In recent months, two competing visions for multiemployer pension reform legislation have been introduced in Congress....more
On January 7, 2021, the Pension Benefit Guaranty Corporation (“PBGC”) issued final regulations updating its guidance under sections 4211 and 4219 of the Employee Retirement Income Security Act of 1974 (“ERISA”), which govern...more
On January 12, 2021, the Department of Labor (the “DOL”) issued three pieces of guidance detailing the DOL’s view of what steps plan fiduciaries should take to locate and distribute retirement benefits to missing or...more
The Setting Every Community Up for Retirement Enhancement Act of 2019 (Pub. L. 116-94, Division O, the “SECURE Act”) created a new structure through which completely unrelated employers can participate in a single defined...more
8/28/2020
/ Comment Period ,
Department of Labor (DOL) ,
EBSA ,
Employee Benefits ,
Form 5500 ,
PEP ,
Proposed Rules ,
Retirement Plan ,
Retirement Plan Providers ,
Rulemaking Process ,
SECURE Act
On July 31, the IRS issued Notice 2020-61 (the “Notice”) to provide guidance related to the special funding rules applicable to single-employer defined benefit pension plans under the Coronavirus Aid, Relief, and Economic...more
8/17/2020
/ Benefit Plan Sponsors ,
CARES Act ,
Deadlines ,
Defined Benefit Plans ,
Employee Benefits ,
Filing Deadlines ,
Form 5500 ,
Guidance Update ,
IRS ,
Notification Requirements ,
PBGC ,
Retirement Plan
On June 29, the U.S. Department of Labor (“DOL”) proposed a new exemption from the prohibited transaction provisions of the Employee Retirement Income Security Act of 1974, as amended (“ERISA”) in connection with the...more
7/6/2020
/ Best Interest Contract Exemptions ,
Best Interest Standard ,
Department of Labor (DOL) ,
Employee Benefits ,
Employee Retirement Income Security Act (ERISA) ,
Exemptions ,
Fiduciary Duty ,
Investment Adviser ,
IRA Rollovers ,
Prohibited Transactions ,
Proposed Rules ,
Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) ,
Vacatur
On June 23, 2020, the Department of Labor (“DOL”) issued a proposed regulation (the “Proposed Rule”) defining plan fiduciaries’ duties under the Employee Retirement Income Security Act of 1974 (“ERISA”) when considering...more
Join Groom attorneys on Tuesday, June 30, 2020 from 2:00 – 2:45 p.m. ET to discuss the Department of Labor’s proposed rule clarifying plan fiduciaries’ duties when considering investments that incorporate environmental,...more
On June 3, the Internal Revenue Service (“IRS”) issued Notice 2020-42 to provide temporary relief for certain participant elections required to be witnessed in the “physical presence” of a plan representative or notary...more
On June 3, 2020, the Department of Labor (“Department”) issued an Information Letter that, for the first time, provides the Department’s views on the use of private equity investments within 401(k) and other defined...more
6/6/2020
/ 401k ,
Defined Contribution Plans ,
Department of Labor (DOL) ,
Employee Benefits ,
Employee Retirement Income Security Act (ERISA) ,
Fiduciary Duty ,
Information Letters ,
Investment ,
Investment Management ,
Private Equity ,
Retirement Plan
The House of Representatives recently passed a fourth round of legislation in response to the COVID-19 pandemic. The bill – called the Health and Economic Recovery Omnibus Emergency Solutions Act (the “HEROES Act” or the...more
6/1/2020
/ CARES Act ,
COBRA ,
Coronavirus/COVID-19 ,
Employee Benefits ,
Employee Retirement Income Security Act (ERISA) ,
Families First Coronavirus Response Act (FFCRA) ,
Health and Welfare Plans ,
Health Insurance ,
Legislative Agendas ,
Pensions ,
Relief Measures ,
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
Employers are facing a number of serious challenges that make managing a defined benefit pension plan even more difficult than usual. ...more
On February 4, 2020, the Pension Benefit Guaranty Corporation (“PBGC”) issued final regulations (the “Final Rule”) covering reportable events, annual reporting under ERISA section 4010, plan termination filings, and PBGC...more
2/26/2020
/ Benefit Plan Sponsors ,
Employee Benefits ,
Employee Retirement Income Security Act (ERISA) ,
Final Rules ,
PBGC ,
Pensions ,
Plan Administrators ,
Premiums ,
Regulatory Requirements ,
Reportable Events ,
Reporting Requirements ,
Retirement ,
Rulemaking Process ,
Safe Harbors
As the U.S. private retirement system has largely shifted away from traditional pensions in favor of a defined contribution plan savings model, a number of policymakers have expressed concerns over whether participants’...more
2/6/2020
/ 401k ,
403(b) Plans ,
Benefit Plan Sponsors ,
Compensation & Benefits ,
Defined Contribution Plans ,
Employee Benefits ,
Employee Retirement Income Security Act (ERISA) ,
Fiduciary ,
Individual Retirement Account (IRA) ,
Lifetime Benefits ,
Lifetime Income Disclosures ,
New Legislation ,
Regulatory Reform ,
Required Minimum Distributions ,
Retirement ,
Retirement Plan ,
Safe Harbors ,
Section 204 ,
SECURE Act ,
Tax Planning ,
Tax Rates
Congress recently passed 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. Many of the provisions in the SECURE Act...more
1/16/2020
/ 401k ,
403(b) Plans ,
457(b) Plans ,
Adoption ,
Compensation & Benefits ,
Employee Benefits ,
Employer Contributions ,
Form 5500 ,
Individual Retirement Account (IRA) ,
New Legislation ,
Part-Time Employees ,
Penalties ,
Pensions ,
Plan Administrators ,
Regulatory Reform ,
Required Minimum Distributions ,
Retirement ,
Retirement Plan ,
Safe Harbors ,
SECURE Act ,
Small Employer Plans (SEPs) ,
Tax Credits ,
Tax Planning ,
Tax Rates
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)
On November 20, Republican Senators Charles Grassley and Lamar Alexander – chairmen of the committees with jurisdiction over pensions – jointly released the Multiemployer Pension Recapitalization and Reformation Plan (the...more
12/5/2019
/ Benefit Suspension ,
Collective Bargaining ,
Defined Benefit Plans ,
Employee Benefits ,
Employee Contributions ,
Employer Contributions ,
Excise Tax ,
Governance Standards ,
Insolvency ,
MPRA ,
Multiemployer Plan ,
Multiple Employer Plan (MEP) ,
Partitions ,
PBGC ,
Pension Reform ,
Pensions ,
Plan Participants ,
Political Parties ,
Premiums ,
Proposed Amendments ,
Term Limits ,
Unions ,
Variable Rates ,
White Papers ,
Withdrawal Liability