Interpretive Bulletins Relating to the Employee Retirement Income Security Act of 1974

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This document announces the Department of Labor's (the Department's) view of the legal standard imposed by section 404(a)(1) (A) and (B) of part 4 of title I of the Employee Retirement Income Security Act of 1974 (ERISA) on a plan fiduciary's selection of an annuity provider when purchasing annuities for the purpose of distributing benefits under an employee pension benefit plan. Under this standard, plan fiduciaries choosing to purchase annuities have a duty to select the safest available annuity provider, unless under the circumstances it would be in the interests of participants and beneficiaries to do otherwise. The document also provides guidance to plan fiduciaries regarding circumstances when it may be in the interest of the participants and beneficiaries to purchase other than the safest available annuity.