The Employee Benefits Security Administration published the Enforcement Manual solely for the internal administrative use of its employees. This manual does not restrict or limit in any way the Employee Benefits Security Administration's discretion in carrying out responsibilities imposed on the Secretary of Labor by the Employee Retirement Income Security Act. Nothing in this manual is intended to be an interpretation of law or regulation or to serve as guidance for persons outside the Department of Labor. Nor does this manual confer on any person, including one who is the subject of an Employee Benefits Security Administration investigation or enforcement action, a right to rely on any policy or procedure stated herein, or otherwise create any other substantive or procedural rights.
Example violations applicable to both pension and welfare plans include:
- Failing to operate the plan prudently and for the exclusive benefit of participants;
- Using plan assets to benefit certain related parties to the plan, including the plan administrator, the plan sponsor, and parties related to these individuals;
- Failing to properly value plan assets at their current fair market value, or to hold plan assets in trust;
- Failing to follow the terms of the plan (unless inconsistent with ERISA);
- Failing to properly select and monitor service providers;
- Taking any adverse action against an individual for exercising his or her rights under the plan (e.g., being fired, fined, or otherwise being discriminated against);
- Failure to comply with ERISA Part 7 and the Affordable Care Act (welfare plans only).
EBSA also conducts investigations of criminal violations regarding employee benefit plans such as embezzlement, kickbacks, and false statements under Title 18 of the U.S. Criminal Code. Prosecution of these criminal violations is handled by U.S. Attorneys' offices, see Criminal Enforcement News Releases. Title 18 contains three statutes which directly address violations involving employee benefit plans: (1) Theft or Embezzlement from Employee Benefit Plan (18 U.S.C. Section 664); (2) False Statements or Concealment of Facts in Relation to Documents Required by the Employee Retirement Income Security Act of 1974 (18 U.S.C. Section 1027); (3) Offer, Acceptance, or Solicitation to Influence Operations of Employee Benefit Plan (18 U.S.C. Section 1954).
ERISA also contains criminal provisions, including:
- Section 411, Prohibition Against Certain Persons Holding Certain Positions;
- Section 501, Willful Violation of Title I, Part 1;
- Section 511, Coercive Interference. Persons convicted of violations enumerated in section 411 are subject to a bar from holding plan positions or providing services to plans for up to 13 years;
- Section 519, Prohibition on False Statements and Representations. Persons shall not make false statements in connection with the marketing or sale of a Multiple Employer Welfare Arrangements (MEWA).
Decisions to seek criminal action turn on a number of factors, including:
- The egregiousness and magnitude of the violation;
- The desirability and likelihood of incarceration both as a deterrent and as a punishment;
- Whether the case involves a prior ERISA violator.
If an investigation reveals a violation of the civil provisions of ERISA, EBSA takes action to obtain correction of the violation. It is EBSA's policy to promote voluntary compliance with ERISA whenever possible. Making corrections to plans includes paying amounts to restore losses, disgorging profits, ensuring claims are properly processed and paid, and paying penalty amounts (when applicable). Labor Department attorneys work with field offices to provide every opportunity for fiduciaries to comply with ERISA. If the persons involved take the proper corrective action, the Department will not bring a civil lawsuit with regard to the issues involved. When voluntary compliance is not achieved, EBSA may refer a case to Labor Department attorneys for litigation. Plan assets recovered by EBSA go directly back to the plans and participants involved. See the agency's results Fact Sheet for the enforcement accomplishments for the last fiscal year.
Major Case Enforcement Priority – EBSA continues to focus its enforcement resources on areas that have the greatest impact on the protection of plan assets and participants' benefits. In FY 2020, EBSA will remain dedicated to strategically focusing more investigative resources on professional fiduciaries and service providers with responsibility for large amounts of plan assets and the administration of large amounts of plan benefits. This continues to be accomplished by a national enforcement priority that directs investigative resources to the conduct of major cases.
Employee Contributions Initiative – Consistent with its long history of protecting employee contributions to 401(k), health care, and other contributory plans, EBSA designated the investigation of delinquent employee contributions, a previous national project, as a national enforcement priority. For more information, see the Employee Contributions Initiative webpage.
