From the 2010 outset of its project to extend ERISA fiduciary status broadly to financial intermediaries, including insurance agents, the US Department of Labor (DOL) has consistently relied on the evolution of the private...more
On April 23, 2024, the US Department of Labor (DOL) released its Final Rule 4.0 regarding ERISA fiduciary investment advice, including amended exemptions for conflicted investment advice.
Our initial analysis of the Final...more
5/10/2024
/ Benefit Plan Sponsors ,
Department of Labor (DOL) ,
Employee Retirement Income Security Act (ERISA) ,
Fiduciary Rule ,
Final Rules ,
Insurance Industry ,
Investment ,
Investment Adviser ,
Prohibited Transactions ,
PTEs ,
Retirement Plan
President Biden signed the Consolidated Appropriations Act, 2023, on December 29, 2022, which includes the package of retirement plan legislation known as “SECURE 2.0.” SECURE 2.0 contains numerous significant changes for...more
Since 1996, the US Department of Labor granted more than 1,200 individual exemptions from the ERISA prohibited transaction rules.
One of the distinctive features of ERISA is its prohibition, in ERISA section 406 as a...more
1/5/2022
/ 401k ,
403(b) Plans ,
Benefit Plan Sponsors ,
Department of Labor (DOL) ,
Employee Retirement Income Security Act (ERISA) ,
Exemptions ,
Fiduciary Duty ,
Individual Retirement Account (IRA) ,
Internal Revenue Code (IRC) ,
Prohibited Transactions ,
Reinsurance ,
Related Parties
On October 14, 2021, the US Department of Labor (DOL) proposed changes to ERISA regulations that would again shift the analysis of consideration of environmental, social, and governance (ESG) factors in retirement plans...more
In a troubling development, the US Department of Labor (DOL) has announced its expectation that it will proceed to propose yet another iteration of investment advice guidance under the Employee Retirement Income Security Act...more
A district court decision in March has added to the sparse authority regarding the status of participant data under ERISA, particularly whether recordkeepers or other providers can use that data to offer additional products...more
In 2020, the Department of Labor (DOL), in its guidance issued under the Employee Retirement Income Security Act of 1974, as amended (ERISA), remained principally focused on the development of its Fiduciary Rule 3.0 and...more
2/25/2021
/ Administrative Exemption ,
Advisory Opinions ,
Benefit Plan Sponsors ,
Department of Labor (DOL) ,
Employee Benefits ,
Employee Retirement Income Security Act (ERISA) ,
Employer Group Health Plans ,
Fiduciary Rule ,
Prohibited Transactions ,
Proxy Voting ,
Retirement Plan
On June 3, 2020, the US Department of Labor (DOL) issued an Information Letter reassuring plan fiduciaries that in appropriate circumstances, a professionally managed fund that contains a private equity component may be...more
Over the next year, the Department of Labor (DOL) will likely be issuing guidance in a number of areas that could impact asset managers and financial services companies.
In this Bottom Line videocast, Carol McClarnon and...more
1/27/2020
/ Asset Management ,
Beneficiaries ,
Benefit Plan Sponsors ,
Broker-Dealer ,
Conflicts of Interest ,
Department of Labor (DOL) ,
Employee Benefits ,
Fiduciary Duty ,
Fiduciary Rule ,
Financial Services Industry ,
Investment Adviser ,
Multiple Employer Plan (MEP) ,
Pooled Investment Vehicles ,
Proxy Voting ,
Regulation Best Interest ,
Regulation BI ,
Regulatory Agenda ,
Retirement Plan ,
SECURE Act
On December 20, 2019, President Trump signed into law the Further Consolidated Appropriations Act, 2020 (the “Appropriations Act”), a comprehensive government funding bill that includes substantial employee benefits-related...more
1/3/2020
/ 401k ,
403(b) Plans ,
Appropriations Bill ,
Beneficiaries ,
Benefit Plan Sponsors ,
Defined Contribution Plans ,
Department of Labor (DOL) ,
Employee Benefits ,
Employee Retirement Income Security Act (ERISA) ,
Individual Retirement Account (IRA) ,
Multiemployer Plan ,
Required Minimum Distributions ,
Retirement ,
Retirement Plan ,
Safe Harbors ,
SECURE Act ,
TPAs ,
U.S. Treasury
The nationwide vacatur of the Department of Labor “investment advice” fiduciary definition and related exemptions by the US Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit on March 15, 2018, does not bring an end to the challenges...more
By a notice published in the Federal Register on November 29, 2017, the Department of Labor (DOL) extended from January 1, 2018, until July 1, 2019, the date for compliance with the full conditions in its new “investment...more
On June 5, a unanimous US Supreme Court reversed decisions of the US Courts of Appeal for the Third, Seventh, and Ninth Circuits, holding that a church-affiliated organization that establishes an employee benefits plan falls...more
On April 4, 2017, the Department of Labor released its final rule postponing the applicability date of its new “investment advice” fiduciary definition and related exemptions. This extension, which was published in the April...more
The Department of Labor (DOL) has released two additional sets of FAQs providing guidance related to its final rule expanding the definition of fiduciary “investment advice” (the Final Rule) for purposes of the Employee...more
An employee benefit plan that includes an alleged subsidization component for its basic and supplemental options is neither prohibited by the Employee Retirement Income Security Act of 1974 (ERISA) nor a violation of the plan...more
5/5/2016
/ Arm's Length Principle ,
Benefit Plan Sponsors ,
Class Action ,
Dismissals ,
Employee Benefits ,
Employee Retirement Income Security Act (ERISA) ,
Fiduciary Duty ,
Hartford Insurance Company ,
Life Insurance ,
Misrepresentation ,
Popular ,
Unjust Enrichment
On April 14, 2015, after 43 months in development, the U.S. Department of Labor (DOL) released its reproposal to expand the “investment advice fiduciary” definition under the Employee Retirement Income Security Act of 1974,...more
The practice of offering lump-sum distributions has become increasingly popular among defined benefit plan sponsors looking to decrease volatility or other defined benefit plan risks. In some situations, plan sponsors offer...more