Key ERISA advisory panel goes dormant amid DOL inaction

The ERISA Advisory Council, an expert panel that provides guidance to the Department of Labor (DOL) on ERISA issues, has effectively gone dormant, with no meetings in 2025 and no plans to convene in 2026, according to former members and former agency officials.

The 15-member council is required to meet four times per year under Section 512 of the Employee Retirement Income Security Act. But multiple sources say the body had no meetings, communications or formal activity throughout 2025, raising concerns about whether the council is being quietly sidelined as the Trump administration moves to expand access to alternative investments within 401(k) plans, including private markets and cryptocurrency. The Department of Labor did not respond to multiple requests for comment.

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A statutory body falls silent

The ERISA Advisory Council has historically served as a forum where representatives from across the industry study policy questions and issue recommendations to the Department of Labor.

The 15-member council consists of representatives from employee organizations, employers and the general public, along with professionals from the fields of insurance, corporate trust, actuarial counseling, investment counseling, investment management and accounting.

A person with direct knowledge of the matter told Financial Planning that after President Donald Trump began his second term last January, the Department of Labor did not communicate with council members about scheduling meetings.

When members reached out to department contacts, DOL representatives said they were waiting for authorization to determine whether they were permitted to continue work on the council.

Nearly 14 months after Trump's inauguration, the council has not held any meetings, scheduled future sessions or issued reports. The DOL has also not appointed any new members.

Labor Secretary Lori Chavez-DeRemer, who assumed office in March 2025, is responsible for appointing new members but has not made any appointments in 2026.

Council members serve staggered three-year terms and are unpaid. The group typically meets several times a year to gather testimony from experts and produce policy reports.

Five members whose terms ran from 2023 through 2025 left the council at the end of last year, leaving the panel with five vacant seats.

The council's silence is notable because its reports have historically influenced policy at the Employee Benefits Security Administration (EBSA), the DOL division that oversees employer-sponsored retirement and health plans.

For example, the department recently cited a 2014 council report in a proposed rule requiring greater disclosure around pharmacy benefit manager compensation.

The council last produced reports in 2024, including recommendations related to health plan claims and appeals and potential updates to rules governing qualified default investment alternatives, or QDIAs, in retirement plans.

Those findings highlighted persistent problems plan participants face navigating health insurance claims, including difficulty understanding benefits, claim determinations and their rights when appealing a denial.

A second person with direct knowledge of the matter told Financial Planning it is unclear why the council's work has stalled since President Trump took office. The person emphasized that the council is not political and said its research and recommendations are intended to serve the best interests of plan participants and beneficiaries.

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Concerns from former members and policymakers

Former members and officials who have served on the council say the inactivity is both unprecedented and troubling.

Lisa Gomez, former head of EBSA, told the National Association of Plan Advisors that the council is a "valuable resource for not only the Department of Labor, but also the public, to have the benefit of a group of professionals representing the various constituencies in the employer-sponsored plan community studying issues and providing reports."

Gomez said that the Department of Labor's failure to seat members sworn in at the end of 2024, hold any meetings in 2025, or solicit nominees for 2026 "is a disregard for the law establishing the council and a disservice to the public and private stakeholders the council has served since it was first established."

Ali Khawar, former deputy head of EBSA, told NAPA that he doesn't understand why the DOL is "effectively disbanding" the council or "why they won't just come out and say what they're doing. It's especially unfair to the members of the public who are currently serving or whose terms have now expired."

The council's inactivity also has implications for upcoming legislation. In October 2025, the Senate passed the Employee Ownership Representation Act, which would add two members representing employee ownership organizations. While ESOP groups have championed the bill, experts say its impact is largely moot if the council remains inactive.