PODCAST: Williams Mullen's Benefits Companion - Forfeitures Under Fire
PODCAST: Williams Mullen's Benefits Companion - Navigating Fiduciary Responsibilities in a Tide-Turning ESG Era
PODCAST: Williams Mullen's Benefits Companion - Big Changes to Catch-Up Contributions in 2025
How ERISA Litigators Strengthen Plan Compliance and Risk Management: One-on-One with Jeb Gerth
PODCAST: Williams Mullen's Benefits Companion - Good News for the ACA in 2025
#WorkforceWednesday®: New DOL Guidance - ERISA Plan Cybersecurity Update - Employment Law This Week®
PODCAST: Williams Mullen's Benefits Companion - New IRS Guidance on SECURE 2.0 Act Student Loan Employer Contributions
PODCAST: Williams Mullen's Benefits Companion - Understanding Lifetime Income Products
PODCAST: Williams Mullen's Benefits Companion - Trends in Recordkeeper Consolidation and Due Diligence
Long-Term Part-Time Employee Eligibility Rules Now in Effect — Troutman Pepper Podcast
PODCAST: Williams Mullen's Benefits Companion - What the J&J Case Means for Plan Administrators
What Can A Tax Attorney Do For You? A Podcast With Janathan Allen
PODCAST: Williams Mullen's Benefits Companion - Understanding Fees in Retirement Planning
The No Surprises Act: A Cost Saving Opportunity for Employer Plan Sponsors
PODCAST: Williams Mullen's Benefits Companion - ESG Investing by Retirement Plans
Employee Benefits and Executive Compensation: Getting Ready for 2024 – Top-Hat Plans — Special Edition Podcast
Employee Benefits and Executive Compensation: Getting Ready for 2024 - Health and Welfare Plan Developments — Special Edition Podcast
PODCAST: Williams Mullen's Benefits Companion - Auto-Portability: A New Way to Keep Retirement Savings Growing
PODCAST: Williams Mullen's Benefits Companion - IRS 2024 Health Plan Affordability Threshold May Put Some at Risk
PODCAST: Williams Mullen's Benefits Companion - SECURE 2.0 Act Relief for Plan Corrections
Sometimes, in the strange world of ERISA litigation, you get a surprise. And in Hutchins v. Hewlett Packard, we got one: the Department of Labor, yes, that DOL, the one whose name alone strikes fear into the heart of many...more
Tom Cruise doesn’t age, and apparently neither do the problems that plague 401(k) plan sponsors. The plotlines may change—market volatility, regulation updates, SECURE 2.0—but one thing remains constant: fiduciary liability...more
On July 29, 2025, the Department of Labor (the “DOL”) published limited interpretive guidance regarding pooled employer plans, or “PEPs,” in the Federal Register (the “New Guidance”). Although PEPs are available to all sizes...more
You can cut corners in business. You can play fast and loose with your vendor contracts. You can even get away with sloppy recordkeeping—at least for a while. But when you mess with employee 401(k) contributions, you’re not...more
On August 7, the White House issued an Executive Order (EO) aimed at broadening Americans’ access to alternative asset investments within employer-sponsored defined-contribution retirement plans, such as 401(k) plans....more
After six long years of litigation, Intel’s 401(k) plan design just got a big legal endorsement. A three-judge panel from the Ninth Circuit dismissed a lawsuit filed by plan participants who claimed that including hedge funds...more
President Donald Trump on Aug. 7, 2025, signed an executive order (EO), "Democratizing Access for 401(k) Investors," and published a related fact sheet. The EO expresses the policy of the Trump Administration that "every...more
Participants in 401(k) plans and other defined contribution retirement plans may soon have the opportunity to invest their plan accounts in a variety of high-risk and potentially high-return assets. Touted as an effort to...more
There’s a hard truth about being a plan sponsor or a plan provider: you can be doing everything right and still get sued. That’s the world we live in—especially in the retirement plan space. You can dot every “i,” cross every...more
On July 28, 2025, the US Department of Labor (DOL) issued a Request for Information (RFI) regarding the current usage and operations of pooled employer plans (PEPs), as well as obstacles that are discouraging smaller...more
On August 7, 2025, President Trump signed an executive order titled “Democratizing Access to Alternative Assets for 401(k) Investors,” designed to open the use of alternative investments, including private equity and actively...more
As the healthcare industry grapples with the impact of the 2025 Comprehensive Reform Act, which was signed into law on July 4, 2025, offering benefits to its own employees continues to be both a tool for employee retention...more
In a lawsuit currently under appeal at the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit, the court has been asked to decide whether the plan administrator violated its fiduciary duties of prudence and loyalty under ERISA when...more
It’s not often you see the U.S. Department of Labor jumping into the legal ring to back plan sponsors, but when they do, you know something bigger is at stake than just one plan participant’s gripe. That’s exactly what...more
Recently, companies have seen a spate of class action lawsuits challenging the legality of tobacco cessation wellness programs and related tobacco surcharges imposed by their employer-sponsored health benefit plans....more
When I worked at a third party administration (TPA) firm many years ago, I learned some valuable lessons, some about ERISA and some about human nature. I wasn’t exactly the favorite employee of the guy running the place....more
Forfeitures have long been a sleepy corner of 401(k) plan administration, but recent class-action lawsuits are waking everyone up....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
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
In the world of ERISA litigation, process often trumps perfection. That was the story in Waldner v. Natixis, where a federal judge dismissed claims that Natixis and its plan committee acted disloyally and imprudently by...more
It is increasingly evident that artificial intelligence (AI) is reshaping all facets of business, and its impact on employee benefit plans is no exception. From automating plan administration to personalizing participant...more
Fifteen years into my solo practice, you’d think I’d be desensitized to the absurdities of the 401(k) world. But no. Every time I think I’ve seen it all, a plan sponsor, or more accurately, the people advising them, reminds...more
After close to 30 years in this business—wearing the hats of TPA employee, ERISA attorney, plan document drafter, and occasional therapist to frantic plan sponsors—I’ve seen it all. The horror stories, the lawsuits, the...more
On May 28, 2025, the U.S. Department of Labor (DOL) took two major steps that signal a shift in its approach to fiduciary oversight under the Employee Retirement Income Security Act of 1974, as amended (ERISA)....more
A plan sponsor’s fiduciary duty to be transparent in Pharmacy Benefit Manager contracts safeguards plan participants’ interests and mitigates the risk of litigation, regulatory penalties, and reputational harm, say Hall...more