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**U.S. Department of LaborEmployee Benefits Security AdministrationOctober 2010**

The Employee Benefits Security                      Administration (EBSA) maintains a participant assistance                      and outreach program to educate participants,                      beneficiaries and plan sponsors about their rights and                      obligations under employee benefit laws, and to assist                      individuals in obtaining retirement and health benefits                      that have been improperly denied. To improve the delivery                      of participant assistance and outreach, EBSA has                      established an Office of Participant Assistance (OPA) and                      employs approximately 100 Benefits Advisors located throughout the                      country in the Agency’s 15 field offices. OPA formulates                      the Agency’s strategic plan for participant and                      compliance assistance, outreach and education; establishes                      policies and operating procedures for the field and                      national office programs; and, conducts quality assurance                      reviews. The office is also responsible for developing                      publications and other educational materials for                      participants and plan sponsors and for the content and                      design of EBSA’s Web site.                      
Quick Facts-  In FY 2010, the Benefits Advisors                        closed 338,381 participant inquiries/complaints and recovered over                        $164.6 million in benefits for participants that had been                        improperly denied through an informal negotiation                        process with the employer. The Benefits Advisors inform                        the employer about their responsibilities under the law                        and facilitate resolution of the complaint without                        formal investigation or litigation.
-  Benefits Advisors also respond to                        compliance related inquiries directly from employers,                        plan sponsors and practitioners. Last year they handled                        32,404 such inquiries.
-  In FY 2010, we issued determinations								on 11,754 appeals of denials of the COBRA subsidy and								overturned 74%. Over 99% of the determinations were								issued within 15 days.
-  Benefit Advisors play a critical role                        in EBSA’s overall enforcement program. When they                        receive a complaint from a participant that indicates a                        fiduciary breach by the employer or a problem that                        impacts all or several participants in the plan, the                        Advisor makes a referral to the enforcement staff for                        possible investigation. These types of referrals from                        our Advisors have become our best source of cases.                        Referrals from Benefits Advisors in FY 2010 resulted in                        1,064 enforcement cases being opened.  Monetary results								from referred cases totalled $62.2 million.
-  Often when situations require                        investigation and litigation to resolve, participants                        are left in limbo for months or years before a final                        resolution of the case is settled. The                        Agency has implemented a policy to keep participants                        informed about the status of their complaint both before                        and after it has been referred for enforcement. This has                        helped to increase our customers’ satisfaction.
-  The Agency began monitoring how                        participants and other customers viewed the service                        provided by our Benefits Advisors in FY 2003 through a                        contract with the Gallup Organization. Customer                        Satisfaction is one of the GPRA goals established by the                        Agency. According to our most recent Gallup survey,                        88.3% of our customers rate our service equal to or better                        than their experience with the private sector, and 92.2%                        equal to or better than public sector organizations.
-  EBSA maintains a toll                        free participant assistance line, 1.866.444.EBSA (3272). The                        hot line complements the Agency’s Web site for                        accepting electronic inquiries, www.askebsa.dol.gov.
-  The toll free calls are directed to                        the field offices and are answered by Benefits Advisors                        in the region nearest the caller.
-  The Agency’s Web site, www.dol.gov/ebsa, hosted over                        7.8 million web visitors in FY 2010 where they had                        access to numerous FAQs, publications and other useful                        consumer information as well as easy access to the “contact                        us” site.
-  Benefits Advisors also have access to                        a contracted translation service that can assist them in                        providing assistance to non-English speaking                        participants. The translation service provides                        translation in 150 different languages.
-  Benefit Advisors conduct both                        participant and compliance assistance outreach in their                        regions. Some examples of these outreach activities                        include:   -  **On-site assistance to                            dislocated workers facing job loss as a result of                            plant closures or layoffs** - Benefits Advisors                            participate in state sponsored Rapid Response                            sessions providing workers with critical                            need-to-know information about continuation health                            coverage under COBRA, special enrollment rights                            under HIPAA and retirement rollover provisions. In                            FY 2010 our Benefits Advisors participated in 479                            Rapid Response sessions attended by over 14,000 workers.                            This direct                            on-site service provides timely information                            necessary for participants to make informed                            decisions about their benefits when faced with job                            loss.
  -  **Briefings to district                            congressional offices, state insurance                            commissioners, and other federal, state and                            community organizations** - The purpose of these                            train-the-trainer/advocate sessions is to educate                            these professionals about the laws that EBSA                            administers and the services offered by our staff.                            The Benefits Advisors provide them with copies of                            our brochures, Qs & As, posters, as well as our                            website address and toll free number. In FY 2010                            Benefits Advisors conducted briefings to 306                            Congressional district offices. These briefings result in more referrals to                            our offices for benefit dispute resolution but they                            also reduce informational inquiries to our staff by                            enabling the staff in these offices to respond                            directly to their constituents’ questions and                            provide copies of our informative materials.
  -  **Compliance Assistance                            workshops for employers, plan sponsors and                            practitioners** - Benefits Advisors conducted or                            participated in 422 compliance assistance outreach                            activities in FY 2010. Those include sponsoring fiduciary education seminars, cosponsoring                            HIPAA compliance assistance seminars with state                            insurance commissioners, cosponsoring workshops with                            the IRS, Small Business Development Centers and                            local Chambers of Commerce for small business owners                            to learn about retirement plan options to offer                            coverage for their employees, participation in                            workshops sponsored by associations such as the                            AICPA, WEB and the IFEBP, hosting Webcasts, and giving speeches to                            plan benefits administrators. By educating                            employers, plan sponsors and practitioners through                            these types of outreach seminars, fewer errors are                            made by the plan thus reducing the number of                            individuals who might need assistance in resolving                            complaints. 
-  EBSA now has numerous publications which provide useful                        information to participants and beneficiaries about                        their pension and health benefits. Several of these pubs                        have been translated into Spanish.  In 2010, 607,000 copies were distributed. Electronic copies can be found on EBSA's Publications page.

For more information about the Participant                  Assistance and Outreach Program, contact the Office of                  Participant Assistance at 202.693.8630. If you have a benefits                  question or need assistance resolving a complaint or claim for                  benefits, contact one of EBSA's Benefits Advisors, toll-free, at                  1.866.444.EBSA (3272), or electronically at                  www.askebsa.dol.gov.                  

This fact sheet has been developed by the U.S. Department of Labor, Employee                  Benefits Security Administration, Washington, DC 20210. It will be made                  available in alternate formats upon request: Voice telephone: 202.693.8664;                  Text telephone: 202.501.3911. In addition, the information in                  this fact sheet constitutes a small entity compliance guide for purposes of                  the Small Business Regulatory Enforcement Fairness Act of 1996.                  
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