About ERIC

"The ERISA Industry Committee is a non-profit association committed to the advancement of the employee retirement, health care coverage, and welfare benefit plans of America's major employers."

The ERISA Industry Committee's (ERIC) mission is to promote policies necessary for the voluntary retirement, health, and welfare benefit plans of its members to flourish.

In carrying out its mission, ERIC supports legislative, regulatory, judicial, and other national policy in its members' interest.  ERIC's members and staff are committed to actively advocating the interests of major employers before Congress, regulatory agencies and the courts, as well as educating public officials about the objectives, design and administration of employee benefit plans. ERIC also provides to its members the resources and information needed to understand and influence the formulation of national policies affecting employee benefits.

Defined benefit and defined contribution plans are a major component of retirement security. When combined with Social Security benefits and private savings, these plans serve as the principal sources of retirement income. ERIC promotes policies that encourage the formation, continuation, and sound funding and management of voluntary defined benefit and defined contribution plans.

Voluntary employer-sponsored health care coverage programs provided on behalf of an employer's work-force foster employee well being, security, and productivity. ERIC promotes a coherent national policy that encourages the formation and maintenance of such voluntary health care plans as well as access to health care for all Americans at a reasonable cost.

ERIC supports a flexible system of regulation that encourages employers to create and maintain employee benefit plans. We agree with the conviction of the late Senator Jacob Javits who in 1967 stated: "over regulation [is] worse than none, for it . . . deter[s] the installation and improvement of these much needed programs. It is a tortuous course to be steered between the problems of frustrated expectations for pension plan members growing out of no regulation and the equally damaging frustrations growing out of an irrational regulatory scheme which deters the employer from instituting a . . . plan for his employees."

The ERISA Industry Committee represents the employee benefits interests of America's largest employers.  ERIC's members directly provide and pay for comprehensive retirement, health care coverage and other economic security benefits to tens of millions of active and retired workers and their families. Thus, ERIC has a strong interest in proposals affecting its members' ability to deliver those benefits, their cost and effectiveness, as well as the role of those benefits in the American economy.