DOL Demands Real Action Over Missing Participants

U.S. Department of Labor (DOL) auditors are aggressively pushing for plan sponsors to attempt to find missing terminated vested participants, creating a movement for more formal guidance and forcing plan executives to pay more scrutiny until it comes, reports Pensions & Investments . "There's enough chatter and confusion that it would be good to have a set of guidelines and best practices," says Committee on Investment of Employee Benefit Assets Executive Director Dennis Simmons. "Our members have every incentive to make sure participants get their benefits." The DOL in 2016 launched a pilot program to address missing participants in the Philadelphia office of its Employee Benefits Security Administration, an effort that has since broadened across the United States. In fiscal 2017, the department recovered $326.7 million for plan participants, and the count is $114.6 million so far in fiscal 2018. The American Benefits Council last fall submitted a letter to Deputy Assistant Secretary of Labor Timothy Hauser requesting formal rule-making on comprehensive guidance for plan fiduciaries, noting its members have confronted "inconsistent and alarming" positions taken by DOL auditors during routine audits. The most complaints to the ERISA Industry Committee are coming from members with the largest defined benefit plans being audited. A DOL spokesperson says "the agency places a priority on consistent actions across our compliance assistance and enforcement activities, and will continue to work with plans and plan sponsors to connect retirees and beneficiaries with their pensions."