§ 778.214 Benefit plans; including profit-sharing plans or trusts providing similar benefits.

(a) Statutory provision. Section 7(e)(4) of the Act provides that the term “regular rate” shall not be deemed to include: “contributions irrevocably made by an employer to a trustee or third person pursuant to a bona fide plan for providing old age, retirement, life, accident, or health insurance or similar benefits for employees * * *.” Such sums may not, however, be credited toward overtime compensation due under the Act.

(b) Scope and application of exclusion generally. Plans for providing benefits of the kinds described in section 7(e)(4) are referred to herein as “benefit plans”. It is section 7(e)(4) which governs the status for regular rate purposes of any contributions made by an employer pursuant to a plan for providing the described benefits. This is true irrespective of any other features the plan may have. Thus, it makes no difference whether or not the benefit plan is one financed out of profits or one which by matching employee contributions or otherwise encourages thrift or savings. Where such a plan or trust is combined in a single program (whether in one or more documents) with a plan or trust for providing profit-sharing payments to employees, the profit-sharing payments may be excluded from the regular rate if they meet the requirements of the Profit-Sharing Regulations, part 549 of this chapter, and the contributions made by the employer for providing the benefits described in section 7(e)(4) of the Act may be excluded from the regular rate if they meet the tests set forth in § 778.215. Advance approval by the Department of Labor is not required.