News & Analysis as of

Fiduciary Duty New Guidance Department of Labor (DOL)

Ary Rosenbaum - The Rosenbaum Law Firm P.C.

DOL Walks Back Crypto Chill: A Return to Fiduciary Neutrality

The Department of Labor’s Employee Benefits Security Administration (EBSA) released Compliance Assistance Release No. 2025-01. For those of us keeping track at home, this new guidance effectively rescinds the now infamous...more

Holland & Hart - The Benefits Dial

How Do You Like Me Now… Plan Fiduciary Considerations Following New DOL Crypto Guidance

The Department of Labor recently issued Compliance Assistance Release No. 2025-01 rescinding Compliance Assistance Release No. 2022-01 that directed 401(k) plan fiduciaries to exercise “extreme care” before adding...more

Pillsbury Winthrop Shaw Pittman LLP

U.S. Department of Labor Withdraws 2022 Crypto Guidance—What It Means for 401(k) Plan Fiduciaries

Crypto may be back on the table for 401(k) plans, but fiduciary duties remain as demanding as ever. On May 28, 2025, the U.S. Department of Labor Employee Benefits Security Administration (DOL) issued Compliance Assistance...more

Bricker Graydon LLP

Don’t Forget About the IRS When Correcting Delinquent Plan Contributions

Bricker Graydon LLP on

Employers that do not timely deposit participant deferrals and loan contributions to their employer sponsored retirement plans can be subject to Department of Labor (DOL) penalties for breaching their fiduciary duties....more

Patterson Belknap Webb & Tyler LLP

New DOL Guidance for Retirement Plans on Cryptocurrency and ESG Investments

The new administration has recently taken steps to revise guidance with respect to two retirement plan investment options: cryptocurrency, and funds focusing on environmental, social, and governance (“ESG”) factors. These two...more

Seward & Kissel LLP

401(k) Plan Investments in Digital Assets

Seward & Kissel LLP on

The Department of Labor (“DOL”) recently issued Compliance Assistance Release No. 2025-01 (the “Release”), reversing previous guidance that cautioned plan fiduciaries offering investments in digital assets in...more

Jackson Lewis P.C.

New DOL/EBSA Opinion Letter Program Offers A Path to Clarity for Plan Sponsors

Jackson Lewis P.C. on

On June 2, 2025, the U.S. Department of Labor (DOL) announced a significant expansion of its compliance assistance tools by launching an Opinion Letter Program across five key enforcement agencies, including the Employee...more

Williams Mullen

PODCAST: Williams Mullen's Benefits Companion - Forfeitures Under Fire

Williams Mullen on

On this episode of Williams Mullen's Benefits Companion, host Brydon DeWitt unpacks the growing legal controversy surrounding the use of forfeitures in retirement plans. With numerous lawsuits recently filed, plan sponsors...more

Proskauer - Employee Benefits & Executive...

DOL Rescinds 2022 Guidance Cautioning Against 401(k) Plan Investments in Cryptocurrencies

On May 28, 2025, the Department of Labor (“DOL”) issued Compliance Assistance Release No. 2025-01 which rescinds the DOL’s prior Compliance Assistance Release No. 2022-1 which had warned 401(k) plan fiduciaries against adding...more

Woods Rogers

ESBA No Longer Discourages Crypto Investments in 401(k) Plans

Woods Rogers on

Employee Benefits Security Administration (EBSA) Rescinds Prior Guidance Limiting 401(k) Plan Investments in Cryptocurrencies Since March of 2022, the Department of Labor (DOL) operated under the guidance of the Compliance...more

Morgan Lewis - ML Benefits

DOL Issues Temporary Enforcement Policy for Small Amount Transfers to State Unclaimed Property Funds

The US Department of Labor recently issued Field Assistance Bulletin (FAB) 2025-01, a temporary enforcement policy regarding the transfer of small retirement plan benefits to state unclaimed property funds. This development...more

Kaufman & Canoles

ESOPs Benefits & Compensation - Q1 2025 Client Alert

Kaufman & Canoles on

Happy Spring from the Kaufman & Canoles ESOPs, Benefits & Compensation team! We hope you’re shaking off the winter blues and ready for another round of benefits updates. ...more

