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
On August 7, President Donald Trump issued an executive order directing federal agencies, particularly the Department of Labor, to work on expanding access to alternative investments for participants in 401(k) and other...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
I have experienced several bear markets as an ERISA attorney, and it’s never easy, especially with the current volatility due to tariffs....more
The most disappointing part of going to law school was the lack of practicality. Sure, it helps you think like a lawyer and teach you the basics of the law, it never helped with becoming a successful lawyer or how to draw a...more
Sponsors of 401(k) plans are increasingly recognizing the need to provide personalized investment options for their participants; however, access to managed accounts still remains limited....more
A plan provider once asked me if I had written a comprehensive article on why trustee-directed 401(k) plans are superior to participant-directed plans. Although I believe in this argument, I haven’t actually written such an...more
Whether, and the extent to which, a plan fiduciary can consider nonpecuniary environmental, social and governance (“ESG”) objectives in selecting plan investments has been a hot-button issue for many years, with the view on...more
On January 10, 2025, Judge Reed O’Connor of the Northern District of Texas issued a much-anticipated ruling in Spence v. American Airlines, Inc., which marks the first time that a federal judge has written an on-the-merits...more
Following a bench trial, Judge O'Connor (N.D. Tex.) held that “that Defendants breached their fiduciary duty by failing to loyally act solely in the retirement plan's best financial interests by allowing their corporate...more
Following previous failed attempts to expand the fiduciary liability of financial services providers, the DOL released a new rule that broadens the definition of “fiduciary” under ERISA. The new rule is expected to face...more
Responding to the “terrifying” reality that conflicted investment advice is costing retirement savers billions of dollars each year, on October 31, 2023, the Department of Labor (“DOL”) issued proposed rules representing its...more
Following a bench trial in a Pennsylvania federal district court in Nunez v. B. Braun Medical, Inc., 401(k) plan fiduciaries defeated a lawsuit alleging that the fiduciaries imprudently managed and paid excessive...more
As Bitcoin starts inching back up, I’m in the black again and expect more clamor for crypto options in 401(k) plans. Senator Tommy Tuberville, R-Alabama, reintroduced legislation to create a law, the Financial Freedom Act...more
Collective investment trusts (“CITs”) have become an increasingly popular choice for 401(k) plan investment menus over the past decade, consistent with a trend toward lower-cost investment options that has been driven, in...more
The Employee Retirement Income Security Act (“ERISA”) imposes both (i) significant responsibilities on fiduciaries of participant-directed individual account plans, including 401(k) plans, and (ii) personal liability for...more
Markets have been unstable for months, causing investors to be on edge with good reason. Already this year, the stock market has fallen and wiped out over $3 trillion in retirement savings....more
On December 21, 2021, the Department of Labor (the “DOL”) published a Supplemental Statement (the “Supplemental Statement”) to its June 3, 2020 Information Letter (the “2020 Letter”) addressing fiduciary considerations for...more
On June 3, 2020, the Department of Labor provided valuable insights via an information letter addressing private equity investment (PEI) within defined contribution retirement plans (such as 401(k) plans). ...more
Over the last 10 years, more and more plan sponsors have opted for environmental and social mutual funds. The problem with these funds is fiduciary concerns since a fiduciary should strive for better performance for their...more
The U.S. Department of Labor (the “DOL”) recently released an information letter that concludes, if certain conditions are met, a plan fiduciary will not violate his fiduciary duties under the Employee Retirement Income...more
The US Department of Labor has issued guidance on private equity in 401(k) plan designated investment alternatives and a proposed regulation on environmental, social, and governance investing....more
The Department of Labor (DOL) recently issued an information letter under the Employee Retirement Income Security Act (ERISA) making it clear that fiduciaries of defined contribution plans — e.g., 401(k) plans — may prudently...more
On June 3, 2020, the Department of Labor (the “DOL”) published an Information Letter confirming that investment options under a defined contribution plan (e.g., a 401(k) or 403(b) plan) may include a limited allocation to...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
The Department of Labor (DOL) made it easier to consolidate small retirement account balances with a prior employer into a new employer’s plan, now without the direct involvement of the participant....more