ERISA Fidelity Bonds

23/08/2026

If you serve as an ESOP trustee or sit on the board of an ESOP-owned company, your personal assets are on the line — and recent cases prove it. A 2025 arbitration award found one trustee caused a plan to overpay by $38.25 million, with liability extending to the sellers themselves. Read our breakdown of the most active area of ERISA fiduciary liability, and what it means for your insurance program.

Robertson v. Argent Trust and the rise of ESOP valuation litigation: liability under ERISA, and how fiduciaries can protect themselves.

22/08/2026

The ERISA fidelity bond requirement just survived a "deregulatory reset" — and under-bonded plans should not celebrate. EBSA's Field Assistance Bulletin 2026-01 promises compliance assistance over regulation-by-enforcement, but it also names bonding violations among the routine matters investigators must now close within 18 months.

Bond status is self-disclosed on every Form 5500, so this deficiency finds the regulator; the regulator never has to look. A new piece from Surety One, Inc. on why Section 412 compliance remains the cheapest insurance against the most avoidable enforcement action.



https://erisablog.com/erisa-fidelity-bond-requirement-fab-2026-01/

National Association Of Plan Advisors - NAPA ASPPA Plan Sponsor Council of America - PSCA

EBSA's FAB 2026-01 softens enforcement, but the ERISA fidelity bond requirement is untouched. Why under-bonded plans remain exposed.

18/08/2026

"Theft Without a Thief: Participant Account Cybercrime, the Limits of the §412 Bond, and the Fiduciary Exposure Left Behind.", read more, . . .

https://erisablog.com/erisa-bond-cyber-theft-412-coverage-gap/

National Association Of Plan Advisors - NAPA ASPPA

09/08/2026

When an employer contributing to a multiemployer pension plan sells its assets, ERISA § 4204 can make the difference between triggering withdrawal liability and completing the transaction within the statutory safe harbor.

We are pleased to introduce ERISA4204Bonds.com, a specialized Surety One, Inc. resource dedicated exclusively to ERISA § 4204 Sale of Assets Bonds and the complex requirements surrounding multiemployer pension plan transactions.

Our § 4204 desk assists purchasers, sellers, ERISA counsel, M&A counsel, fund professionals and transaction advisors with:

⚖️ ERISA § 4204 purchaser surety bonds
📊 Statutory bond amount calculations
🔎 29 CFR Part 4204 variance and exemption analysis
🏦 Bond-versus-escrow comparisons
📑 Fund-counsel bond form review and negotiation
🏢 Multi-plan and complex transaction structures
⏱️ Time-sensitive placements coordinated with closing calendars

Before a purchaser commits capital to a bond or escrow, we also examine whether the transaction may qualify for a regulatory variance that eliminates the bonding requirement altogether.

The objective is straightforward: identify the requirement early, calculate it correctly, structure the security efficiently, and help keep the transaction moving toward closing.

Explore our new specialist resource, bond calculator, practitioner materials and submission portal:

https://ERISA4204Bonds.com

A Surety One, Inc. portal and companion resource to ERISA-Bonds.com.



National Association Of Plan Advisors - NAPA ASPPA Benefitslink

ERISA § 4204 purchaser bonds for asset sales involving multiemployer pension plans. Penal sum calculation, free 29 CFR Part 4204 variance analysis, escrow alternatives, negotiated placement on deal calendars.

08/08/2026

ASPPA National Association Of Plan Advisors - NAPA Summit Group Retirement Planners, Inc.

The DOL is opening 401(k) plans to alternative assets. Nobody is talking about the ERISA fidelity bond consequences. An underwriters view.

22/07/2026

Long form (LinkedIn / Facebook):

Does a solo 401(k) need an ERISA fidelity bond? The answer most owners receive is "no." The correct answer is "not yet." An owner-only plan falls outside Title I of ERISA under 29 C.F.R. § 2510.3-3, so the Section 412 bonding requirement never attaches, but the exemption is a snapshot of the participant census, not a permanent feature of the plan. One qualifying hire, including a long-term part-time employee entering under the SECURE 2.0 two-year, 500-hour rule, converts the plan to a Title I employee benefit plan and triggers the ERISA bond obligation immediately, with no grace period. Our latest analysis walks through the statutory framework, the regulatory definitions that create the exemption, Field Assistance Bulletin 2008-04, Yates v. Hendon, and the three developments that routinely destroy owner-only status. Written by the underwriters at Surety One, Inc., issuers of more than 25,000 ERISA fidelity bonds since 2012.

Read the full analysis: https://erisablog.com/solo-401k-erisa-bond-requirement/

Does a solo 401(k) need an ERISA fidelity bond? Often no, but the exemption is narrower than sponsors believe. A complete analysis.

10/07/2026

401(k) cybertheft is no longer a hypothetical risk. It is a growing threat to retirement security—and current law leaves serious gaps in participant protection.

My latest article examines the proposed Defined Contribution Cybersecurity Insurance Corporation (DCCIC), a potential federal backstop designed to compensate retirement plan participants when cybercriminals steal plan assets and no fiduciary, service provider, or other party can be held legally responsible.

The article also explains why plan sponsors and fiduciaries cannot wait for Congress to act. Today, prudent protection requires a layered risk-management strategy that includes:

🛡️ A properly structured ERISA fidelity bond for insider fraud and dishonesty

💻 Computer crime, funds transfer fraud, and social engineering coverage for external cybertheft

📋 Contractual verification of recordkeeper and service-provider insurance

⚖️ Carefully negotiated fiduciary liability insurance for cyber-related breach claims

🔐 Coordinated cyber liability coverage for forensic, notification, and incident-response costs

The central issue is simple: a traditional ERISA fidelity bond does not automatically cover theft by an outside hacker, and fiduciary liability depends on proving both breach and causation. That leaves a potentially devastating category of loss for participants, sponsors, and fiduciaries.

This article explores the recovery gap, the DCCIC proposal, and the insurance architecture retirement plans should maintain now.

👉 Blog link in comments

26/06/2026

https://www.einpresswire.com/article/922298839/surety-one-inc-launches-erisablog-com-opening-three-decades-of-knowledge-to-plan-sponsors-advisors-and-fiduciaries

Surety One, Inc., a surety and specialty insurance managing general agency, today announced the rollout of ERISAblog.com, a dedicated knowledge platform devoted

26/06/2026

Introducing ERISABlog. com — the internet's clearest source for all things ERISA. 🎉

After 30 years of underwriting fidelity bonds and fiduciary coverage, we have kept hearing the same questions from plan sponsors, trustees, TPAs, and advisors:

→ "Do I really need an ERISA bond?"
→ "How much coverage does federal law require?"
→ "Isn't my fiduciary liability covered under my fidelity bond?" (It isn't.)
→ "Can I be held personally liable?" (You can.)

So we built a place to answer all of them — in plain English, with the depth practitioners actually need.

ERISABlog.com covers the full landscape, with a special focus on the two protections every plan fiduciary should understand cold:

🔹 ERISA Fidelity Bonds — required under ERISA §412 to protect plan assets from dishonest acts. (And yes — no applicant declined.)

🔹 Fiduciary Liability Insurance — the personal shield for sponsors, trustees, and advisors facing claims that bonds don't cover.

No jargon walls. No gatekeeping. Just the answers.

Come see for yourself 👉 ERISABlog .com link in comments.

A Surety One, Inc. platform | Licensed nationwide · PR · USVI · Canada | 📞 (800) 373-2804

24/06/2026

Fiduciary liability insurance is now essential as ERISA breach lawsuits against plan sponsors hit record highs. Learn why policies fall short