United States Government Publishing Office publisher pbl distributor dst United States Government Accountability Office author aut Government Organization text government publication eng GAOREPORTS Legislative Agency Publications gao legislative 2010-08-12 U.S. Government Printing Office 2005-06-09 monographic deposited born digital 21 p. GA 1.13:GAO-05-784T https://www.govinfo.gov/app/details/GAOREPORTS-GAO-05-784T P0b002ee1803a4a8b f:d05784t DGPO 2010-08-12 2011-03-23 GAOREPORTS-GAO-05-784T machine generated eng fdlp REPORT GAOREPORTS-GAO-05-784T GAO-05-784T Accountability Employee benefit plans Internal controls Pensions Private sector Reporting requirements Strategic planning Testimony A26218 Congress passed the Employee Retirement Income Security Act of 1974 (ERISA) to address public concerns over the mismanagement and abuse of private sector employee benefit plans by some plan sponsors and administrators. The Department of Labor's Employee Benefits Security Administration (EBSA) shares responsibility with the Internal Revenue Service and the Pension Benefit Guaranty Corporation for enforcing ERISA. EBSA works to safeguard the economic interest of more than 150 million people who participate in an estimated 6 million employee benefit plans with assets in excess of $4.4 trillion. EBSA plays a primary role in ensuring that employee benefit plans operate in the interests of plan participants, and the effective management of its enforcement program is pivotal to ensuring the economic security of workers and retirees. Recent scandals involving abuses by pension plan fiduciaries and service providers, as well as trading scandals in mutual funds that affected plan participants and other investors, highlight the importance of ensuring that EBSA has an effective and efficient enforcement program. Accordingly, this testimony focuses on describing EBSA's enforcement strategy, EBSA's efforts to address weaknesses in its enforcement program along with the challenges that remain. https://www.govinfo.gov/content/pkg/GAOREPORTS-GAO-05-784T/html/GAOREPORTS-GAO-05-784T.htm https://www.govinfo.gov/content/pkg/GAOREPORTS-GAO-05-784T/pdf/GAOREPORTS-GAO-05-784T.pdf GAO-05-784T https://www.govinfo.gov/app/details/GAOREPORTS-GAO-05-784T Testimony GAO-05-784T; Employee Benefits Security Administration: Improvements Have Been Made to Pension Enforcement Program but Significant Challenges Remain; Accountability Employee benefit plans Internal controls Pensions Private sector Reporting requirements Strategic planning