EBSA’s New Enforcement Bulletin: What the Trade Press Missed

EBSA issued Field Assistance Bulletin 2026-01 on April 14. The trade press covered it, but nobody noted the most significant detail. To my knowledge, this is the first FAB in the 24-year history of the bulletin program to designate fidelity bond violations as an enforcement priority with a specific completion timeline.

Every prior FAB addressed how to apply ERISA's rules including compliance guidance, transition relief, Q&A on specific provisions. FAB 2008-04 explained how ERISA's bonding requirements work. FAB 2026-01 says bonding violations will be investigated and closed within 18 months. That is a different document entirely.

ERISA Section 412 requires every plan to maintain a fidelity bond covering anyone who handles plan assets. The requirement has existed since 1974. It is not ambiguous or complex. It does not require novel legal theories or circuit court analysis. A plan either has a bond or it does not.

For fifty years, that requirement was rarely prioritized for systematic enforcement. The violation is invisible unless someone looks. FAB 2026-01 changes the enforcement architecture. Bonding violations are now a named priority with a specific timeline. EBSA has signaled it intends to look.

The question every plan sponsor should be asking right now is simple: when did you last verify your plan's fidelity bond is current and adequate?