EBSA focuses its enforcement resources where they can have the greatest impact on protecting plan assets and participants' benefits. The national projects below highlight the priority areas that guide our enforcement work. In FY 2026, EBSA revised its national projects and priorities.
Cybersecurity
This project addresses the growing risks cyberattacks pose to employee benefit plans and participants. It promotes best cybersecurity practices for plans and service providers to protect sensitive information and reduce the risk of fraud and financial loss. As part of its investigations, EBSA reviews how plans and service providers protect their systems and data from cyber threats. This project builds on cybersecurity guidance issued in 2021 and updated in 2024.
Barriers to Mental Health and Substance Use Disorder Benefits
This project focuses on targeting the most serious violations by plans and service providers that block participants and beneficiaries from accessing their promised mental health and substance use disorder benefits. These violations cause serious harm to participants and beneficiaries, including vulnerable groups like children and teens.
As part of this project, EBSA will ensure that plans and service providers meet their legal obligations to provide these important benefits and remove barriers to accessing care such as burdensome claims processes, unjustified treatment exclusions, inaccurate provider lists, and unreasonable limits on care.
This project aligns with the priorities in Executive Order 14212, “Establishing the President’s Make America Healthy Again Commission,” and builds on recent enforcement work under the Mental Health Parity and Addiction Equity Act.
Mental health and substance use disorder tools and resources.
Surprise Billing
EBSA’s work in this area centers on enforcing the protections under the No Surprises Act (NSA), which prevents participants and beneficiaries from receiving unexpected medical bills in certain situations, such as emergency and air ambulance services or non-emergency services performed by out-of-network providers at in-network facilities.
EBSA will review whether plans and issuers:
- Follow the prudent layperson standard, which requires plans to treat a situation as an emergency if a reasonable person would believe they need immediate medical care.
- Apply in-network cost-sharing charges to services protected under the NSA.
- Provide proper notices and disclosures.
- Comply with other NSA protections, such as prohibitions on prior authorization and more restrictive administrative requirements.
- Comply with payment timelines during open negotiation and the independent dispute resolution process.
EBSA will also examine improper plan exclusions that wrongfully deny emergency services coverage, consistent with the 2021 interim final rule issued under the Consolidated Appropriates Act.
EBSA seeks, when possible, to address NSA claims and payment processing issues at a service provider level the achieve widespread correction impacting many plans.
NSA resources on the Department’s website.
Protecting Benefit Distributions
Retirement benefits often go unpaid when plan sponsors fail to act, struggle financially, or abandon their plans. Through this project, EBSA ensures participants receive the benefits they are owed. The Protecting Benefit Distributions (PDB) project has four main areas of focus:
Terminated Vested Participants (TVP)
TVPs are former employees who earned a pension under a defined benefit plan but left their employers before getting their payments. This aspect of the PDB project focuses on ensuring defined benefit plans keep sufficient census records and use effective methods to contact TVPs.
EBSA reviews whether plans implement these practices and notify individuals as they reach their plan’s normal retirement age (commonly age 65) and their required minimum distribution (RMD) age, when distributions must begin. In FY 2025, EBSA launched the Retirement Savings Lost and Found Database. This online tool helps people search for missing retirement accounts, making it easier for TVPs to receive payments owed to them.
In light of issued guidance, and the launch of the Lost and Found Database relevant to compliance in this area, EBSA expects necessary enforcement action in this area to reduce.
Distressed Plan Sponsors
This part of the PBD project protects participant benefits when plan sponsors face financial distress, including bankruptcy or receivership. Financial trouble can result in missed contributions, unpaid claims, and loss of health coverage for participants.
EBSA’s early investigative efforts help prevent plan losses caused by asset diversion, unreasonable expenses, and delayed collection of delinquent contributions. Early action also supports timely benefit distributions and required notices, reducing the work needed later by bankruptcy trustees and other successor plan administrators.