Keating Muething & Klekamp PLL

Benefits Monthly Minute - February 2025

The February Monthly Minute highlights a new online ACA reporting alternative, the DOL’s temporary policy regarding escheatment of small retirement benefits owed to missing participants, and new guidance clarifying the gag...more

Kaufman & Canoles

ESOPs, Benefits & Compensation Client Alert - January 2025

Kaufman & Canoles on

On January 16, the Department of Labor released long-awaited guidance on how to determine the value of employer stock in purchase and sale transactions involving an ESOP. Unfortunately for those in the ESOP community hoping...more

Holland & Hart - The Benefits Dial

Should I Pay Or Should I No(t) Now: Which Expenses Can be Paid with Plan Assets?

One question that often comes up is whether an expense related to an ERISA plan can be paid with plan assets. The decision of whether to use ERISA plan assets to pay an expense is an ERISA fiduciary decision. With the recent...more

Laner Muchin, Ltd.

DOL Warns Against Plan Investments in Cryptocurrency

Laner Muchin, Ltd. on

Given the current market volatility, the U.S. Department of Labor’s (DOL) concerns related to the addition of cryptocurrencies in qualified retirement plans seems prescient. In Compliance Assistance Release No. 2022-01, the...more

Parker Poe Adams & Bernstein LLP

DOL Warns Employers About Including Cryptocurrency in 401(k) Plan Investment Options

Late last month, Fidelity Investments created a minor firestorm when it announced that it would allow retirement plan sponsors to offer bitcoin as an investment option for participants. In reaction to this move, the...more

Verrill

Thoughts on the DOL’s Proposed ESG Regulation

Verrill on

The latest installment in the regulatory back-and-forth over the investment of ERISA-governed retirement plan assets based on environmental, social, and corporate governance (“ESG”) factors arrived on October 14, 2021 in the...more

ArentFox Schiff

Don’t Be Insecure: DOL Guidance Addresses Cybersecurity for ERISA Plans

ArentFox Schiff on

The Department of Labor (DOL) recently issued new guidance on best practices for maintaining cybersecurity in connection with ERISA plans (the Guidance). The Guidance, which is intended for sponsors, fiduciaries, record...more

McDermott Will & Emery

Department of Labor Exemption Impacts Investment Advice Fiduciaries

McDermott Will & Emery on

The US Department of Labor (DOL) recently issued guidance concerning a new exemption under the prohibited transaction provisions of the Employee Retirement Income Security Act of 1974 (ERISA) in connection with the provision...more

Williams Mullen

PODCAST: Williams Mullen's Benefits Companion - Missing Plan Participants

Williams Mullen on

On this episode of Williams Mullen's Benefits Companion, host Brydon DeWitt is joined once again by Beryl Ball, Principal Financial Advisor at CAPTRUST, who explains the Department of Labor’s recent guidance for plan sponsors...more

Holland & Hart - The Benefits Dial

I Just Called to Say…I Have a Benefit Claim

ERISA provides that when an individual makes a claim for benefits under an employer’s plan, they are entitled to copies of all documents, records, and other information relevant to the claimant’s claim for benefits. The...more

McDermott Will & Emery

[Webinar] Protecting Your Employee Benefits Plan from Cybersecurity Threats | What Does the US Department of Labor’s Guidance Mean...

McDermott Will & Emery invites you to a webinar for an in-depth discussion on the US Department of Labor’s initial cybersecurity guidance for retirement plans under the Employee Retirement Income Security Act (ERISA) and what...more

Faegre Drinker Biddle & Reath LLP

The DOL Provides Practical Guidance on the Application of PTE 2020-02

As described in our recent blog posts, the Department of Labor (“DOL”) recently issued guidance in the form of FAQs to address questions concerning the practical application of PTE 2020-02, Improving Investment Advice for...more

Faegre Drinker Biddle & Reath LLP

Broker-Dealer Services to Plans and IRAs: Impact of the DOL Fiduciary Advice Exemption

The Department of Labor (DOL) confirmed on February 12 that the Trump-era Prohibited Transaction Exemption 2020-02 (PTE) would go into effect as scheduled on February 16, 2021. The PTE will likely affect the business of...more

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