The DOL's Employee Benefits Security Administration (EBSA) has made available an online consumer assistance request form that allows retirement and health plan participants to:

The system is intended to provide more efficient service to individuals seeking assistance. Requests for assistance can also be submitted by plan service providers (including third-party administrators and attorneys), plan sponsors and government agencies. In addition to general resources, publications and links to important topics on retirement and health plan issues, the form allows users to contact an EBSA benefits advisor for help by selecting one of the following options:

Each of these options links to a form that can be filled out and submitted online or printed and mailed to EBSA. The form requests information about the user, the type of plan the user is asking about and the issue(s) the user is concerned about, which may include:

The form also includes fields for providing contact information about the plan or the employer, including whether the plan contact is an employer, insurer, service provider/plan administrator or union. The form instructs users to attach all relevant documentation, including plan documents, summary plan descriptions (SPDs) and copies of claims, benefits statements and correspondence with the plan administrator (see SPD Compliance Chart for ERISA Health and Welfare Plans).

The system automatically routes requests to the appropriate regional office based on the user's zip code, and EBSA benefit advisors will respond to any questions or complaints within three business days.

Employers should be aware that complaints submitted through the consumer assistance web page can ultimately lead to EBSA enforcement investigations. Notably, the web page indicates that valid complaints that cannot be resolved through informal dispute resolution can result in enforcement activity. In the last year, EBSA opened 900 formal investigations of retirement and health plans after benefit advisors referred complaints from participants that EBSA could not resolve informally.

In addition, two points about the web page's interaction with the ACA deserve mention:

For information on compliance with the requirements for health plan added under the ACA, including the consumer assistance ombudsman programs, see Effective Dates and Summary of Key Provisions Under the Affordable Care Act (ACA) Chart.