How ERISA Litigators Strengthen Plan Compliance and Risk Management: One-on-One with Jeb Gerth
PODCAST: Williams Mullen's Benefits Companion - Trends in Recordkeeper Consolidation and Due Diligence
PODCAST: Williams Mullen's Benefits Companion - Exploring the Value of Qualified Default Investment Alternatives
The Form 5500: What All Employers and Plan Administrators Need to Know and How to Avoid Costly Fines
PODCAST: Williams Mullen's Benefits Companion - Cautionary Tales for Preapproved Plan Documents
DOL Clarifies Timing of Lifetime Income Disclosures in Benefit Statements
PODCAST: Williams Mullen's Benefits Companion - Payroll Integration for Plan Sponsors
PODCAST: Williams Mullen's Benefits Companion - Plan Administrators’ 2020 Year-End Checklist
Cutting Costs With Employee Benefit Plans (Part 5 of 5) – Implementation
Cutting Costs With Employee Benefit Plans (Part 4 of 5) – Retirement Plan Costs
Cutting Costs With Employee Benefit Plans (Part 3 of 5) – Medical Benefit Costs
Cutting Costs With Employee Benefit Plans (Part 2 of 5) – Identifying Potential Targets
Cutting Costs With Employee Benefit Plans (Part 1 of 5) – Using Benefit Plans to Save Money
CARES Act – Retirement Plan Distributions and Loans: Troutman Sanders and Pepper Hamilton COVID-19 Issues for Employers Podcast Series
Blakes Continuity Podcast: COVID-19: The Regulatory Impact on Pensions
PODCAST: Williams Mullen's Benefits Companion - Plan Administrators’ 2019 Year-End Checklist
What can employers do with non-vested employer contributions? Under the Employee Retirement Income Security Act of 1974 (“ERISA”), employers may require an employee to work for a set number of years before any company...more
There are always plenty of new retirement plan investment performance and fee cases, and it’s hard for a plan sponsor, even one that is doing everything properly, to be assured that it won’t be the target of a lawsuit....more
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
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
You can cut corners in business. You can play fast and loose with your vendor contracts. You can even get away with sloppy recordkeeping—at least for a while. But when you mess with employee 401(k) contributions, you’re not...more
When a plan administrator selects an insurer to provide annuities for a retirement plan subject to ERISA, it is engaging in a fiduciary act that must be conducted prudently. Mistakes in this process can expose the plan...more
In a lawsuit currently under appeal at the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit, the court has been asked to decide whether the plan administrator violated its fiduciary duties of prudence and loyalty under ERISA when...more
Plan sponsors of nonqualified deferred compensation plans (often referred to as “top hat” plans) maintain such plans because they provide tax and economic benefits to covered executives without being subject to many of...more
Fifteen years ago, I walked away from the law firm treadmill, overhead, politics, billable hours, all of it, and went out on my own. I wanted to practice ERISA law in a way that actually added value, not just racked up hours....more
If you’re a 401(k) plan sponsor, you don’t need to be an ERISA expert—you just need to avoid doing dumb things. Here are a few quick tips to help you stay on the right side of your fiduciary duties and keep your participants...more
In the world of ERISA litigation, process often trumps perfection. That was the story in Waldner v. Natixis, where a federal judge dismissed claims that Natixis and its plan committee acted disloyally and imprudently by...more
On July 9th, the Secretary of Labor filed an amicus brief with the Ninth Circuit relating to the appeal of Hutchins v. HP, Inc. In that case, a participant claimed that forfeitures should have been used to offset plan...more
A recent Québec Superior Court decision (Bernard c. Association de bienfaisance et de retraite des policiers et policières de la Ville de Montréal (“Bernard”)) highlights the importance of clear communications with pension...more
I f you’re thinking of hiring your payroll provider to also serve as your 401(k) plan’s third-party administrator (TPA), stop. Think again. Then think again harder. I’ve been an ERISA attorney for more than 25 years. In that...more
A recent complaint (Dylan Handy v. Paychex, Inc.) highlights the potential for plan administrators, and their delegates, to continue monitoring distributions after being made. In this particular situation, the participant...more
On April 3, 2025, the Department of Labor (DOL) issued Field Assistance Bulletin No. 2025-02 to assist defined benefit pension plan administrators with deciphering the requirements of the SECURE 2.0 Act of 2022 as to annual...more
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
As a plan fiduciary, I still can’t believe it. A Third Party Administrator (TPA) we terminated was trying to hold us up for valuations and a Form 5500 we paid for, as part of, annual administration. It was $80,000....more
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
The most recent wave of ERISA litigation is focused on the use of plan forfeitures in 401(k) plans, with the newest case, Armenta v. WillScot Mobile Mini Holdings Corp. being filed just last week. Although, for years, many...more
This month’s Friday Five covers an appellate ruling on a complicated case raising both state and federal claims, an instance of procedural improprieties in the administrative review process informing the court’s substantive...more
There have been 25 cases where plan sponsors have been sued over their right to use forfeitures to reduce employer contributions. 7 cases have had motions for summary judgments made by the plan sponsors. 2 cases have survived...more
Our Unclaimed Property and Employee Benefits & Executive Compensation teams delve into the Department of Labor’s temporary ERISA enforcement policy for unclaimed retirement benefit payments of $1,000 or less....more
Many employer-sponsored defined contributions plans, including 401(k) profit sharing plans and money purchase pension plans include a vesting schedule – a period over which a plan participant earns a nonforfeitable right to...more
Strategic ERISA (Employee Retirement Income Security Act) plan design and administration require more than just technical compliance—they call for foresight into how plans will hold up under legal scrutiny. In this...more