Not bad. In fiscal year 2020, the Department of Labor’s Employee Benefits Security Administration (EBSA) recovered over $3.1 billion in direct payment to plans, participants, and beneficiaries.
Of that, over $2.6 billion was recovered in investigations. EBSA closed 1,122 civil investigations with 754 of those cases (67%) resulting in monetary results for plans “or other corrective action.”
Recoveries on behalf of terminated vested participants played a large role. EBSA’s enforcement program helped over 29,600 terminated participants in defined benefit plans collect over $1.48 billion owed to them.
In addition to monetary results, EBSA’s enforcement program also obtained non-monetary corrections and injunctive relief that resulted in increased protections for plan assets or benefits.
These actions ranged from the removal or enjoinment of a plan fiduciary to the appointment of independent fiduciary as well as to the implementation of new plan procedures.
During the fiscal year, EBSA obtained what it says is “significant non-monetary results” in over 400 cases.
Indictments
EBSA closed 230 criminal investigations. EBSA’s criminal investigations, as well as its participation in criminal investigations with other law enforcement agencies, led to the indictment of 70 individuals—including plan officials, corporate officers, and service providers—for offenses related to employee benefit plans.
Abandoned plans
The Abandoned Plan Program facilitates the termination of—and distribution of—benefits from individual account pension plans abandoned by their sponsoring employers.
During 2020, EBSA received 1,161 applications from Qualified Termination Administrators and closed 1,110 applications with terminations approved. In total, 882 plans made distributions of $54 million directly to participants pursuant to such terminations.
Complaint resolution
In 2020, EBSA’s Benefits Advisors closed more than 171,000 inquiries and recovered $456.3 million in benefits on behalf of workers and their families through the informal resolution of individual complaints.
These inquiries sometimes led to enforcement actions. In FY 2020, EBSA opened 357 new investigations from Benefits Advisors referrals.
With more than 20 years serving financial markets, John Sullivan is the former editor-in-chief of Investment Advisor magazine and retirement editor of ThinkAdvisor.com. Sullivan is also the former editor of Boomer Market Advisor and Bank Advisor magazines, and has a background in the insurance and investment industries in addition to his journalism roots.
