Last Thursday, the United States Department of Labor’s Employee Benefits Security Administration today announced the overhaul of its national enforcement projects for fiscal year 2026 to ensure an even-handed, responsive approach to investigations to produce the best results for American workers, retirees, and their families.
The changes to the national enforcement projects, the most significant EBSA has made in recent years, highlight where EBSA will focus its enforcement resources to increase broad-based employee benefit plan compliance, address abusive practices and bad actors, and deliver results that increase security for participants and beneficiaries.
Under the updated enforcement projects, investigators will prioritize cases related to:
- Cybersecurity
- Barriers to mental health and substance use disorder benefits
- Protecting benefit distributions
- Retirement asset management
- Surprise billing
- Criminal abuse of contributory benefit plans
Although not a national project, EBSA will continue its long-standing commitment to identifying abusive Multiple Employer Welfare Arrangements and preventing fraudulent MEWA operators from opening new arrangements in other states.
EBSA removed Employee Stock Ownership Plans from the national enforcement project list and will reduce its focus on missing participants following the establishment of the Retirement Savings Lost and Found Database.
“We are committed to conducting our investigations in a timely and fair manner, ensuring both compliance outcomes and recoveries that benefit participants and beneficiaries,” said Assistant Secretary for Employee Benefits Security Daniel Aronowitz. “We urge plans and service providers under review to respond promptly to our requests for information and findings, which will aid us in resolving issues efficiently and effectively.”
EBSA is responsible for protecting more than 156 million workers, retirees, and their families who are covered by approximately 2.6 million health plans, 801,000 private retirement plans, and 514,000 additional welfare benefit plans. Together, these plans hold about $13.8 trillion in assets.