stat. 839; Pub. L. 101239, title VII, § 7891(a)(1), Dec. 19, 1989, 103 Stat. 2445; Pub. L. 104191, title I, § 101(d), Aug. 21, 1996, 110 Stat. 1952; Pub. L. 104204, title VI, § 603(b)(3)(A), Sept. 26, 1996, 110 Stat. 2938; Pub. L. 10716, title VI, § 602(b), June 7, 2001, 115 Stat. 96; Pub. L. 107147, title IV, § 411(i)(2), Mar. 9, 2002, 116 Stat. 47.)
## Notes
Editorial Notes
References in TextPart 5 of subtitle B of this subchapter, referred to in subsec. (c), was in the original a reference to “part 5” and was translated as meaning part 5 of subtitle B of title I of Pub. L. 93406, to reflect the probable intent of Congress.
Amendments2002—Subsec. (c). Pub. L. 107147 inserted “and part 5 of subtitle B of this subchapter (relating to administration and enforcement)” after “co-fiduciary responsibilities)” and “Such provisions shall apply to such accounts and annuities in a manner similar to their application to a simplified employee pension under section 408(k) of title 26.” at end. 2001—Subsec. (a). Pub. L. 10716, § 602(b)(2), inserted “or (c)” after “subsection (b)” in introductory provisions. Subsec. (c). Pub. L. 10716, § 602(b)(1), added subsec. (c). 1996—Subsec. (b). Pub. L. 104204, in concluding provisions, made technical amendment to references in original act which appear in text as references to section 1191b of this title. Pub. L. 104191 inserted at end “The provisions of part 7 of subtitle B of this subchapter shall not apply to a health insurance issuer (as defined in section 1191b(b)(2) of this title) solely by reason of health insurance coverage (as defined in section 1191b(b)(1) of this title) provided by such issuer in connection with a group health plan (as defined in section 1191b(a)(1) of this title) if the provisions of this subchapter do not apply to such group health plan.” 1989—Subsec. (b)(2). Pub. L. 101239 substituted “Internal Revenue Code of 1986” for “Internal Revenue Code of 1954”, which for purposes of codification was translated as “title 26” thus requiring no change in text.
Statutory Notes and Related Subsidiaries
Effective Date of 2002 AmendmentAmendment by Pub. L. 107147 effective as if included in the provisions of the Economic Growth and Tax Relief Reconciliation Act of 2001, Pub. L. 10716, to which such amendment relates, see section 411(x) of Pub. L. 107147, set out as a note under section 25B of Title 26, Internal Revenue Code.
Effective Date of 2001 AmendmentAmendment by Pub. L. 10716 applicable to plan years beginning after Dec. 31, 2002, see section 602(c) of Pub. L. 10716, set out as a note under section 408 of Title 26, Internal Revenue Code.
Effective Date of 1996 AmendmentsPub. L. 104204, title VI, § 603(c), Sept. 26, 1996, 110 Stat. 2938, provided that: “The amendments made by this section [enacting section 1185 of this title and amending this section and sections 1021, 1022, 1024, 1132, 1136, 1144, 1181, 1191, and 1191a of this title] shall apply with respect to group health plans for plan years beginning on or after January 1, 1998.” Amendment by Pub. L. 104191 applicable with respect to group health plans for plan years beginning after June 30, 1997, except as otherwise provided, see section 101(g) of Pub. L. 104191, set out as an Effective Date note under section 1181 of this title.
Effective Date of 1989 AmendmentAmendment by Pub. L. 101239 effective, except as otherwise provided, as if included in the provision of the Tax Reform Act of 1986, Pub. L. 99514, to which such amendment relates, see section 7891(f) of Pub. L. 101239, set out as a note under section 1002 of this title.