On Feb 1., BenefitsPRO published a story: At Labor, Regulators Rely on Advisor Tips for Enforcement. The headline, and some of the story’s reporting, inaccurately interpreted the ‘benefits advisors’ referenced in a DOL fact sheet as private-sector plan advisors. A reader pointed out this inaccuracy. The ‘benefits advisors’ referred to in the fact sheet are internal Labor employees who field inquiries, mostly from plan participants, that ultimately lead to plan investigations.
Not incidentally, BenefitsPRO sent an email to DOL requesting clarification on that very question. It wasn't answered. We published our story based on our understanding of DOL’s fact sheet. We are grateful to our astute audience for helping us to continue to accurately report benefits industry news.
Last year, regulators at the Employee Benefits Security Administration, the Labor Department agency charged with regulating workplace retirement and health plans, opened 617 new investigations based on tips fielded from internal benefits plan advisors at the agency.
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Nick Thornton
Nick Thornton is a financial writer covering retirement and health care issues for BenefitsPRO and ALM Media. He greatly enjoys learning from the vast minds in the legal, academic, advisory and money management communities when covering the retirement space. He's also written on international marketing trends, financial institution risk management, defense and energy issues, the restaurant industry in New York City, surfing, cigars, rum, travel, and fishing. When not writing, he's pushing into some land or water.
