Compliance June 26, 2025

Aronowitz Clears Senate Committee Vote to Head EBSA

Trump’s nominee now moves to a full Senate vote to determine whether he will lead the Department of Labor agency tasked with enforcing the Employee Retirement Income Security Act and safeguarding employer-sponsored retirement plans. 

Reported by

The Senate Committee on Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions voted to approve the nomination of Daniel Aronowitz as assistant secretary of labor for the Department of Labor’s by a 14 to 9 vote, according to information from the committee.

Daniel Aronowitz

Aronowitz, who during his June 5 confirmation hearing vowed to streamline retirement plan regulation, pledging to end what he considered “regulation by litigation” and end the “war on ESOPs,” will now face a confirmation vote in front of the full Senate at a later date.

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EBSA is responsible for enforcement of the Employee Retirement Income Security Act and related laws and regulations, along with protecting employer-based retirement, health and welfare benefits for workers and retirees.  

Lisa Gomez, the former assistant secretary of labor for the Employee Benefits Security Administration, speaking at the PLANSPONSOR National Conference in Chicago earlier this month, said she expects it will be a “busy, active time at EBSA” in the coming year, but it is unclear how the administration’s preference for “deregulation” will take shape. 

According to EBSA’s organizational chart, President Donald Trump has appointed Janet Dhillon as acting assistant secretary until Aronowitz is confirmed. Dhillon was also nominated to serve as director of the Pension Benefit Guaranty Corporation in March.  

Aronowitz, an expert in insurance for employee benefit providers, including ERISA fiduciaries, has 30 years of experience in the professional liability industry as a coverage lawyer and underwriter. He said during his confirmation hearing that he intends to make clear that fiduciaries, not the DOL or plaintiffs’ lawyers, should decide what is best for retirement plan participants.  

ERISA lawyers recently told PLANSPONSOR that they expect Aronowitz to be active in helping end a recent flurry of litigation by issuing amicus briefs to offer clear regulatory guidance.   

Data & Research June 26, 2025

PensionBee Analysis Says Looming Social Security Cuts Could Cost Americans $138,000 Each

The analysis finds that a 23% cut would require $138,000 in added savings to replace the lost income; a 19% benefit cut would require an individual retirement beneficiary to save an extra $114,000.

Reported by

Social Security benefits are on pace to be slashed sooner than expected, driven by an accelerated timeline for trust fund insolvency that would leave retirees needing up to $138,000 in additional retirement savings to maintain their standards of living, according to a PensionBee Inc. analysis obtained by PLANSPONSOR.

The analysis followed the latest Social Security Administration Board of Trustees report, which revealed the combined Social Security trust funds are now expected to have to start reducing payments to beneficiaries by 2034—one year earlier than previously forecast. The retirement-only fund, the Old-Age and Survivors Insurance Fund, meanwhile, faces depletion even sooner—in 2033. That would trigger a 23% cut to Social Security retirement benefits.

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According to the board of trustees’ report, the Social Security Fairness Act—passed by Congress in late 2024 and signed on January 5 by former President Joe Biden—accelerated the depletion of the trust funds by one year.

PensionBee’s founder and CEO, Romi Savova, agrees that the bill, which extended benefits for about 3 million public sector workers—mostly teachers, firefighters, police officers and government employees—came at a cost.

“The decision was essentially Congress choosing to help current retirees, but of course, that may come at the expense of the system’s long-term health,” Savova says.

Social Security’s trust funds have been depleting since 2021, and without congressional action, benefits will have to be cut at some point.

According to PensionBee’s analysis, a 19% benefit cut would require an individual retirement beneficiary to save an extra $114,000, while a 23% cut would require $138,000 in added savings to replace the lost income, based on the widely used 4% retirement withdrawal rule. That is significantly more than the current median U.S. retirement account balance of $87,000, the report stated.

“The accelerated insolvency timeline means Americans have even less time to prepare for what’s coming,” Savova said in a statement accompanying the unreleased analysis. “While we cannot control Congressional action, we can control our response. Americans who consolidate their retirement accounts and take control of their savings today may be far better positioned to weather potential future cuts than those who wait for political solutions.”

Specifically, if benefits for a 55-year-old were cut 23%, PensionBee’s analysis estimated that individual would need to save an additional $100,992 to offset the reductions over the 12 years until they could claim a full Social Security benefit at age 67; a 19% cut would require $83,436 in additional savings.

For example, the youngest cohort in the analysis—25-year-olds—would need to save an additional $40,614 if benefits are cut 23% and $33,558 if benefits are cut by 19%.

PensionBee’s report recommended five immediate steps to mitigate the potential impact:

  • Maximize contributions, especially catch-up contributions for those older than 50;
  • Take advantage of employer matches and automatic escalation tools;
  • Consolidate retirement accounts to reduce fees and streamline oversight;
  • Diversify investments to manage risk; and
  • Delay retirement to increase benefit payouts.

“Social Security isn’t a bonus,” the report stated. “For most Americans, it’s the foundation of retirement. But that foundation is cracking, and the stakes couldn’t be higher.”

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