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Fiduciary Duty New Guidance Employee Benefits

Ropes & Gray LLP

DOL Sheds Light on the Fiduciary Responsibilities That Arise with Pooled Employer Plans PEPs

Ropes & Gray LLP on

On July 28, 2025, the U.S. Department of Labor (“DOL”) issued some new interpretive guidance as part of a request for information (“RFI”) about pooled employer plans (“PEPs”) and an employer’s fiduciary responsibilities that...more

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

Bricker Graydon LLP

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

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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

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

Bricker Graydon LLP

More Discretion, More Documentation: Recovering Overpayments Under Secure 2.0

Bricker Graydon LLP on

Under SECURE 2.0, plan sponsors were granted discretion to determine whether or not the plan would recoup "inadvertent benefit overpayments." However, SECURE 2.0, did not define the term, leaving implementation of the new...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

Pullman & Comley - Labor, Employment and...

Mortgage or other Third Party Loan Investments in Your Plan?  Do they Pass Muster under IRS Issue Snapshot?

The IRS Issue Snapshot-Third Party Loans from Plans dated August 23, 2022 is a short advice document for examiners to use when auditing tax-qualified retirement plans that invest in mortgages or other third party loans. IRS...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

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 & Schulte

[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

Verrill

DOL Guidance on Missing Pension Plan Participants – Part II

Verrill on

On January 18, we published a blog post regarding new Department of Labor (“DOL”) guidance on missing plan participants. That post is available here, and describes the DOL’s guidance on Missing Participants - Best Practices...more

Bowditch & Dewey

401(k) Investment Decisions: New DOL Guidance Raises a Green Flag

Bowditch & Dewey on

If you have a role in picking the investment options for your company’s 401(k) or 403(b) plan, newly proposed Department of Labor (DOL) guidelines puts guardrails around the use of Environmental, Social, and Governance...more

McDermott Will & Schulte

DOL: Path for 401(k) Plans to Offer Private Equity Investment Options

The US Department of Labor (DOL) issued an information letter in June 2020 indicating that, in limited circumstances, it will allow defined contribution retirement plans (such as 401(k) plans) to indirectly invest in private...more

Ballard Spahr LLP

DOL Proposes New Regulations on ESG Investments in Retirement Plans

Ballard Spahr LLP on

The United States Department of Labor (DOL) has issued a new set of proposed regulations providing guidance to plan fiduciaries about investing plan assets in investment vehicles that have environmental, social, and/or...more

Perkins Coie

COVID-19: Employee Health Plan Administration Considerations

Perkins Coie on

As federal and state governments respond to COVID-19, employers and plan fiduciaries must also address the evolving issues arising under employer-sponsored health plans. The specific considerations covered in this update are...more

Patterson Belknap Webb & Tyler LLP

Latest Department of Labor Guidance on Economically Targeted Investments and Shareholder Engagement: Requires Plan Fiduciaries to...

In late April, the Department of Labor (“DOL”) released FAB 2018-01 addressing and clarifying previous guidance concerning economically targeted investments (“ETIs”), shareholder engagement and proxy voting. The general...more

Holland & Knight LLP

DOL Issues New Guidance on Plan Fiduciaries' Proxy Voting Policies

Holland & Knight LLP on

The Employee Benefits Security Administration (EBSA) published Interpretive Bulletin (IB) 2016-1 on Dec. 29, 2016, relating to the exercise of shareholder rights and written statements of investment policy, including proxy...more

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