Does an employer have any legal duties regarding an employee pension plan?

Yes. A federal law known as the Employee Retirement Income Security Act of 1974, which is commonly referred to by the acronym of ERISA, establishes the duties of employers who control or administer their employees' pension plans.

ERISA establishes the minimum standards for the organization and administration of pension plans and for the investment of planned assets. Employers are not required to offer any certain level of benefits to their employees. The documents which organized and established the plan also established what the employer's duties are. Therefore, the planned documents themselves should be reviewed and you should insist on seeing a copy of the planned document itself. Your employer is required to make a copy available for your review and to provide you with a summary of the plan, often referred to as a "summary plan description" or "SPD."