ERISA, the detailed and technical amalgam of labor law, trust law, and tax law, directly governs trillions of dollars spent on retirement savings, health care, and other important benefits for more than 100 million Americans. Despite playing this central role in the US economy and social insurance systems, the complexities of ERISA are often understood by only a few specialists. ERISA Principles elucidates employee benefit law from a policy perspective, concisely explaining how common themes apply across a wide range of benefit plans and factual contexts. The book's non-technical language and cross-cutting conceptual organization reveal latent similarities and rationalize differences between the regulatory treatment of apparently disparate programs, including traditional pensions, 401(k), and health care plans. Important legal developments - whether statutory, judicial, or administrative - are framed and analyzed in an accessible, principles-centric manner, explaining how ERISA functions as a coherent whole.

This comprehensive publication provides practitioners in the area of life, health, and disability insurance with a national survey of each of the fifty states regarding misrepresentations on applications as well as the applicable case law interpreting relevant statutes and developing the common law regarding misrepresentations. In addition, the publication will address the evolving issues related to misrepresentations in the context of the Employee Retirement Income Security Act (ERISA).