Policy Priorities

ERIC’s policy agenda is focused on improving employee wellbeing and financial security; increasing flexibility and opportunity; reducing costs and administrative burdens; and helping large employers continue to deliver uniform benefits. ERIC advocates for measures that ensure continued tax preferences for employer-sponsored benefits and exclusive federal regulation of nationwide benefits plans through ERISA preemption.

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Protecting ERISA and Working to Ensure National Uniformity

Large employers operating in multiple states need the consistency and certainty provided by ERISA to ensure that they can offer uniform, national benefits to their employees, families, and retirees. ERISA protects employers from state mandates by keeping regulation at the federal level so that benefits plans can be administered fairly and uniformly across the country. And ERISA provides employer plan sponsors with the flexibility and autonomy to create the right benefits plans for their workforce.

ERIC lobbies to preserve and reinforce ERISA preemption and defend plan sponsors’ ability to design benefits that drive value. And we oppose any state attempt to mandate reporting or other obligations on companies that offer federally regulated plans.

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Prevent or eliminate policies that violate ERISA.
Protect employers from burdensome state administrative requirements.
Prevent costly new mandates on ERISA plans.
Address the patchwork of paid leave programs.

Health Care: Challenges and Priorities

Challenge – Markets

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Implement transparency in health care markets.
Balance health care treatments, products, and care innovations with market competition.
Create an environment that encourages “smart shopping” by patients.
Align health care regulation with other sectors of the economy.
Ensure health care markets are competitive.

Health Care: Challenges and Priorities

Challenge – Costs

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Improve employer flexibility and reduce administrative burdens.
Promote technology and innovation to increase access to care.
Expand wellness and other preventive care.
Implement coordinated care and end “care silos.”
Reform the payment system to incentivize value.

Retirement and Compensation: Challenges and Priorities

Challenge – Costs and Administrative Burdens

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Simplify reporting and disclosure requirements by eliminating redundant and unnecessary disclosures.
Maintain electronic disclosure as an option for default distribution.
Not impose new burdensome administrative requirements.
Refrain from imposing fiduciary requirements on investments available through a brokerage window.
Expand the ability of plans to self-correct plan errors.
Disincentivize frivolous class-action lawsuits.
Stop unnecessary and harmful PBGC premium increases.
Expand safe harbor plan designs.
Modernize the definition of a Highly Compensated Employee to reflect salaries in the modern skilled workforce.
Responsibly modernize multiemployer-plans.

Retirement and Compensation: Flexibility

Challenge – Flexibility

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Student Loan Payment Program.
Allow workers to access retirement savings in a personal emergency.
Expand cafeteria plans to allow participants additional pre-tax benefit options.
Increase catch-up limits in plans.
Increase the age for required minimum distributions.

Retirement and Compensation: Challenges and Priorities

Challenge – Help Participants

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Affirm the responsibility to optimize financial outcomes for plan participants.
Craft lifetime income illustrations to help participants.
Strengthen retiree health care and life insurance benefits by continuing to permit overfunded pension plans to fund them.
Provide a safe harbor for the recovery of retirement plan overpayments.
Create a searchable Retirement Savings Lost and Found.