Employee benefits generally have been viewed as an indispensable element of an employee’s total compensation package. However, once an employer elects to provide benefits to one or more employees, obligations under the Employee Retirement Income Security Act (ERISA) and the Internal Revenue Code (IRC) come into play. Employee benefits for purposes of the discussion herein, generally consist of both welfare and retirement plans offered to employees by their employers. An employer can offer any benefit to one employee or more but depending upon the nature and design of the benefit plan, it may be subject to regulation under ERISA. Sometimes, payroll practices may be perceived as a form of an employee benefit plan but are not actually subject to ERISA. Courts generally look to many factors to determine if a plan exists under ERISA and how that plan will be regulated. Factors such as whether there is a general administrative scheme for determination of claims and how the plan is administered and funded are all considered when making a determination as to whether a particular arrangement is a plan as defined in ERISA. This chapter will discuss various types of employee benefit plans and regulation of them under ERISA.