WHERE HAVE YOU GONE, CHIP HILTON?
Somewhere Over the Rainbow
Investment Management Roundtable Discussion – Personal Estate Planning
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
As I explained in my last post, Fiduciary Rule 51, I have been asked whether the Supreme Court’s decision in Loper Bright Enterprises et al. v. Raimondo, Secretary of Commerce et al. could affect the outcome of the litigation...more
As recently noted by the US Department of Labor (“DOL”), since the passage of the Employee Retirement Income Security Act of 1974 (“ERISA”), “the retirement plan landscape has changed significantly, with a shift from defined...more
When it comes to plan design, I believe in the idea of KISS: keep it simple, stupid....more
The Setting Every Community Up for Retirement Enhancement Act of 2019 (“SECURE Act”) amended ERISA to require ERISA-covered 401(k) and other defined contribution plans to provide two estimated lifetime income (annuity)...more
With a push for fixed income products, there is n shock that BlackRock is putting annuities in American workers’ 401(k)Plan....more
The SECURE Act of 2019 made three statutory changes to ERISA regarding lifetime income benefit payments from defined contribution plans (e.g., 401(k), 403(b), profit sharing, and money purchase pension plans). This blog will...more
On December 20, 2019, President Trump signed into law the Setting Every Community Up for Retirement Enhancement (SECURE) Act, the most important retirement legislation since the Pension Protection Act of 2006. One of the most...more
Major changes in federal law are in the works that could significantly impact employers’ qualified retirement plans, which could require amending such plans to reflect mandatory and elective changes. The U.S. House of...more
INTRODUCTION - Now that §401(k) plans have replaced traditional pension plans as the overwhelming type of employer-sponsored type of retirement plan, there is a growing concern that many employees are not equipped to make...more
Class action plaintiffs have long claimed that insurance companies may become ERISA fiduciaries when offering variable annuity products and funds to 401(k) plans. The Colorado federal court decision in Teets v. Great...more
A recent decision on "excessive fees," titled Santomenno v. Transamerica Life (C.D. Cal.), supports an even broader theory of ERISA liability than the "sub-advisor" claims I have previously reviewed, but it restricts that...more
The Department of Labor’s recent Proposed Rule (the “Proposal”), which defines the term “fiduciary” as it applies to persons who provide “investment advice” to ERISA plans and IRAs, will impact the likelihood and severity of...more
Former and current annuity holders sued John Hancock Life Insurance Company in New Jersey federal court several years ago, alleging that, as a service provider to their 401(k) plans, John Hancock was an ERISA fiduciary and...more