mer President Ronald Reagan, when signing the Deficit Reduction Act of 1984, stated that "I must vigorously object to certain provisions that would unconstitutionally attempt to delegate to the Comptroller General of the United States, an officer of Congress, the power to perform duties and responsibilities that in our constitutional system may be performed only by officials of the executive branch." Later, other legislative efforts were undertaken that have over time directly shaped ESOPs.
The Employee Retirement Income Security Act (ERISA) significantly changed the area of private pension plans based on a social policy of encouraging employers to voluntarily provide retirement plans for their employees through tax-favored incentives. ERISA empowers the Labor Management Services Administration of the U.S. Department of Labor to enforce its provisions governing employers who have private pension funds for their employees. ERISA does not require an employee to establish a pension plan, but when a plan exists, ERISA establ
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