Pension Rights Center Mourns Death of Board of Directors Member Ian Lanoff

Pension Rights Center Mourns Death of Board of Directors Member Ian Lanoff

The board and staff of the Pension Right Center were saddened by the death on September 29 of our long-time friend, colleague and esteemed board member, Ian D. Lanoff. He was 82. 

“Ian’s passing is an enormous loss not only to those who knew him, but to millions of Americans who will never know his name,” said Nancy J. Altman, chair of PRC’s Board of Directors. “He was a giant in fighting for people’s ability to retire with independence and dignity. On a personal level, his death is a huge loss to the Pension Rights Center, as he was an integral member of the Board of Directors. He was always thoughtful, insightful, and positive in his advice.”  

PRC Executive Director Karen Friedman said that “Ian was an incredible friend and colleague. As a long-time Pension Rights Center board member, he brought his extensive expertise – gained from working as a top Department of Labor official and representing public and private plans – to every discussion we had, offering his insights and strategic advice.”  

The Washington, D.C.-based Groom Law Group, where Ian worked as an attorney and principal for many years after leaving public service, reinforced  on its website what others said: “Ian had a long and prolific career in both public service and private practice.  As administrator for Pension and Welfare Benefit Programs at the Department of Labor during the Carter Administration, Ian played an important role in the implementation of the Employee Retirement Income Security Act,” and he . . . “also represented some of the nation’s largest public and private benefit programs, helping to protect the benefits for millions of workers and retirees.” 

PRC’s Senior Policy Advisor and Drexel University Law Professor Norman P. Stein remembers Ian as a “visionary who played a transformational role in moving our law from the pre- to post-ERISA world.  There is so much he did that it is difficult to capture just how extraordinary he was.  He was an architect of the 1978 reorganization act, which put the primary responsibility for fiduciary regulation in the Department of Labor.  He championed ERISA’s incorporation of modern portfolio theory.  He was involved in both private and governmental plans.  But having said all this, the very best thing about Ian was his humanity, empathy and passion.   And because of these qualities, he was a wonderful mentor to so many attorneys, myself among them, and that might be his most important legacy.” 

In addition to his service at the Labor Department, where he worked in a position that was equivalent to the current Assistant Secretary of Labor for the Employee Benefits Security Administration, his many achievements included serving as counsel to the Senate Committee on Labor and Public Welfare and general counsel to the United Mine Workers of America Health and Retirement Plans. In private practice, he handled employee benefit matters for many pension fund boards, including some of the largest–the California State Teachers’ Retirement System; the New York State Employees Retirement System; and the Ohio Public Employees Retirement System. 

Ian Lanoff was kind, generous, witty and fun. The entire board and staff of the Pension Rights Center will miss him deeply.  Our condolences go out to his wife Pat, his children and extended family.