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
If you’re a 401(k) plan sponsor, you don’t need to be an ERISA expert—you just need to avoid doing dumb things. Here are a few quick tips to help you stay on the right side of your fiduciary duties and keep your participants...more
A recent complaint (Dylan Handy v. Paychex, Inc.) highlights the potential for plan administrators, and their delegates, to continue monitoring distributions after being made. In this particular situation, the participant...more
A new report by research consultant Corporate Insight (CI) highlights that TIAA, Fidelity, and T. Rowe Price provide the best digital experiences among U.S. recordkeepers....more
Exchange-traded funds (ETFs) have gained an increasing foothold in the wealth-management investment universe, with ETF assets under management currently about half the assets under management of mutual funds. As the ETF...more
by Alex Smith A recently filed lawsuit related to Swiss Re’s 401(k) plan stands out because of the extensive assortment of allegations...more
In January, the Department of the Treasury (“Treasury”) and Internal Revenue Service (IRS) issued proposed regulations on the catch-up contribution provisions under the SECURE 2.0 Act of 2022 (“SECURE 2.0”). While the...more
Equitable has introduced Equitable Retirement Access, the company’s 401(k) Pooled Employer Plan (PEP)....more
The May Monthly Minute highlights litigation wins for plan fiduciaries in a 401(k) fee case and a wilderness therapy exclusion case, and also sets out the 2025 HSA, HDHP, and excepted benefit HRA COLA adjustments....more
The Fifth Circuit recently reversed a district court’s dismissal of claims that the fiduciaries of a 401(k) plan breached the duty of prudence under ERISA by offering participants retail share classes instead of cheaper...more
A federal district court in Massachusetts dismissed ERISA fiduciary breach and prohibited transaction claims against 401(k) plan fiduciaries, ruling that the prohibited transaction claims were time-barred and the fiduciary...more
Defense counsel frequently lament the difficulties of defending 401(k) investment and recordkeeping fee litigation when different judges render conflicting rulings on motions to dismiss seemingly indistinguishable...more
On November 27, 2023, the IRS published proposed regulations clarifying the rules for long‑term, part-time employees (“LTPT employees”). The new rules — long-awaited since enactment of the SECURE Act in December 2019 —...more
When I reflect on the relationship that our firm has with our clients, I’m most proud of the fact that you can always count on us. That often means defending complex litigation, steering you through regulatory threats,...more
A recent Ninth Circuit decision has generated considerable controversy amongst employee benefits practitioners by holding that plan fiduciaries engaged in prohibited transactions when they amended the plan’s existing...more
Two District Courts have reached conflicting decisions on the same day when ruling on substantially similar allegations that plan fiduciaries violated ERISA by paying too much for recordkeeping services, with one court...more
A federal court in Wisconsin recently allowed a putative ERISA class action in Lucero v. Credit Union Ret. Plan Ass’n to proceed to discovery on the claim that a 401(k) plan paid excessive recordkeeping fees. This decision...more
A district court in the Southern District of Ohio and one in the Western District of Wisconsin reached opposite conclusions on motions to dismiss claims for fiduciary breach based on allegations that recordkeeping fees were...more
A district court in New York recently dismissed a putative class action challenging retirement plan recordkeeping and investment management fees. The case is Singh v. Deloitte LLP, No. 21-cv-8458, 2023 WL 186679 (S.D.N.Y....more
In Matousek v. MidAmerican Energy Co., 2022 WL 6880771, __ F.4th __ (8th Cir. 2022), the Eighth Circuit joined the Sixth and Seventh Circuits in affirming dismissal of ERISA breach of fiduciary duty claims alleging that the...more
Two recent district court decisions add to the growing number of courts granting motions to dismiss putative ERISA class actions challenging defined contribution plan fees and investment performance. These decisions from the...more
In Baumeister v. Exelon, No. 21-cv-6505, 2022 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 176711 (N.D. Ill. Sep. 22, 2022) and Coyer v. Univar Sols. USA Inc., No. 22-cv-362, 2022 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 175972 (N.D. Ill. Sep. 28, 2022), two Illinois district...more
A “managed account” is a discretionary portfolio management service that makes investment decisions for individual participants within the confines of a 401(k) plan and its fund options. This service is fundamentally...more
In last month’s 401(k) Compliance Check, we discussed the variety of typical notices that a 401(k) plan must send to plan participants. In this month’s Compliance Check, we focus on the issue of how to handle a situation...more
The U.S. Department of Labor cautions plan fiduciaries to exercise extreme care before they consider adding a cryptocurrency option to a 401(k) plan’s investment menu for plan participants....more
A Kentucky federal district court ruled that a participant in CommonSpirit Health’s 401(k) plan failed to state plausible claims for breach of fiduciary duty related to the fees and performance of actively managed target date...more