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Open Recommendations

Retirement Plans: Department of Labor Guidance Could Mitigate Privacy Risks for Participants
GAO-26-107271
Mar 30, 2026
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1 Open Recommendations
Agency Affected Recommendation Status
Department of Labor The Secretary of Labor should provide additional guidance about participant data privacy for retirement plan sponsors and service providers. In particular, the Secretary should clarify what participant information should be considered private and the circumstances in which service providers should obtain written permission before using or sharing this information. Such guidance could also identify best practices including for providing individual participants with choice, to the extent practicable, about how their personal information may be used, sold, or shared. (Recommendation 1)
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DOL neither agreed nor disagreed with this recommendation, noting that the agency will carefully consider, as resources permit, whether supplemental guidance aligned with the recommendation could or should be issued. DOL provides cybersecurity guidance. However, the guidance does not describe what information should be considered private, or what are acceptable uses of such information. We believe more specific guidance is warranted to help ensure service providers have sufficient clarity on how to appropriately use and share participant data. Additionally, plan sponsors and record keepers wanted DOL to create industry data privacy standards, given the lack of comprehensive national data privacy legislation, differing state requirements, and concerns about lawsuits. Implementing the recommendation could benefit participants by better protecting their personal information as well as plan sponsors and service providers by clarifying acceptable uses of participant information.

Social Security Death Data: Do Not Pay System Has Yielded Financial Benefits, but SSA Should Better Evaluate States’ Cost to Obtain Data
GAO-26-107181
Feb 12, 2026
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3 Open Recommendations
Agency Affected Recommendation Status
Social Security Administration The SSA Commissioner should ensure that contracts for state death data reflect statutorily authorized costs and include necessary documentation required by law. (Recommendation 1)
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The Social Security Administration agreed with this recommendation. We will update the status of the recommendation when we receive additional information.
Social Security Administration The SSA Commissioner should ensure that SSA conducts an analysis of state cost information, including its availability, and determine whether renegotiating the fee schedule for state death data is necessary to ensure that prices reflect statutorily authorized costs. (Recommendation 2)
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The Social Security Administration agreed with this recommendation. We will update the status of the recommendation when we receive additional information.
Social Security Administration The SSA Commissioner should ensure that SSA revises its methodology for allocating costs to obtain state death data to incorporate costs for calculating proportional shares of state death data costs. (Recommendation 3)
Open
The Social Security Administrations agreed with this recommendation. We will update the status of the recommendation when we receive additional information.

Retirement Investments: Agencies Can Better Oversee Conflicts of Interest Between Fiduciaries and Investors
GAO-24-104632
Aug 28, 2024
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2 Open Recommendations
Agency Affected Recommendation Status
Internal Revenue Service The Commissioner of the IRS should develop and implement a process independent of DOL referrals for identifying non-exempt prohibited transactions involving firms or financial professionals who are fiduciaries to IRAs and assessing applicable excise taxes. For example, IRS could check Form 5330 filing compliance during income tax audits of financial services firms. (Recommendation 1)
Open
IRS agreed with this recommendation and stated that it would examine the processes and consider implementing additional measures to identify prohibited transactions as appropriate. As of February 2026, we await progress on these efforts.
Internal Revenue Service The Commissioner of the IRS should coordinate with DOL through a formal means, such as a memorandum of understanding, on non-exempt prohibited transactions involving firms and financial professionals who are IRA fiduciaries and owe excise tax. (Recommendation 2)
Open
IRS agreed with this recommendation. IRS stated it will explore opportunities to develop more formal means for coordination between IRS and DOL for prohibited transactions related to investment advice provided to IRA owners from financial services firms. As of February 2026, we await progress on these efforts.
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