Press Release

The ERISA Industry Committee Celebrates Its 50th Anniversary

Issued by ERIC [The ERISA Industry Committee]

Mar. 25, 2026

WASHINGTON, D.C. – This week, The ERISA Industry Committee (ERIC) will mark its 50th anniversary during its annual spring conference in Washington, DC. While the conference will bring together large employer benefits, compensation, and legal professionals, along with federal policymakers for discussions on employee benefits, health care, and retirement policy, the event will also serve to commemorate a significant milestone in the organization’s history.

“As we celebrate 50 years, we reflect on a half-century of advancing health and retirement benefits that position both workers and employers to meet America’s critical workforce challenges and strengthen America’s competitiveness,” said ERIC President and CEO James Gelfand. “From mental health parity to pharmacy benefit manager reform, from the Pension Protection Act to SECURE 2.0, and from joining amicus briefs to leading precedent-setting cases in the courts, ERIC has been at the forefront of change for large employers. It’s a privilege we take seriously, and we are grateful for the trust our member companies put into this organization. As ERIC marks 50 years, we are energized to lead the next chapter, crafting policy solutions that equip America’s employers with the tools to attract, retain, and empower the workforce that will drive our nation forward.”

ERIC was established in 1976, just two years after President Gerald Ford signed the Employee Retirement Income Security Act (ERISA) into law. As the only national association dedicated exclusively to advocating for large, multi-state employers, ERIC’s mission was to advocate for policies on health, retirement, paid leave, and compensation, with the primary goal of preserving national uniformity under ERISA.

In the 50 years since its founding, ERIC has continually evolved to meet the needs of its member companies. For example, in 1983, the organization decided to hire Mark Ugoretz as ERIC’s first President and CEO. The installation of a permanent executive at the helm of ERIC was a direct response to the Tax Equity and Fiscal Responsibility Act of 1982 (TEFRA), which significantly affected large employers and benefits policy. The permanent position signaled to companies that in ERIC, they would have a dedicated, “always-on” advocacy presence in the capital.

Some changes were less workforce-specific, like the launch of ERIC’s first website in 1997. Others marked major shifts, such as the launch of the ERIC Legal Center. Created in 2021, the ERIC Legal Center is the advocate for large employers on legal matters affecting health, retirement, paid leave, and other benefits. It has led litigation efforts to preserve ERISA preemption, fight state mandates, and intervene in matters affecting the design and administration of employee benefit plans under ERISA.

In recognition of its 50th anniversary, ERIC released a timeline of its 50-year history. In addition to marking key moments affecting health and retirement policy, the timeline includes specific milestones. A “by the numbers” glance at those landmark moments includes:

• 5: For five decades, ERIC has served as the voice for America’s largest employers on federal, state, and local public policies impacting their ability to sponsor benefit plans. ERIC has championed employers’ ability to operate under ERISA’s protection from a patchwork of different and conflicting state and local laws. Today, ERIC has member companies across the country that offer benefits to workers and families in all 50 states.
• 4: ERIC has had four presidents since its founding, with its first president, Mark Ugoretz, serving for 29 years. Annette Guarisco Fildes, ERIC’s third president, enjoyed the second-longest tenure and was ERIC’s first female president.
• 3: In 2025, ERIC scored a rare, legislative ‘triple crown.’ As part of the One Big Beautiful Bill Act, ERIC secured permanent co-pay free telehealth coverage, a permanent extension of a tax exclusion for certain student loan payments made my employers, and new options for Health Savings Accounts (HSAs) for over 160 million Americans covered by large employer plans.
• 2: Between 2024 and 2025, ERIC executed two key pieces of work – it led both a paid media campaign and filed landmark litigation to challenge Biden Administration-era regulations that grossly overstepped the government’s authority under the Mental Health Parity and Addiction Equity Act. A leading voice in advancing solutions to ensure employees have access to mental health and substance use disorder care, ERIC repeatedly engaged in efforts to educate regulators about unintended consequences stemming from this rule change. In 2025, the Trump Administration announced it would stay enforcement of the final rule issued under the Biden Administration, and that it intended to reconsider the rule, providing significant relief for employers facing an impossible compliance burden under the new regulations.
• 1: Following eight years of advocacy, ERIC-led reforms to instill greater accountability and transparency in the pharmacy benefit manager (PBM) industry were signed into law. The hard-fought “David versus Goliath” victory will lower drug costs for every American, and empower employers to improve benefits for working families.

You can access the full timeline here.

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