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
As a plan fiduciary, I still can’t believe it. A Third Party Administrator (TPA) we terminated was trying to hold us up for valuations and a Form 5500 we paid for, as part of, annual administration. It was $80,000....more
While the Department of Labor (DOL) has been focusing on missing participants, expect them to question plan sponsors about missing participants and the automatic rollover provider that they use...more
401(k) Plan Sponsors Should Focus On What The Government Is Focusing On - In the movie Casino, Robert DeNiro as Sam “Ace” Rothstein wanted to take on the Nevada Gaming Board after they denied his request for his license....more
As reported in our January 7, 2022 SW Benefits Blog “The DOL Asks and Answers Questions About the New Welfare Plan Fee Disclosure Rules,” group health plans must now comply with the ERISA Section 408(b)(2) disclosure...more
The snowball effect is a term for a process that starts from something that is small and builds upon itself, becoming larger and also perhaps potentially dangerous or disastrous. The idea is that an avalanche can be started...more
Big Concepts That 401(k) Plan Providers Forget About. Whether it was working for others or working for charitable organizations, it seems that there is a culture out there that seems to forget why these businesses and...more
I always talk about how plan sponsors need to work with experienced financial advisors, third party administration (TPA) firms, and ERISA attorneys on their plan needs. Like with reasonable fees, I believe that the term...more
It’s great that the Department of Labor (DOL) has finally embraced the electronic disclosure of important ERISA notices. It took them a long time, but when your business is trying to protect participant rights, this is what...more
My experience at law school could probably be summed up by one event. For first-year law students, there is an event that everyone participates in and it’s called Moot Court where students argue a fictional appellate case in...more
As an ERISA attorney, I always have an open phone policy with plan sponsors, financial advisors, accountants, TPAs, and other attorneys from around the country on questions they may have about their plan or a client’s...more
After being on the verge of enactment last spring but failing to pass, the SECURE Act is now law. The Setting Every Community Up for Retirement Enhancement Act of 2019 – the SECURE Act – was enacted on December 20, 2019 as...more
On December 20, 2019, after months of uncertainty, the Setting Every Community Up for Retirement Enhancement (“SECURE”) Act finally became law. The SECURE Act makes numerous changes to both the Internal Revenue Code (IRC) and...more
On December 20, 2019, President Trump signed into law the Further Consolidated Appropriations Act, 2020 (the “Appropriations Act”), a comprehensive government funding bill that includes substantial employee benefits-related...more
As an ERISA attorney for almost 21 years (my career can get its own drink), I have seen a lot of strange things that plan sponsors have done to risk the ire of the Internal Revenue Service (IRS) and the Department of Labor...more
Chutzpah is nerve, shameless audacity. The best example of chutzpah is someone who kills their parents and asks the court for leniency because they’re an orphan. I’ve been in this business of ours for the past 20 plus...more
Mistakes An Employer Needs To Avoid When Starting A 401(k) Plan. It's important to get off the right foot. I'm a firm believer that you need to get off on the right foot if you start something new. Otherwise, you have a...more
Free Advice In Dealing With A TPA's Business Challenges. It's free. I always joke that when my wife discusses to people what I do as an ERISA attorney, she claims she has no idea. Imagine if I was a third party...more
A friend of mine called me up a few weeks back and was telling me a story how he had a debate with Jeff Richie from Vantage Benefits at a conference a few years back. Richie claimed he had some writing from the Department of...more
The Road and Roadblock To Dynamic Plan Provider Marketing. What to do and what to avoid. When I was in college, I didn't take any classes in marketing. In law school, the last thing they'll teach any law student is...more
That Fiduciary Warranty Is Not Worth The Paper it's Printed On. They are pretty much worthless. A 401(k) plan sponsor is also a plan fiduciary and they have the responsibility to prudently run their plan. One major...more
A "Crystal Ball" On Life After The New ERISA Fiduciary Rule. We can see the future if we look closely enough. The Department of Labor's (DOL) new fiduciary rule that is going to go in effect in April 2017 is going...more
Straight Talk for Retirement Plan Providers. Just like it is. When I had the idea of starting a National ERISA practice 8 years ago, I knew I would have a tough time in getting clients especially when the law firm I...more
I am a firm believer in the idea that what you see is what you should get. If you’re promised the moon, anything short of that is wrong. Some of the biggest disappointments in my life is when I was sold a bill of goods that...more
My wife will admit I am a dutiful husband. For years, I have been forced from sleep to stand online for Black Friday sales. One year, I stood on line at Sports Authority for the 5 am open to buy a treadmill. A treadmill is...more