On January 31, 2025, President Trump signed Executive Order 14192, titled“ Unleashing Prosperity Through Deregulation.” Its stated purpose was to encourage the reduction of private expenditure required to comply with federal...more
7/10/2025
/ Compensation & Benefits ,
Department of Labor (DOL) ,
Deregulation ,
Employee Benefits ,
Employee Retirement Income Security Act (ERISA) ,
Fiduciary Duty ,
Final Rules ,
Insurance Regulations ,
Lifetime Income Disclosures ,
Regulatory Reform ,
Retirement Plan ,
Rulemaking Process ,
SECURE Act ,
Trump Administration
Builder of Investment Models Deviates From Blueprints Employee’s Rogue Remodeling Costs Builder Plenty -
The SEC’s recent order instituting administrative and cease-and-desist proceedings (OIP) against registered...more
5/8/2025
/ Algorithms ,
Annuities ,
Compensation & Benefits ,
Employee Benefits ,
Enforcement Actions ,
Financial Services Industry ,
Investment ,
Investment Adviser ,
Investment Funds ,
Investment Management ,
Life Insurance ,
Registered Investment Advisors ,
Retirement Plan ,
Risk Management ,
Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) ,
Securities Regulation
In Loper Bright Enterprises v. Raimondo, the U.S. Supreme Court knocked down Chevron U.S.A. Inc. v. Natural Resources Defense Council Inc., leaving the doctrine of Chevron deference in rubble. The doctrine stated that, when a...more
4/29/2025
/ Biden Administration ,
Chevron Deference ,
Compensation & Benefits ,
Department of Labor (DOL) ,
Employee Retirement Income Security Act (ERISA) ,
Environmental Social & Governance (ESG) ,
Fiduciary ,
Fiduciary Duty ,
Investment Opportunities ,
Loper Bright Enterprises v Raimondo ,
Popular ,
Retirement Plan ,
SCOTUS ,
Statutory Authority ,
Statutory Interpretation ,
Trump Administration
The regulatory pendulum has been swinging toward deregulation since Donald Trump was inaugurated last month. On his first day in office, January 20, 2025, President Trump issued a presidential memorandum titled “Regulatory...more
2/24/2025
/ Department of Labor (DOL) ,
EBSA ,
Employee Benefits ,
Employee Retirement Income Security Act (ERISA) ,
Executive Orders ,
Fiduciary Duty ,
Fiduciary Rule ,
Final Rules ,
Regulatory Agenda ,
Regulatory Freeze ,
Retirement Plan ,
Trump Administration
The Secure Act, passed in 2019 and updated in 2022, made significant changes to the required minimum distribution (RMD) rules applicable to qualified retirement plans, IRAs, 403(b) plans, and other eligible deferred...more
11/22/2024
/ 403(b) Plans ,
Beneficiaries ,
Compensation & Benefits ,
Deferred Compensation ,
Employee Benefits ,
Financial Services Industry ,
Individual Retirement Account (IRA) ,
IRS ,
Qualified Retirement Plans ,
Required Minimum Distributions ,
Retirement ,
Retirement Plan ,
SECURE Act ,
Tax Planning
In a defined benefit plan, participants usually accrue a monthly benefit based on a formula that typically considers their last three years’ salary before retirement and years of service with their employer. For example, the...more
Gone With the Wind?
Closed-End Funds Risk Extinction -
Shares of SEC-registered closed-end funds (CEFs) have long held significant potential advantages for some investors. For example, unlike shares of mutual funds...more
10/16/2024
/ Cybersecurity ,
Employee Benefits ,
Employee Retirement Income Security Act (ERISA) ,
Federal Trade Commission (FTC) ,
Financial Industry Regulatory Authority (FINRA) ,
Insurance Regulations ,
Investment ,
Investment Adviser ,
Investment Management ,
Life Insurance ,
NAIC ,
Retirement Plan ,
Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) ,
Securities Regulation ,
Social Media
A notable trend in ERISA litigation has emerged as in-house attorneys look to mitigate the risks of coming waves of class action litigation. Beginning in late 2023, there have been several challenges to the use of forfeiture...more
In the early days of the workforce, retirement was a foreign concept—people worked until they died. Life expectancy was significantly lower than it is today, making the idea of retirement nearly irrelevant....more
In April 2024, the U.S. Department of Labor issued its long-awaited retirement security rule, also known as the fiduciary rule, broadening the definition of who is an “investment advice fiduciary” under the Employee...more
The Federation of Americans for Consumer Choice v. Department of Labor case was the first case challenging the Department of Labor’s 2024 retirement security rule defining who is an investment advice fiduciary. It was...more
The Department of Labor’s final definition of “investment advice” fiduciary regulation makes many more individuals fiduciaries under both the Employee Retirement Income Security Act and the Internal Revenue Code. Where for...more
Last Lap in SEC RILA Rulemaking Critical Unresolved Issues -
Congress directed the SEC to adopt a new registration statement for registered indexed annuities (RILAs) by the end of June. Several months ago, the SEC...more
5/29/2024
/ Artificial Intelligence ,
Broker-Dealer ,
CFTC ,
Climate Change ,
Cybersecurity ,
Disability Discrimination ,
Disclosure Requirements ,
Employee Benefits ,
Employee Retirement Income Security Act (ERISA) ,
Investment Adviser ,
Investment Management ,
Life Insurance ,
NAIC ,
NLRB ,
Private Equity ,
Private Funds ,
Private Placements ,
Proposed Legislation ,
Retirement Plan ,
Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) ,
Settlement Agreements ,
Whistleblower Protection Policies ,
Whistleblowers
For decades, both the federal and state governments have been working to tackle the coverage gaps in our retirement system. In the race for retirement readiness, dark horses like state plans with mandatory adoption...more
5/17/2024
/ Compensation & Benefits ,
Department of Labor (DOL) ,
Employee Benefits ,
Employees ,
Employer Liability Issues ,
Individual Retirement Account (IRA) ,
Proposed Regulation ,
Retirement ,
Retirement Plan ,
Safe Harbors ,
SECURE Act
On April 23, 2024, the Department of Labor published its long-awaited final retirement security rule broadening the definition of who is an “investment advice fiduciary” under section 3(21) of the Employee Retirement Income...more