Top Government Benefits Regulator Hobbled by Dwindling Funds (1)

The US Labor Department’s top employee benefits regulator is straining to keep up with its oversight responsibilities amid years of declining resources, a new government watchdog report says.

DOL’s Employee Benefits Security Administration needs to develop a systematic decision-making process for managing a decline in annual appropriations, the Government Accountability Office recommended in a report made public Thursday. Better management controls would allow EBSA to reallocate dwindling funds more quickly and effectively, the GAO said.

The agency oversees roughly 2.8 million private-sector health, 765,000 retirement, and 619,000 welfare benefit plans covering 153 million workers and retirees. The GAO report found ...