Is the Employee Benefits Security Administration (EBSA) a victim of its own success?
Apparently so, according to a new Government Accountability Office (GAO) report. The passage of bipartisan legislation, such as the SECURE Act, SECURE 2.0 Act, Families First Coronavirus Response Act, Coronavirus Aid, Relief, and Economic Security (CARES) Act, and No Surprises Act meant EBSA’s oversight responsibilities have “swelled significantly.”
However, funding for EBSA remained flat from 2013 to 2021, resulting in a substantial decline in staff available to implement these laws. 
“Specifically, the dramatic decline in EBSA’s inflation-adjusted budget has reduced the number of its staff by over 18 percent from 2013 to 2021,” according to the report. “While EBSA has taken steps to accommodate its limited resources, the report provided recommendations for EBSA to adapt to its limited budget more systematically.”
It added that EBSA is responsible for overseeing an estimated 2.8 million health plans, 765,000 private retirement plans, and 619,000 other welfare benefit plans, covering approximately 153 million workers, retirees, and their families.
“This oversight helps ensure legislation is implemented as intended and benefits are delivered as promised. However, according to a recent Department of Labor Inspector General (OIG) report, EBSA has the enforcement capacity of less than 1 investigator for every 12,600 plans at its current staffing levels.”
House Committee on Education and the Workforce Ranking Member Robert C. “Bobby” Scott, D-Va., announced the release of the report, which he said assessed the management of priorities in the face of years of underfunding that has hindered the EBSA’s ability to protect the health and retirement benefits of workers and retirees.
“Today’s report underscores the consequences of a decade of underfunding that has left the Employee Benefits Security Administration (EBSA) without the resources it needs to fulfill its mission to protect the employer-sponsored retirement and health benefits of millions of Americans,” Scott said in a statement. “Despite these findings, House Republicans’ extreme government funding bill proposes to cut $38 million from EBSA’s budget. This is the last thing our nation’s employers, workers, retirees, and their families need. As EBSA’s oversight responsibilities expand to advance our shared, bipartisan priorities, we should be making the investments in EBSA that reflect our commitment to ensuring access to affordable health care coverage and secure retirement benefits.”
