Five New Members Appointed to the 2018 ERISA Advisory Council

WASHINGTON, DC – Today the U.S. Department of Labor announced the appointments of five new members as well as chair and vice chair to the 2018 Advisory Council on Employee Welfare and Pension Benefit Plans, known as the ERISA Advisory Council.

"The ERISA Advisory Council advises the Department's work in enhancing and preserving the health and retirement benefits of America's workers," said U.S. Secretary of Labor Alexander Acosta. "These professionals will help the council accomplish its goals. Their expertise will be a valuable complement to the Department's mission to protect workers' benefits."

The 15-member council provides advice on policies and regulations affecting employee benefit plans governed by the Employee Retirement Income Security Act of 1974 (ERISA). By law, members of the council serve for staggered three-year terms. Three members are representatives of employee organizations (at least one of whom represents an organization whose members are participants in a multiemployer plan). Three members are representatives of employers (at least one of whom represents employers maintaining or contributing to multiemployer plans). Three members are representatives of the general public. There is one representative each from the fields of insurance, corporate trust, actuarial counseling, investment counseling, investment management and accounting.

Current members Cynthia Levering and Srinivas Dharam Reddy will serve as the chair and vice chair, respectively, of the council.

Levering retired from Aon Consulting as a Senior Vice President and Consulting Actuary in 2009, after 33 years with the firm. She has served as Chair of the Society of Actuaries' Pension Section Council and currently serves on the Research Team. She also has worked on the American Academy of Actuaries initiative, Retirement for the AGES, as a member of the Academy's Retirement System Assessment and Policy Committee.

Reddy has had a variety of leadership roles in financial services. Most recently, he was a Senior Vice President at Prudential Retirement responsible for all aspects of the investments and retirement income businesses. His previous work experience includes leading product and distribution teams for ING Group and USAA. Reddy is a Chartered Financial Analyst (CFA).

The newly appointed members and the expertise they represent are:

Employers:
David J. Kritz is General Attorney for Norfolk Southern Corporation, where he provides legal advice on benefits and compensation issues. He has over 25 years of experience as an ERISA attorney, including positions at Eversheds Sutherland, Akin Gump, and at the Pension Benefit Guaranty Corporation (PBGC). He serves on the Policy Board of Directors of the American Benefits Council.

Corporate Trust:
Linda M. Kerschner is a Senior Vice President of CAPTRUST Financial Advisors, where she provides advice to qualified and non-qualified plan sponsor committees and individual participants. Kerschner managed the Defined Contribution Department and Operations for Defined Benefit Pension and Institutional Custody Operations for the Capital Management Group of First Union National Bank.

General Public:
David Blanchett is Head of Retirement Research at Morningstar Investment Management, where he works to enhance the group's consulting and investment services. He is currently an Expert Panelist for the Wall Street Journal and on the Editorial Board of the Journal of Retirement and Morningstar Magazine. He is also an Adjunct Professor of Wealth Management at The American College.

Investment Management:
Jason Bortz is Senior Vice President and Senior Counsel at Capital Group, the investment manager to the American Funds. He provides subject-matter expertise on ERISA fiduciary, tax, and other retirement product investment issues. He also serves as a liaison to industry trade groups.

Employee organizations:
Bridget O'Connor is General Counsel of the International Union of Bricklayers & Allied Craftworkers (BAC), where her work includes educating local union officers and trustees and advising the international officers and local funds on collective bargaining. She is also General Counsel for several BAC-related ERISA multiemployer plans, including pension and welfare benefit plans.