what was the welfare and pension plans disclosure act wppda 
the welfare and pension plans disclosure act wppda was a 1950s era law that gave the u s department of labor regulatory authority over private employee benefits plans for the first time in an effort to increase transparency the wppda mandated that employers and labor unions provide plan descriptions and financial reports to the government it was intended to make plan sponsors more accountable to participants and beneficiaries for the financial health of the plans understanding the welfare and pension plans disclosure actthe welfare and pension plans disclosure act required the u s labor department to file information about all pension plans with more than 25 employees participating it also required pension plans that totaled between 25 and 100 employees to file detailed descriptions about plan administration plans that had more than 100 participants needed to file financial reports on an annual basis in addition to providing relevant details about their plan 1a 1962 amendment to the welfare and pension plans disclosure act increased regulatory authority over the plans by giving the government enforcement interpretative and investigatory powers the wppda was a precursor to the much broader employee retirement income security act erisa which replaced it in 1974 2