Early Friday, the Employee Benefits Security Administration (EBSA) released Notice 2021-01 (the Notice) providing guidance to employers and COBRA administrators on the duration of the previously-issued COVID-19-related relief...more
On May 27, 2020, the U.S. Department of Labor (DOL) issued a final rule providing a new “notice and access” safe harbor for retirement plan fiduciaries to distribute ERISA required disclosures electronically (Final Rule). The...more
On May 4, 2020, the Department of Labor and Department of Treasury (the Departments) issued joint guidance requiring certain COBRA, HIPAA and ERISA deadlines be determined without regard to the “Outbreak Period,” which began...more
Connecticut has been focused on the fiduciary standards of financial planners and retirement plan administrators in the wake of the now-defunct Department of Labor "fiduciary rule." With the goals of creating both...more
10/23/2018
/ 403(b) Plans ,
Compensation & Benefits ,
Employee Benefits ,
Employee Retirement Income Security Act (ERISA) ,
Fiduciary Duty ,
Financial Planning ,
Investment Opportunities ,
Municipalities ,
Plan Administrators ,
Retirement Plan ,
State and Local Government
The Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) issued interim final rules on October 6, 2017, expanding exemptions to protect religious beliefs and moral convictions for certain entities and individuals whose health plans...more
The U.S. Department of Labor (DOL) has filed a proposal with the Office of Management and Budget (OMB) to delay implementation of the following exemptions under the fiduciary rule from January 1, 2018 to July 1, 2019...
...more
8/11/2017
/ Best Interest Contract Exemptions ,
Conflicts of Interest ,
Department of Labor (DOL) ,
Employee Benefits ,
Employee Retirement Income Security Act (ERISA) ,
Fiduciary Duty ,
Fiduciary Rule ,
Investment Adviser ,
Investment Management ,
PTE 84-24 ,
Retirement Plan
On May 22, 2017, Department of Labor (DOL) Secretary Alexander Acosta announced in an op-ed in the Wall Street Journal that the DOL will not issue another delay of the “fiduciary rule,” set to become generally effective on...more
As ordered by President Trump in a presidential memorandum on February 3, 2017, (Memorandum), the U.S. Department of Labor (DOL) proposed a 60-day delay to its conflict of interest rule (commonly referred to as the “fiduciary...more
4/11/2017
/ Best Interest Contract Exemptions ,
Conflicts of Interest ,
Department of Labor (DOL) ,
Employee Benefits ,
Employee Retirement Income Security Act (ERISA) ,
Fiduciary Duty ,
Fiduciary Rule ,
Investment Adviser ,
Retirement ,
Retirement Plan ,
Trump Administration
On February 3, 2017, President Trump signed a presidential memorandum (Memorandum) ordering the U.S. Department of Labor (DOL) to review its conflict of interest rule defining the term “fiduciary” for retirement investment...more
2/7/2017
/ Best Interest Standard ,
Department of Labor (DOL) ,
Employee Benefits ,
Employee Retirement Income Security Act (ERISA) ,
Fiduciary Duty ,
Fiduciary Rule ,
Financial Adviser ,
Investment Adviser ,
Regulatory Oversight ,
Retirement ,
Retirement Plan ,
Trump Administration
Pursuant to recently amended federal legislation, the Department of Labor (DOL), among several other federal agencies, is increasing its civil monetary penalties to adjust for inflation. Among the penalties to be increased...more
On April 6, 2016, the U.S. Department of Labor (DOL) issued its long-awaited final conflict of interest rule defining the term “fiduciary” for retirement investment advice purposes. The final regulations and accompanying...more
Recently, the U.S. Supreme Court, in Gobeille v. Liberty Mutual Insurance Co., 2016 U.S. LEXIS 1612, underscored the broad extent to which the preemption language of the Employee Retirement Income Security Act of 1974...more