Brad Campbell Discusses the Need for Greater EBSA Authority in PLANADVISER

In PLANADVISER’s “Inspector General Report Calls for Greater EBSA Authority,” partner Brad Campbell discusses the need for greater EBSA authority over the Federal Thrift Plan and resources to conduct audits.

Campbell said limited-scope audits have been “a perennial favorite of the OIG.” He argued that where assets are overseen by another body, “it would be expensive, impractical and wasteful to require multiple, duplicative audits.”

If a bank or insurance company “certifies the assets subject to their own regulatory requirements,” as opposed to government requirements, then it does not make sense for the plan to also be audited by EBSA, noted Campbell.

In the article, he argued that the limited authority over the Federal Thrift Board “was not an oversight but intentional policy: EBSA serves as an experienced and effective watchdog but was never intended to have discretionary authority over federal employee retirement plans.”

Campbell also said the office should instead focus on the “agency’s effectiveness in utilizing the resources and authority that it currently has.”

The full article is available to PLANADVISER subscribers.