Conversation with Former SEC Chief Economist Dr. Jessica Wachter on Investment Management Rulemaking at the Commission – PE Pathways
PODCAST: Williams Mullen's Benefits Companion - Forfeitures Under Fire
5 Key Takeaways | IRS Final RMD Rules & Proposed Regulations to Address SECURE 2.0 Act Issues
PODCAST: Williams Mullen's Benefits Companion - New IRS Guidance on SECURE 2.0 Act Student Loan Employer Contributions
Long-Term Part-Time Employee Eligibility Rules Now in Effect — Troutman Pepper Podcast
What Can A Tax Attorney Do For You? A Podcast With Janathan Allen
PODCAST: Williams Mullen's Benefits Companion - Auto-Portability: A New Way to Keep Retirement Savings Growing
#WorkforceWednesday: SECURE Act 2.0 - What 401(k) Plan Sponsors Need to Know - Employment Law This Week®
PODCAST: Williams Mullen's Benefits Companion - Plan Administrators’ 2022 Year-End Checklist
PODCAST: Williams Mullen's Benefits Companion - Court Decisions Impacting Plan Sponsors and Fiduciaries
PODCAST: Williams Mullen's Benefits Companion - Helping Employers Address the Gender Gap in Retirement Savings
PODCAST: Williams Mullen's Benefits Companion - Millennials, Boomers and Retirement Planning
The Form 5500: What All Employers and Plan Administrators Need to Know and How to Avoid Costly Fines
PODCAST: Williams Mullen's Benefits Companion - Cryptocurrency in 401(k) Plans
PODCAST: Williams Mullen's Benefits Companion - What Constitutes Plan Assets Under ERISA?
2022 Resolutions: What Healthcare Practices Need To Tackle In the New Year
PODCAST: Williams Mullen's Benefits Companion - Cautionary Tales for Preapproved Plan Documents
DOL Clarifies Timing of Lifetime Income Disclosures in Benefit Statements
PODCAST: Williams Mullen's Benefits Companion - Back to the Future: SECURE Act and SECURE Act 2.0
PODCAST: Williams Mullen's Benefits Companion - Payroll Integration for Plan Sponsors
Employer sponsored 401(k) investment menu offerings may be getting richer in diversified assets, including private equity, cryptocurrency, and other alternative asset investments, based upon a recent executive order signed by...more
On August 7, President Trump signed Executive Order 14330, titled “Democratizing Access to Alternative Assets for 401(k) Investors.” The order states that the SEC shall “consider ways to facilitate access to investments in...more
The Insured Retirement Institute (IRI) is once again carrying water for the annuity industry, this time urging the Department of Labor to retain a regulatory safe harbor that’s already obsolete. The safe harbor in question,...more
Department of Labor (DOL) watchers have experienced regulatory whiplash in recent years. During the Biden administration, for example, the DOL issued Compliance Assistance Release (CAR) No. 2022-01, which flouted its...more
I t was 2001 when Aerosmith dropped Just Push Play, and while it was no Rocks or Toys in the Attic, it packed a punch. That title track? A distorted, energetic anthem about dropping the hesitation and just going forward. No...more
ERISA forfeiture class action litigation has continued to see various developments and potential new theories emerging in 2025. As Carlton Fields has previously reported, starting in late 2023, a new trend of lawsuits emerged...more
President Trump has issued an Executive Order (EO) that could reshape how alternative assets are treated in defined contribution retirement plans. The directive requires the Department of Labor (DOL) to revisit its past...more
On August 7, 2025, President Trump issued an Executive Order (Order) aimed at easing the path for ERISA fiduciaries to make “alternative asset” investments available to participant-directed defined contribution plan...more
I love Bitcoin. I love private equity. They’re two of my favorite investments, personally. But when it comes to 401(k) plan participants? I hate them. Not because the asset classes themselves are bad, they’re not. But because...more
On August 7, 2025, President Donald J. Trump issued an Executive Order designed to broaden access to alternative investments, such as private equity, commodities, real estate, and certain digital assets, for participants in...more
Shortly following our Legal Update regarding considerations for institutional investors investing in funds alongside retail investors, on August 7, 2025, President Trump issued an Executive Order (Order) entitled...more
The Investment Company Institute (ICI) just confirmed what many of us have seen on the ground: 401(k) mutual fund fees keep dropping, and that’s great news for plan participants....more
On August 7, 2025, President Trump signed an Executive Order titled “Democratizing Access to Alternative Assets for 401(k) Investors.” This Executive Order has the potential to significantly change how retirement savings...more
On August 7, 2025, President Trump issued an executive order (the Order) instructing federal agencies to expand access to alternative asset investments for participants in defined-contribution retirement plans such as 401(k)...more
On August 7, President Donald Trump signed an executive order (Democratizing Access to Alternative Assets for 401(k) Investors) that has been widely – and mistakenly – reported to open 401(k) plan assets to “alternative...more
Our Investment Funds Team breaks down a new Executive Order signed by President Trump intended to expand access for 401(k) plans to invest in private equity, cryptocurrency, and other alternative assets....more
A hotly anticipated August 7, 2025, executive order, "Democratizing Access to Alternative Assets for 401(k) Investors" ("EO"), aims to reduce regulatory barriers and significantly expand access to "alternative...more
In a world where retirement plan innovation often comes with more flash than substance, it’s refreshing to see a strategic alliance that actually addresses a fundamental challenge in defined contribution plans: providing real...more
Every once in a while, the data tells a story that plan sponsors should actually feel good about. Vanguard’s latest How America Saves report offers just that, a story of progress. Thanks to smarter plan design choices,...more
On April 17, 2025, the Supreme Court decided Cunningham v. Cornell University, unanimously holding that a plaintiff can state a valid claim under ERISA by merely alleging that a plan used “plan assets” to pay a service...more
Many companies are scrambling to quickly assess how to reduce the business impact of the upheaval to U.S. manufacturing and trading with the recent onslaught of tariffs threatened or imposed by the United States and the...more
According to new research published by the Investment Company Institute (ICI), Americans like their retirement plans. ICI’s research report “American Views on Defined Contribution Plan Saving, 2024” finds that almost 75% of...more
Background - Many defined contribution plans are designed to permit participants to take advantage of an increased employee contribution limit starting the year they turn 50....more
On January 14, 2025, the DOL issued Field Assistance Bulletin (FAB) 2025-01, providing sponsors and administrators of ongoing defined contribution plans with a new option for missing participant balances of $1,000 or less:...more
The Internal Revenue Service (IRS) regularly requires retirement plans to incorporate new laws and regulations. To ensure that pre-approved retirement plans incorporate these required legal and regulatory updates, the IRS...more