The Honorable Phyllis C. Borzi was confirmed on July 10, 2009 as Assistant U.S. Secretary of Labor of the Employee Benefits Security Administration (EBSA) and served until 2017. During her tenure, EBSA oversaw nearly 708,000 private-sector retirement plans, approximately 2.8 million health plans, and a similar number of other welfare benefit plans that provide benefits to approximately 150 million Americans. She also led the U.S. Delegation to the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development, headquartered in Paris, on pension and insurance issues.
As agency head, she oversaw the administration, regulation, and enforcement of Title I of the Employee Retirement Income Security Act of 1974 (ERISA) and led the Department’s efforts to implement the Affordable Care Act. She also served as the representative of the Secretary of Labor, who is the Chair of the Board of Directors of the Pension Benefit Guaranty Corporation (PBGC), and represented and staffed the Secretary in the Secretary’s capacity as a statutory trustee of the Social Security and Medicare Trust Funds.
Previously, Ms. Borzi was a research professor in the Department of Health Policy at George Washington University Medical Center’s School of Public Health and Health Services. In addition, she was Of Counsel with the Washington, D.C. law firm of O’Donoghue & O’Donoghue LLP, specializing in ERISA and other legal issues affecting employee benefit plans, including pensions and retirement savings, health plans, and discrimination based on age or disability.
From 1979 to 1995, former Assistant Secretary Borzi served as pension and employee benefits counsel for the U.S. House of Representatives, Subcommittee on Labor-Management Relations of the Committee on Education and Labor.
Ms. Borzi currently serves on the Board of Edelman Financial Engines, LP, the Board of Advisors of the Institute for Fiduciary Standard Board of Advisors, and the Board of Directors of FAIR Health. She is a charter member and former President of the American College of Employee Benefits Counsel, serving on its Board of Governors from 2000-2008. She has also held positions on the Advisory Board of the BNA Pension & Benefits Reporter, the Advisory Committee of the Pension Benefit Guaranty Corporation, the Advisory Board of the Pension Research Council, The Wharton School, The University of Pennsylvania, and the Board of the Women’s Institute for a Secure Retirement (WISER). In addition, Ms. Borzi also represents retirees as a fiduciary on the Committee governing the Goodyear Retiree Health Care Trust. She is an independent consultant where she continues to be a strong advocate for American investors and consumers. She is a frequent speaker for both national and international audiences.
