U.S. Department of Labor Announces that it Recovered Over $1.4 Billion in 2023 for Employee Benefit Plans and Participants:

On February 13, 2024, the DOL posted an article to its website to summarize its 2023 activity regarding employee benefit plans. The majority of its $1.4 billion in recoveries consisted of the following:

• Recoveries from enforcement actions resulting from plan audits:  $844.7 million. 
• Recoveries from informal complaint resolutions, as a result of plan participants filing complaints with the DOL:  $444.1 million.

The article also states that in addition to those monetary recoveries, during 2023 the DOL “made a difference for current and future participants and beneficiaries by obtaining such important non-monetary results as the elimination of illegal plan provisions” and “improved fiduciary governance.” In addition, the DOL states that during 2023 it closed 196 criminal investigations, which “led to the indictment of 60 individuals, including plan officials, corporate officers, and service providers, for offenses related to employee benefit plans.”