Alan D. Lebowitz

Alan D. Lebowitz, who died in 2019 at age 74, was a noted employee benefits lawyer and Fellow of the American College of Employee Benefits Counsel (the “College”), having been inducted into the College in 2002.

Alan graduated with a B.A. from the University of Massachusetts in Amherst, Massachusetts, a J.D. from Suffolk University Law School in Boston, Massachusetts, and an LL.M. in Taxation from George Washington University Law School in Washington, DC.

Alan had a long distinguished career first at the Internal Revenue Service (“IRS”) and then the U.S. Department of Labor (“DOL”). He held several positions in the Employee Plans area of the IRS from 1970 through 1978, ending as Chief of the Prohibited Transactions staff. He joined the DOL in 1979, serving as Assistant Administrator for Fiduciary Standards and Assistant Administrator for Enforcement, before becoming the first Deputy Assistant Secretary of Employee Benefits Security Administration (“EBSA”) and its preceding agencies. His responsibilities included overseeing EBSA’s regulatory, enforcement, and reporting activities. Prior to his retirement in 2013, he spent nearly three decades of his 43-year federal career in leadership crafting the agency’s programs.

He played an outsized role in the DOL’s enforcement efforts, including its actions to protect workers and retirees and the assets of their retirement plans from the Enron and Madoff scandals, in addition to initiatives which recovered more than $20.1 billion in benefits for plan participants and their families.

Recognizing the need for fast and effective compliance assistance, Alan spearheaded the effort to create a team of benefits advisors to answer questions directly from the public by phone and email, and annually resolve thousands of benefits disputes. The program has been recognized as one of the best customer service operations in government, recovering more than $2.1 billion in benefits subsequent to its founding.

In terms of improvements in reporting, Alan effectively coordinated with the IRS and the Pension Benefit Guaranty Corporation to develop an online system for plans to file required annual reports. His efforts modernized the reporting process, reduced employer burden, and improved the accessibility of benefit plan data for participants and the public.

Recognized for his extraordinary executive and managerial abilities throughout his career, Alan received the Meritorious Executive Presidential Rank Award in 1987 and the Distinguished Executive Presidential Rank Award in 1991. In 1999, he received both the DOL’s prestigious Philip Arnow Award, given annually to one employee in recognition of superior accomplishments and service to the Department, and the Public Service Award from the International Foundation of Employee Benefit Plans. At the time, he was only the second non-member of Congress to receive this prestigious award. Upon his 2013 retirement, EBSA honored Alan’s service and legacy by creating the Alan D. Lebowitz Honorary Award to recognize managers and supervisors who exemplify Alan’s dedication, distinguished career of excellence, and commitment to mentoring future leaders. For all he accomplished for EBSA and the American public, he is remembered by his colleagues as a thoughtful leader and wise mentor.

For more information about Alan, see U.S. Department of Labor Blog, Remembering a True Public Servant: Alan Lebowitz, posting by Timothy D. Houser, Deputy Assistant Secretary of National Office Operations in the Department of Labor’s Employee Benefits Security Administration, October 21, 2019 (https://blog.dol.gov/2019/10/21/remembering-a-true-public-servant-alan-lebowitz).

Photo Source: The Decade Book, American College of Employee Benefits Counsel 2000-2010