"Through its enforcement of the Employee Retirement Income
Security Act (ERISA), the Employee Benefits Security
Administration (EBSA) is responsible for ensuring the
integrity of the private employee benefit plan system in the
United States. EBSA’s oversight authority extends to
approximately 730,000 pension plans and another 6 million
health and welfare plans. These plans cover approximately
150 million workers and their dependents and include assets
of more than $4 trillion.......
Record $88.4 Million
Restored to Workers through Informal Complaint Resolution
When workers experience a problem with an employee benefit
plan, EBSA has proven effective in
resolving their requests for assistance. In FY 2005,
EBSA’s Benefits Advisors handled
nearly 160,000 inquiries and recovered $88.4 million in
benefits on behalf of workers and their families through
informal resolution of individual complaints. Many of these
inquiries were received via
EBSA’s toll-free number:
1.866.444.EBSA (3272) and Web site:
www.askebsa.dol.gov.
These inquiries are also a major source of enforcement
leads. When
EBSA becomes
aware of repeated complaints with respect to a particular
plan, employer, or service provider, or when there is
information indicating a suspected fiduciary breach, the
matter is referred for investigation. In FY 2005, 1,067 new
investigations were opened as a result of referrals from
Benefits Advisors."