Custodial Abandoned Plans
Custodial service providers may not have proper procedures in place for handling plans that sponsors have abandoned. In some cases, these custodial service providers continue charging fees for services no longer performed or increase fees for these abandoned plans, which harms participants.
EBSA works to ensure that custodial service providers refund unreasonable or prohibited fees and establish adequate procedures for identifying and handling abandoned plans. This can include participation in EBSA’s Abandoned Plan Program.
Work in this area frequently results in large recoveries impacting hundreds, and sometimes thousands, of plans and produces long-term procedural changes that benefit plans going forward.
Abandoned Plans
This component of the PBD project addresses plans that have been abandoned by plan sponsors or fiduciaries, including situations where fiduciaries have abdicated their responsibilities. EBSA works to locate abandoned plans because of death, neglect, bankruptcy, incarceration or other circumstances, and determines whether a fiduciary is still available to make necessary decisions, such as terminating the plan or distributing plan assets. EBSA then works with available fiduciaries to complete required filings, so participants can receive the benefits they were promised. If any plan official fails to meet their fiduciary responsibilities to plan participants, EBSA may impose penalties as appropriate.
Retirement Asset Management
This enforcement area focuses on protecting retirement income by ensuring fiduciaries select and monitor plan investments prudently. Poor investment choices, high fees, and conflicts of interest can reduce participants’ future retirement income.
EBSA reviews whether fiduciaries act prudently and avoid conflicts of interest when choosing investment options, monitoring performance, and managing fees. This work includes reviewing 404(c) plans and underfunded defined benefit plans, as well as evaluating the actions of 3(21) and 3(38) fiduciaries. EBSA will also seek to educate plan-level fiduciaries through this project and utilize process agreements when appropriate.
404(c) plans
Because most participants rely on 404(c) plans for their retirement savings, EBSA reviews whether fiduciaries follow a reasonable process when choosing and overseeing the plan’s investment lineup. Issues with these processes may be common, especially in midsize plans that may lack the resources of larger plans. EBSA evaluates these practices under the 404(c) regulation and recent Court decisions.
Underfunded defined benefit plans
EBSA focuses investigative resources on underfunded defined benefit plans because participants face a high risk of reduced or lost benefits. EBSA wants to ensure plans do not pursue risky or unsuitable investment strategies as a way to improve funding status. EBSA examines systemic risks across the entire portfolio and reviews the procedures fiduciaries use to adopt and monitor the investment strategy.
3(21) and 3(38) fiduciaries
EBSA also reviews the actions of 3(21) and 3(38) fiduciaries at a service provider level and through its investigations of 404(c) plans and underfunded defined benefit plans. These reviews look for conflicts of interest, including efforts to increase compensation or direct investments to affiliated funds.
EBSA will continue to conduct criminal investigations of potential fraud, kickback, and embezzlement involving investment managers and advisers to plans and participants.
Contributory Plans Criminal Project
The Contributory Plans Criminal Project (CPCP), launched in FY 2010, is EBSA’s first national criminal project. It focuses on protecting American workers who contribute to employer-sponsored retirement and health benefit plans from criminal abuse.
CPCP investigations have led to numerous federal, state, and local prosecutions. EBSA targets the most serious cases to deter future criminal activity and protect participants.
Factsheet on the Contributory Plans Criminal Project.
Multiple Employer Welfare Arrangements
Although not a national project, EBSA continues its long-standing work to identify and shut down abusive Multiple Employer Welfare Arrangements (MEWAs) and prevent fraudulent MEWA operators from simply opening new arrangements in other states.
EBSA’s criminal investigations of MEWAs have uncovered a range of fraud and resulted in federal prosecutions. EBSA also investigates cases where medical providers or other service providers commit fraud against self-funded health plans.
Voluntary Fiduciary Correction Program (VFCP) - The Office of Enforcement oversees the administration of the Voluntary Fiduciary Correction Program, a voluntary program intended to protect the financial security of workers through the identification and correction of transactions that violate Part 4 of Title I of ERISA. Applications to the VFCP should be mailed to the appropriate EBSA office.