News & Analysis as of

Employee Benefits Employee Retirement Income Security Act (ERISA)

Ary Rosenbaum - The Rosenbaum Law Firm P.C.

The DOL is Right to Scrap the Annuity Safe Harbor

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

Keating Muething & Klekamp PLL

Benefits Monthly Minute - August 2025

The August Monthly Minute brings you the latest guidance on ERISA retirement plan investment in alternative assets and highlights a recent ruling in mental health parity nonquantitative treatment limitation (NQTL) litigation....more

Holland & Hart - The Benefits Dial

One Too Many … Employer Considerations Following New Lawsuit Challenging Employer Providing Health Plan Options

A recently filed lawsuit against Northwestern University and its health plan fiduciaries raises novel claims that could be problematic for employers that offer multiple medical benefit options, if the suit gains traction. The...more

Ary Rosenbaum - The Rosenbaum Law Firm P.C.

Small Employers + PEPs: The DOL Wants Your Input

The Department of Labor’s Employee Benefits Security Administration (EBSA) just dropped an RFI (RIN 1210–AC10) and some limited guidance on pooled employer plans (PEPs), asking for public input, especially from small...more

Carlton Fields

New Kids on the Blockchain: Cryptocurrencies in 401(k) Accounts

Carlton Fields on

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

Ary Rosenbaum - The Rosenbaum Law Firm P.C.

Private Equity in 401(k) Plans? Tread Carefully

Word on the street is that President Trump plans to issue an executive order promoting private equity and other private investments in 401(k) plans. While he can’t mandate it, he can certainly nudge it, and that’s exactly...more

Carlton Fields

Everyday Investor Participation in Private Strategies: What Role for Investor Advocate in SEC Drama?

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The SEC is under pressure to increase direct or indirect participation by everyday “retail” investors (consisting primarily of those who do not qualify as “accredited investors” under SEC Regulation D) in certain investment...more

Ary Rosenbaum - The Rosenbaum Law Firm P.C.

Just Push Play: The Fiduciary Reality Check For 401(k) Plan Sponsors

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

Carlton Fields

Painting Outside the Lines: New Strokes in ERISA Forfeiture Litigation

Carlton Fields on

ERISA forfeiture class action litigation has continued to see various developments and potential new theories emerging in 2025. As Carlton Fields has previously reported, starting in late 2023, a new trend of lawsuits emerged...more

BCLP

Compliance Check-Up: Illinois Consumer Coverage Disclosure Act

BCLP on

On August 21, 2021, Illinois enacted the Consumer Coverage Disclosure Act (the “CCDA”) requiring that Illinois employers provide a disclosure to employees which comparing the employer’s group health plan compares with the...more

Fox Rothschild LLP

Trump Executive Order Calls for Review of Alternative Assets in 401(k) Plans

Fox Rothschild LLP on

President Trump has issued an Executive Order (EO) that could reshape how alternative assets are treated in defined contribution retirement plans. The directive requires the Department of Labor (DOL) to revisit its past...more

Haynes Boone

DOL Rescinds its Prior Guidance on Alternative Assets in 401(k) Plans

Haynes Boone on

On August 12, 2025, the DOL issued a press release (the “Release”) announcing that it is rescinding its prior guidance regarding the use of alternative assets as an investment option under a 401(k) plan’s investment menu....more

Seyfarth Shaw LLP

Gone But Not Forgotten: How to Handle Final Pay and Benefits When an Employee Passes Away, Part 2

Seyfarth Shaw LLP on

Benefits and Beyond: What Happens to PTO, Health Insurance, Retirement Plans, and other Benefits?...more

Ary Rosenbaum - The Rosenbaum Law Firm P.C.

The Road to Hell… and Retirement Plans

One of my favorite sayings is: “The road to hell is paved with good intentions.” To me, it’s a reminder that even when we mean well, things don’t always turn out the way we hoped....more

Bricker Graydon LLP

What Happens to Health FSA Balances When COBRA Coverage is Elected?

Bricker Graydon LLP on

While most plan sponsors understand that their plans must offer continuation coverage under COBRA for their medical benefits, many administrators find themselves on less solid ground when it comes to COBRA coverage and health...more

A&O Shearman

Alts for All: Administration Acts to Open 401(K) Plans to New Asset Classes

A&O Shearman on

On August 7, 2025, President Trump issued an Executive Order (Order) aimed at easing the path for ERISA fiduciaries to make “alternative asset” investments available to participant-directed defined contribution plan...more

Ary Rosenbaum - The Rosenbaum Law Firm P.C.

In a Rare Move, the DOL Backs the Employer in a Forfeiture Allocation Case—But Don’t Pop the Champagne Just Yet

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

Ary Rosenbaum - The Rosenbaum Law Firm P.C.

Mission Possible: How 401(k) Plan Sponsors Can Handle Fiduciary Liability Like A Pro

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

Foley & Lardner LLP

Tricky Compliance Issues for Companies When an Executive Terminates Employment: Post-Termination Benefit Promises

Foley & Lardner LLP on

Executive employment relationships are rarely permanent. When an executive or other senior-level employee terminates employment, companies often must deal with difficult tax, equity, and benefits issues that arise in...more

Haynes Boone

Trump Administration Issues Executive Order Regarding 401(k) Plan Investments in Alternative Assets

Haynes Boone on

On August 7, 2025, the Trump Administration issued an executive order to provide 401(k) plan participants with greater access to invest in “alternative assets” (the “Executive Order”). Pursuant to the Executive Order,...more

Ary Rosenbaum - The Rosenbaum Law Firm P.C.

Why I Love Bitcoin—But Still Don’t Want It in Your 401(k)

Let me start with a confession: I love Bitcoin. I admire what it represents—decentralization, monetary freedom, borderless transactions, and the kind of disruption that makes traditional finance sweat. I hold it, I follow it,...more

Jackson Lewis P.C.

A Fiduciary’s Next Steps After Trump’s August 2025 Executive Order: Opening the 401(k) Door to Alternative Investments

Jackson Lewis P.C. on

On August 7, 2025, President Donald J. Trump issued an Executive Order designed to broaden access to alternative investments, such as private equity, commodities, real estate, and certain digital assets, for participants in...more

Seyfarth Shaw LLP

Executive Order Opens the Door to Alternative Assets in 401(k) Plans

Seyfarth Shaw LLP on

Shortly following our Legal Update regarding considerations for institutional investors investing in funds alongside retail investors, on August 7, 2025, President Trump issued an Executive Order (Order) entitled...more

Ary Rosenbaum - The Rosenbaum Law Firm P.C.

Intel Wins: Ninth Circuit Puts the Brakes on Anti-Private Equity Lawsuit

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

Morgan Lewis - ML Benefits

Latest Executive Order Could Redefine Retirement Investing

The US administration recently issued an executive order to expand access to alternative investments in ERISA-governed retirement accounts. The order titled Democratizing Access to Alternative Investments for America's...more

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