The Employee Benefits Security Administration(EBSA) announced that during fiscal year 2015,enforcement actions that it brought to enforce the EmployeeRetirement Income Security Act (ERISA) resulted in therecovery of $696.3 million for directpayment to plans, participants and beneficiaries.

EBSA’s oversight authority extends tonearly 681,000 retirement plans, approximately 2.3 million healthplans, and a similar number of other welfare benefit plans, such asthose providing life or disability insurance.

These plans cover about 143 million workers and theirdependents, and, as of October 2, 2015, include assets of more than$ 8.7 trillion.

Of the monies recovered, a total of $265.3 million came fromplan assets restored and/or participant benefits recovered.

The voluntary fiduciary correction program resulted in another$14.3 million, while the abandoned plan program recovered $13.8million from 205 plans and monetary benefit recoveries frominformal complaint resolution totaled $402.9 million. The abandonedplan program facilitates the termination of, and distribution ofbenefits from, individual account pension plans that have beenabandoned by their sponsoring employers.

In FY 2015, EBSA closed 2,441 civil investigations with 1,640 ofthose cases (67.2 percent) resulting in monetary results for plansor other corrective action. EBSA often seeks voluntary compliance,but when that fails, cases are referred for litigation.

During FY 2015, EBSA referred 136 cases for litigation, and theDepartment of Labor filed civil suits in 89 cases during the fiscalyear.

Criminal investigations also were prominent during the year.EBSA closed 275 criminal investigations, and its investigations ledto the indictment of 61 individuals, including plan officials,corporate officers and service providers, for crimes related toemployee benefit plans during the FY.