WASHINGTON, D.C. – Today, Senators Jim Banks (R-Ind.) and Bill Cassidy (R-La.) introduced the Investigation Status and Governance for Honest Transparency (INSIGHT Act). The bill requires the Employee Benefits Security Administration (EBSA) to report annually to Congress on enforcement investigations and certain agreements with plaintiff attorneys, including timelines, delays, and notice to affected plan sponsors, while excluding identifying information. This legislation also requires EBSA to notify employee benefit plan sponsors and Congress when the Department of Labor provides adverse assistance to plaintiff attorneys. Senator Tim Scott (R-S.C.) is a cosponsor of this legislation.
Senator Jim Banks (R-Ind.) said, “Americans’ retirement savings shouldn’t get stuck in endless bureaucracy. This bill brings transparency and accountability so plans aren’t tied up for years, and workers can have confidence their benefits are handled the right way.”
Senator Bill Cassidy (R-La.) said, “Louisianians deserve a secure retirement. This important bill makes the Department of Labor more effective in protecting Americans’ retirement by increasing transparency, preventing endless investigations, and cutting useless bureaucratic procedures.”
Key Provisions of Investigation Status and Governance for Honest Transparency (INSIGHT Act):
- Requires EBSA to annually report to Congress on enforcement investigations, including origin, key dates, timeliness, and explanations with estimated completion dates for cases exceeding 36 months, without identifying information.
- Requires EBSA to notify plan sponsors when Department of Labor (DOL) provides adverse assistance to plaintiff attorneys and to execute and disclose written agreements, with an annual report to Congress on such agreements.
This bill has been endorsed by the following: American Benefits Council, the ERISA Industry Committee, U.S. Chamber of Commerce, Investment Company Institute, ESOP Association, Business Group on Health.
Full bill text can be found here.
Background:
Title I of the Employee Retirement Income Security Act of 1974 (ERISA) protects the rights of workers, retirees, and families who are beneficiaries of private retirement plans, health plans, and other welfare benefit plans. The Department of Labor’s Employee Benefits Security Administration (EBSA) enforces these protections.
Despite its mission, however, there are alarming reports from stakeholders, backed by data from the Government Accountability Office (GAO), that EBSA has failed to conduct its enforcement in a timely manner. The May 2021 GAO report found that 17 percent of all investigations opened in 2017 were still open four years later. Plan sponsors have reported that investigations often appear without direction or purpose, trapping them in endless document requests, interviews, and investigator questions.
