News & Analysis as of

New Guidance Department of Labor (DOL) 401k

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

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

Seward & Kissel LLP

401(k) Plan Investments in Digital Assets

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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

Williams Mullen

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

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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

Jackson Lewis P.C.

Not So Fast: DOL Releases Annual Funding Notice Guidance Just Before the Distribution Due Date

Jackson Lewis P.C. on

On April 3, 2025, the Department of Labor (the DOL) issued Field Assistance Bulletin 2025-02 (the FAB) and updated model annual funding notices for single-employer and multiemployer plans. The FAB addresses conflicts between...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

Proskauer - Employee Benefits & Executive...

EBSA Releases Long-Awaited Update to Model Annual Funding Notices Reflecting SECURE 2.0 Changes

Following up on our recent blog post, SECURE 2.0’s Required Changes to Annual Funding Notice Become Effective in 2025, the Department of Labor released Field Assistance Bulletin 2025-02 on April 3, which addresses compliance...more

Morris, Manning & Martin, LLP

EBSA Guidance on Annual Funding Notices … Better Later than Never

On April 3rd, the Employee Benefits Security Administration (EBSA) released FAB 2025-02 and related model notices to provide some guidance for the 2024 plan year annual funding notices (AFNs). The EBSA is requiring that plan...more

Holland & Hart - The Benefits Dial

Both Sides Now… Must Be Alert to Cybersecurity

by Becky Achten New guidance from the Employee Benefits Security Administration (EBSA) affirms that both sides—retirement plans and welfare plans—must take steps to secure participant data from cybercrime. In 2021 the...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

Holland & Hart - The Benefits Dial

Hole in the Bottle … Protecting Against 401(k) Cybersecurity Leakage

Both the Department of Labor (DOL) and plaintiffs’ lawyers have taken an interest in retirement plans’ cybersecurity in recent years. Last year, the DOL issued guidance on the cybersecurity considerations plan fiduciaries...more

Foley & Lardner LLP

401(k) Compliance Check #7: Five Administrative Policies Every 401(k) Plan Needs

Foley & Lardner LLP on

To help employers properly administer their 401(k) plans, in 2022, Foley & Lardner LLP is authoring a series of monthly “401(k) Compliance Check” newsletters. This article discusses some of the policies that are important for...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

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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

Verrill

Employee Benefits & Executive Compensation 2021 Summer Client Advisory

Verrill on

This Client Advisory summarizes developments in the law governing employee benefit plans prompted by the COVID-19 pandemic. We explain what these developments mean for plan sponsors and highlight the need to adopt plan...more

Bass, Berry & Sims PLC

DOL Begins Audit of Retirement Plans for Cybersecurity Shortfalls

Bass, Berry & Sims PLC on

To increase protections for the estimated $9.3 trillion in American retirement assets, the Department of Labor (DOL) has begun a new cybersecurity audit initiative for retirement plans. After providing its first set of...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

Pillsbury Winthrop Shaw Pittman LLP

DOL Ups Its Game on Cybersecurity Program Oversight, Begins Audit Initiative

In light of a new DOL audit initiative and increasing cybersecurity threats to ERISA benefit plans, ERISA plan sponsors and fiduciaries should be prepared to answer some important questions: Do the cybersecurity programs of...more

Harris Beach Murtha PLLC

DOL Finally Issues Cybersecurity Guidance for Retirement Plans

On April 14, 2021, the U.S. Department of Labor’s (DOL’s) Employee Benefits Security Administration (EBSA) finally issued first-ever guidance for plan sponsors, plan fiduciaries, record keepers and plan participants on best...more

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