News & Analysis as of

Fiduciary Duty Defined Contribution Plans Employee Retirement Income Security Act (ERISA)

Ary Rosenbaum - The Rosenbaum Law Firm P.C.

Plan Design That Works: Why 401(k) Participants Are Saving Smarter

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

Mayer Brown

Crafting Credit Facilities For Defined Contribution Plans

Mayer Brown on

INTRODUCTION - Over the past 50 years, the retirement landscape has steadily shifted from defined benefit (DB) pension plans to defined contribution (DC) plans. In fact, as of the fourth quarter of 2024, private sector DC...more

Fisher Phillips

Retirement Plan Fiduciaries Must Adjust to New Era of ERISA Litigation: How a Recent SCOTUS Ruling and $39M Jury Award Changed the...

Fisher Phillips on

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

Husch Blackwell LLP

Supreme Court Decision Means Defense of ERISA Prohibited Transaction Claims Just Got More Difficult and More Protracted

Husch Blackwell LLP on

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

Jackson Lewis P.C.

Missing Participants – New State Unclaimed Property Fund Option for Small Balances

Jackson Lewis P.C. on

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

Kelley Drye & Warren LLP

Colgate-Palmolive 401(k) Theft Case Settles on Undisclosed Terms, Leaving Open Questions

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

Jackson Lewis P.C.

Class Action Alleges “Scheme” by TIAA and Morningstar to Drive Participants into TIAA’s Most Profitable Funds

Jackson Lewis P.C. on

On August 5, three Named Plaintiffs sued TIAA and Morningstar in the S.D.N.Y., claiming Defendants engaged in a “scheme to enhance corporate profits” by counseling participants to invest in two of TIAA’s most lucrative...more

Williams Mullen

PODCAST: Williams Mullen's Benefits Companion - ERISA Forfeiture Litigation

Williams Mullen on

On this episode of Williams Mullen's Benefits Companion, host Brydon DeWitt discusses pending court cases regarding the proper use of forfeitures that arise under defined contribution plans. He outlines how these new...more

Proskauer - Employee Benefits & Executive...

District Court Dismisses Challenge to Use of Plan Forfeitures

A federal district court recently granted a motion to dismiss claims that defined contribution plan fiduciaries breached their fiduciary duties of loyalty and prudence, and violated ERISA’s anti-inurement and prohibited...more

Groom Law Group, Chartered

Is Your DC Plan Retirement Ready?

Participating in DC plans such as 401(k), 457, and 403(b) plans is the primary way most people save for retirement, and there is considerable sponsor and participant interest in making DC plans more effective at their primary...more

Jackson Lewis P.C.

California District Court Dismisses Conclusory ERISA “Fee” Complaint Unsupported by Facts

Jackson Lewis P.C. on

A California federal court recently granted an employer win in an ERISA excessive fee case when it dismissed a proposed class action brought by an ex-employee of Schenker, Inc., a transportation logistics company. Partida v....more

Proskauer - Employee Benefits & Executive...

District Court Enforces Arbitration Clause in ERISA Plan Document

A federal district court judge in the Eastern District of Kentucky has enforced an ESOP’s arbitration clause, sending P.L. Marketing Inc. employees’ breach of fiduciary duty claims on behalf of a putative class to individual...more

Troutman Pepper Locke

Tenth Circuit Holds Arbitration Provision in ERISA Plan Document Unenforceable

Troutman Pepper Locke on

Recently, the Tenth Circuit Court of Appeals held an arbitration provision impermissibly blocked rights afforded to a retirement plan participant under the Employee Retirement Income Security Act (ERISA) and was therefore...more

Fox Rothschild LLP

In ERISA Excessive Fee Cases, the Pendulum May Be Swinging Back In Favor of Plan Sponsors

Fox Rothschild LLP on

A new decision from the U.S. Court of Appeals for the 7th Circuit in a so-called “excessive fee” case is good news for plan sponsors, particularly following the Supreme Court’s ruling earlier this year in Hughes v....more

Proskauer - Employee Benefits & Executive...

Sixth Circuit Rejects Arbitration for Proposed Fiduciary Breach Class Action

The Sixth Circuit, in a matter of first impression for that Circuit, held an arbitration clause contained in an individual employment agreement did not apply to ERISA fiduciary breach claims brought on behalf of a defined...more

Goodwin

ERISA Litigation Update - April 2022

Goodwin on

Welcome to Goodwin’s ERISA Litigation Update. Litigation involving ERISA-governed benefits plans has exploded in recent years. Lawyers in our award-winning ERISA Litigation practice have extensive experience litigating these...more

Ary Rosenbaum - The Rosenbaum Law Firm P.C.

Supreme Court backs plan participants in big ERISA case

The Supreme Court told defined contribution sponsors Monday that they have to monitor all investments in plans’ lineups rather than leave the analysis to participants....more

Littler

DOL Issues Guidance on Use of Cryptocurrency in 401(k) Plans

Littler on

On March 10, 2022, the Department of Labor issued guidance on the use of cryptocurrency in plans governed by ERISA.  The announcement applies to cryptocurrencies as well as digital assets, which include “tokens,” “coins,”...more

Mintz - Employment Viewpoints

Hughes v. Northwestern University: Lessons for Retirement Committees and Other Fiduciaries

The Supreme Court recently handed down its much-anticipated decision in Hughes v. Northwestern University. The question before the Court is whether the petitioners – current and former participants in two retirement plans...more

Proskauer - Employee Benefits & Executive...

District Court Enforces 403(b) Plan Arbitration Clause with Class Action Waiver But Allows for Plan-wide Non-monetary Relief

A federal district court in Florida sent a proposed ERISA breach of fiduciary duty class action to individual arbitration on the basis of a plan arbitration clause that allowed for individual relief and plan-wide injunctive...more

Akin Gump Strauss Hauer & Feld LLP

Supreme Court Holds That Reasonably Prudent ERISA Fiduciaries Must Monitor Recordkeeping and Investment Manager Fees for All...

Key Points - 401(k) plan fiduciaries have the duty to monitor reasonableness of fees for all investment options available to participants under a 401(k) plan. Offering low-fee investment options does not alleviate the...more

Kohrman Jackson & Krantz LLP

Supreme Court Issues Opinion In Hughes V. Northwestern University ERISA Case

On Monday, Jan. 24, 2022, the U.S. Supreme Court issued an important decision dealing with defined contribution retirement plans. These plans, which include 401(k) plans, provide an array of investment choices from which...more

Fisher Phillips

Supreme Court Revives ERISA Suit and Highlights the Necessity to Monitor Plan Investment Options: A 5-Step Compliance Roadmap

Fisher Phillips on

In a unanimous decision that should serve as a wakeup call to those administrating employee retirement plans, the Supreme Court just reaffirmed and highlighted the ongoing duty of ERISA plan fiduciaries to monitor investment...more

Faegre Drinker Biddle & Reath LLP

Supreme Court Decides Hughes v. Northwestern University

On January 24, 2022, the U.S. Supreme Court decided Hughes v. Northwestern University, No. 1401, holding that an ERISA fiduciary that offers some prudent investment options in a retirement plan is not thereby categorically...more

Ary Rosenbaum - The Rosenbaum Law Firm P.C.

This case will be the mother of all battles

With so many fee litigation cases over the last few years, I was concerned that the Federal court was getting sick of cases where plaintiff’s attorney just merely pleaded that the costs of the plan were too much and. it was a...more

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