On November 8, the Departments of Labor and Treasury (the “Departments”) issued guidance extending certain deadlines related to retirement, health, and welfare plans in response to Hurricane Helene, Tropical Storm Helene, and...more
The DOL Wage and Hour Division recently released a new rule changing how workers are classified under the Fair Labor Standards Act (“FLSA”) (“Final Rule”). The Final Rule replaces DOL’s 2021 final regulation and provides a...more
On August 11, 2023, the Department of Labor (“DOL”) issued a Request for Information (“RFI”) asking for stakeholder input on a number of regulatory issues related to the SECURE 2.0 Act. The wide-ranging RFI seeks feedback on...more
A recent opinion out of the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Seventh Circuit provides additional support for ERISA-governed severance plans to incorporate a “discretionary component” as a factor in determining eligibility for...more
On March 25, the IRS issued a set of proposed regulations under Internal Revenue (“Code”) section 413(c) and 413(e) addressing multiple employer plans, or “MEPs,” and pooled employer plans, or “PEPs.” 87 Fed. Reg. 17225. We...more
If you thought that church plan litigation was effectively over after the Supreme Court’s decision upholding the traditional interpretation of the ERISA church plan definition in its 2017 decision in Advocate Health Care...more
On September 15, the House Ways and Means and Energy and Commerce Committees advanced components of the Democrats’ $3.5 trillion budget reconciliation package (“Budget Legislation” or “the Legislation”). The Legislation...more
The Department of Labor (“DOL”) recently issued an information letter, DOL Information Letter 06-14-2021 (the “Letter”), addressing the question of whether the ERISA claim regulation requires production of an audio recording...more
Securing a Strong Retirement Act of 2021 as marked up by the House Ways and Means Committee on May 5, 2021....more
A recent decision by the Ninth Circuit upholds the enforceability of forum-selection clauses in ERISA plans. The case, In re Becker v. United States Dist. Court, No. 20-72805, 2021 WL 1219745 (9th Cir. Apr. 1, 2021), is in...more
In Thole v. U.S. Bank, the Supreme Court held that defined benefit plan participants who are receiving their full pension benefit lack constitutional standing to bring a lawsuit alleging that the plan fiduciaries breached...more
6/8/2020
/ Article III ,
Breach of Duty ,
Defined Benefit Plans ,
Duty of Loyalty ,
Duty of Prudence ,
Employee Benefits ,
Employee Retirement Income Security Act (ERISA) ,
Fiduciary Duty ,
Injury-in-Fact ,
Investment Adviser ,
Mismanagement ,
Pensions ,
Plan Participants ,
Retirement Plan ,
SCOTUS ,
Standing ,
Thole v U.S. Bank
IRS Notice 2020-35 is a follow-on to Notice 2020-23 that provided for a wide range of pension filings and actions that were otherwise due between April 1 and July 14, 2020 that were extended until July 15, 2020. ...more
6/1/2020
/ 403(b) Plans ,
Coronavirus/COVID-19 ,
Defined Benefit Plans ,
Employee Benefits ,
Employee Retirement Income Security Act (ERISA) ,
EPCRS ,
Excise Tax ,
Filing Deadlines ,
Form 5500 ,
IRS ,
Pensions ,
Retirement Plan
On April 28th, the Employee Benefits Security Administration (“EBSA”) of the Department of Labor (“DOL”), together with the Department of the Treasury, issued helpful guidance for retirement plans that extends certain...more
IRA providers were concerned with not being able to “stop the presses” when it came to notices being provided in January to IRA owners regarding the need to take 2020 minimum required distributions (“MRDs”)....more
1/30/2020
/ 401k ,
403(b) Plans ,
Compensation & Benefits ,
Employee Benefits ,
Employee Retirement Income Security Act (ERISA) ,
Individual Retirement Account (IRA) ,
IRS ,
Multiemployer Plan ,
New Legislation ,
Pensions ,
Regulatory Reform ,
Regulatory Requirements ,
Reporting Requirements ,
Required Minimum Distributions ,
Retirement ,
Retirement Plan ,
SECURE Act ,
Tax Planning
The Setting Every Community Up for Retirement Enhancement Act of 2019 (the “SECURE Act”), the largest package of retirement system reforms in over a decade, was enacted on December 20, 2019. Many of the provisions in the...more
1/23/2020
/ 401k ,
403(b) Plans ,
Benefit Plan Sponsors ,
Compensation & Benefits ,
Employee Benefits ,
Employee Retirement Income Security Act (ERISA) ,
Employer Contributions ,
Fiduciary Duty ,
Final Rules ,
Form 5500 ,
Health and Welfare Plans ,
Individual Retirement Account (IRA) ,
Internal Revenue Code (IRC) ,
New Legislation ,
Paid Family Leave Law ,
PCORI ,
QACA ,
Required Minimum Distributions ,
Retirement ,
Retirement Plan ,
Safe Harbors ,
SECURE Act ,
Tax Credits ,
Tax Planning ,
Unrelated Business Income Tax
On Thursday, December 19, the Senate passed two spending bills to fund the government through September 30, 2020, one of which (H.R. 1865, the “Further Consolidated Appropriations Act of 2020” or the “Act”) contains the...more
1/10/2020
/ 401k ,
403(b) Plans ,
457(b) Plans ,
529 Plans ,
Affordable Care Act ,
Benefit Plan Sponsors ,
Cadillac Tax ,
Church Plans ,
Consolidated Appropriations Act (CAA) ,
Defined Benefit Plans ,
Department of Labor (DOL) ,
Employee Benefits ,
Employee Retirement Income Security Act (ERISA) ,
Employer Group Health Plans ,
Individual Retirement Account (IRA) ,
Lifetime Income Disclosures ,
Medicare ,
Non-Discrimination Rules ,
Part-Time Employees ,
PBGC ,
Penalties ,
Plan Administrators ,
Pooled Registration Pension Plans ,
Portability ,
Prescription Drug Coverage ,
QACA ,
Repeal ,
Required Minimum Distributions ,
Retirement Plan ,
Retirement Plan Providers ,
Safe Harbors ,
SECURE Act ,
Small Employer Plans (SEPs)