PODCAST: Williams Mullen's Benefits Companion - ERISA Forfeiture Litigation
PODCAST: Williams Mullen's Benefits Companion - Understanding Lifetime Income Products
Coronavirus-Related Retirement Plan Distributions, MPPPs, and Governmental 401(a) Plans
CARES Act – Retirement Plan Distributions and Loans: Troutman Sanders and Pepper Hamilton COVID-19 Issues for Employers Podcast Series
The SECURE Act: Significant Changes for Retirement Plans and IRAs
The Secure Act | How secure are you in your estate plan?
Podcast: Supreme Court May Resolve Key ERISA Statute of Limitations and Proprietary Fund Litigation Questions
The Corporate Law Report: First-to-File Patents, Hiring for Cultural Fit, Roth Conversions Post-Fiscal Cliff, and Global Corporate Insights
When it comes to retirement plan litigation, the common theme I’ve noticed over the years is that lawsuits rarely die in the early rounds. A fiduciary’s best hope is to win on summary judgment or at trial, but a motion to...more
A new Empower survey has made some waves in the retirement plan industry. According to their July 2025 survey, a striking 68% of advisors already use private market investments—things like private equity, private credit, and...more
On July 14, 2025, we published a detailed Legal Update describing the state of the law with respect to the ongoing wave of ERISA forfeiture lawsuits. This Legal Update analyzes the material developments that we have seen over...more
The Insured Retirement Institute (IRI) is once again carrying water for the annuity industry, this time urging the Department of Labor to retain a regulatory safe harbor that’s already obsolete. The safe harbor in question,...more
Department of Labor (DOL) watchers have experienced regulatory whiplash in recent years. During the Biden administration, for example, the DOL issued Compliance Assistance Release (CAR) No. 2022-01, which flouted its...more
I t was 2001 when Aerosmith dropped Just Push Play, and while it was no Rocks or Toys in the Attic, it packed a punch. That title track? A distorted, energetic anthem about dropping the hesitation and just going forward. No...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
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
On August 7, President Donald Trump signed an executive order (Democratizing Access to Alternative Assets for 401(k) Investors) that has been widely – and mistakenly – reported to open 401(k) plan assets to “alternative...more
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
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
A Supreme Court decision in April made it easier for plaintiffs to keep ERISA prohibited transaction claims in play longer, and just days later a rare ERISA trial resulted in a huge win for a class of 401(k) plan...more
On April 17, 2025, the Supreme Court decided Cunningham v. Cornell University, unanimously holding that a plaintiff can state a valid claim under ERISA by merely alleging that a plan used “plan assets” to pay a service...more
Background - Many defined contribution plans are designed to permit participants to take advantage of an increased employee contribution limit starting the year they turn 50....more
On January 14, 2025, the DOL issued Field Assistance Bulletin (FAB) 2025-01, providing sponsors and administrators of ongoing defined contribution plans with a new option for missing participant balances of $1,000 or less:...more
Over the years, plan sponsors and administrators have wrestled with the question of what to do with the accounts of participants who left employment years earlier and cannot now be located. ...more
We have noticed an increasing number of employers reaching out with questions about whether they should have their defined contribution plan join the auto-portability network. ...more
As 2024 draws to a close, plan sponsors should be aware of those provisions of the SECURE Act 2.0 that become effective in 2025. Recall that the SECURE 2.0 Act (SECURE 2.0) was enacted on December 29, 2022, and while some...more
The following checklist highlights key issues for corporate counsel with respect to employee benefit plans and executive compensation arrangements....more
Plan administrators should review the following actions to be taken before the end of 2024 and focus on what to expect for 2025. The following checklist addresses plan amendments, notices, and other considerations for...more
As we approach the end of the year, employers have to handle a number of critical tasks to ensure compliance with various employee benefit plan requirements. The deadlines for (1) distributing annual notices, (2) amending...more
During our October 30, 2024 webinar, “It’s 2024 and … It’s Decision Time in the Retirement Plan World!” we polled our audience on their interest in adding optional features available under Secure Act 2.0 (discussed in our...more
The Commissioner of Internal Revenue announced the 2025 dollar limitations for benefits and contributions that apply to retirement plans. The Social Security Administration increased the Social Security taxable wage base....more
Many who work with defined contribution plan administrators and consult plan sponsors on their ERISA fiduciary duties have been carefully monitoring Disberry v. Employee Relations Committee of the Colgate-Palmolive Company...more