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
Fifteen years ago, I walked away from the law firm treadmill, overhead, politics, billable hours, all of it, and went out on my own. I wanted to practice ERISA law in a way that actually added value, not just racked up hours....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
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
Two recent class action lawsuits charging a breach of fiduciary duty under the Employee Retirement Income Security Act (ERISA) have increased the stakes and raised important considerations regarding a plan fiduciary’s duty of...more
I was very lucky that when I started as an ERISA attorney in 1998, I worked as a staff attorney for a third-party administrator (TPA). It gave me insight and experience that I could never have gotten as an attorney working...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
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 September 6, 2024, the U.S. Department of Labor (DOL) issued Compliance Assistance Release No. 2024-01, titled “Cybersecurity Guidance Update.” The updated guidance clarifies that the DOL cybersecurity guidance applies to...more
In September 2024, the U.S. Department of Labor (the “DOL”) released Compliance Assistance Release No. 2024-01 and its updated cybersecurity guidance for employers that sponsor employee benefit plans governed by the Employee...more
The Secure 2.0 Act of 2022 authorizes numerous new provisions that employers can choose to include or exclude in the retirement plans they sponsor. Recently, retirement plan vendors (vendors) have been sending communications...more
The Department of Labor ("DOL") recently issued a regulatory package that includes a final rule updating ERISA's definition of an investment advice fiduciary and amending certain related prohibited transaction exemptions...more
Executive Summary - Many investment advisers and other financial institutions rely on the Department of Labor’s QPAM Exemption when providing services to, and transacting with, employer-sponsored retirement plans, individual...more
On April 3, 2024, the Department of Labor (DOL) released its final rule amending Prohibited Transaction Exemption 84-14 (PTE 84-14). PTE 84-14 exempts from ERISA’s prohibited transaction rules certain transactions between...more
Please join us for our annual presentation on retirement plan due diligence matters. Topics will include: - Investment decision due diligence - SECURE Act 2.0 - Retirement plan litigation - Cybersecurity -...more
The Department of Labor (DOL) recently advised that a program under which Citigroup Inc. (Citi) subsidizes investment management fees for its employee benefit plans’ diverse investment managers could be implemented without...more
The U.S. Court of Appeals for the Tenth Circuit issued its decision in Matney v. Barrick Gold of North America, et al. on Sept. 6, 2023, finding that participants in an employer-sponsored defined contribution retirement plan...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
One of my pet peeves out there is when you give a list of complaints to a business or an organization and they give the proverbial “shrug of the shoulders.” The “proverbial shrug” is basically the business or the organization...more
The Employee Retirement Income Security Act of 1974 (ERISA) is a body of federal laws and regulations that govern the provision and operation of certain employer-sponsored benefit plans. While its structure and requirements...more
A plan sponsor was spared from a 403(b) lawsuit, but the advisor is still on the hook. Two plaintiffs filed a complaint in Texas federal court against their employer, Legacy Counseling Center, Inc. the plan’s manager,...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 U.S. Department of Labor (DOL) on Nov. 22, 2022, announced its adoption of amendments to the regulation setting out retirement plan fiduciary duties of prudence and loyalty under the Employee Retirement Income Security...more
In response to the continued proliferation of lawsuits against retirement plan fiduciaries, fiduciary liability insurers are raising rates, limiting coverage, and expanding their due diligence of fiduciary processes...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
Briefed - - Lawsuits targeting ERISA fiduciaries and sponsors are skyrocketing. - A recent SCOTUS decision confirmed duty of prudence requires the fiduciary to monitor plan investment options and remove imprudent...more