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Participant
Practical Law Glossary Item 5-506-6192 (Approx. 3 pages)
Glossary
Participant
In the employee benefits context, a person who is or may become eligible to receive benefits from an employee benefit plan. A participant may be:
- An employee or former employee.
- A member or former member of an employee organization.
- A beneficiary of an employee or member of an employee organization.
A participant's period of participation generally extends from the plan entry date to the time when benefits have been fully paid out and the individual is no longer eligible for continued participation.
For more information on who is a participant and the types of benefits that a participant may receive, see respectively Practice Note, ERISA Litigation: Penalties for Failing to Provide Documents: Meaning of Participant Under ERISA and Employee Benefits Law: Overview.