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
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
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
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
The SECURE 2.0 Act of 2022 added new Section 523 to the Employee Retirement Income Security Act of 1974 (“ERISA”), requiring the Department of Labor (the “Department”) to establish an online database called the Retirement...more
On April 15, the Department of Labor (“DOL”) published a Notice of Proposed Information Request (the “Notice”), outlining its plan to create the Retirement Savings Lost and Found required by SECURE Act 2.0. Although...more
The Department of Labor (DOL) announced that it has finalized, together with the Internal Revenue Service (IRS) and Pension Benefit Guarantee Corporation (PBGC), the third and final round of revisions to the Form 5500 Annual...more
A proposed rule released last week would amend the U.S. Department of Labor's Voluntary Fiduciary Correction Program ("VFCP") to allow for self-correction by plan fiduciaries in certain circumstances. The VFCP allows...more
An ERISA plan administrator must, if requested by a claimant contesting an adverse benefits determination, produce a copy of an audio recording or transcript of a telephone conversation between the claimant and a plan...more
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
Last year the Department of Labor (DOL) issued an interim final rule regarding the SECURE Act’s lifetime income disclosures, which require benefit statements to express a participant’s account balance as a single life annuity...more
For the first time, the U.S. Department of Labor's (DOL) Employee Benefits Security Administration (EBSA) has released cybersecurity guidance aimed at protecting workers' retirement benefits. The guidance, which was released...more
The Department of Labor (“DOL”) has undertaken a nationwide compliance initiative to ensure that retirement plan participants receive the benefits that they were promised when they reach their retirement age. To that end, the...more
Do you remember the scene in the Wizard of Oz when Dorothy, the Scarecrow and Tin Man were walking into the forest chanting “lions and tigers and bears, oh my”? I could not help but mutter “oh my” under my breath when I...more
The Setting Every Community Up For Retirement Enhancement Act of 2019 (the “SECURE Act”), made sweeping changes to retirement plan rules. As described in our prior alert, certain provisions took effect immediately and were...more
The United States Department of Labor (DOL) finalized a new safe harbor rule for the use of electronic media to furnish information to participants and beneficiaries of employee retirement plans subject to the Employee...more
I love Las Vegas and the last two times I was there; I didn’t gamble a nickel. I hate gambling because I hate to lose. For me, getting up in the morning is a big enough gamble. A lot of plan sponsors gamble when they...more
In the News. The Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB) issued a notice of proposed rulemaking to create a new category of “seasoned” qualified mortgages; the Securities and Exchange Commission’s (SEC) Office of...more
The DOL recently provided retirement plans with a new method to comply electronically with certain participant disclosure and notice requirements. See our blog post outlining the new DOL rule. This new method adds to the...more
On May 21, 2020, the Department of Labor (the “DOL”) announced a final rule establishing a new electronic disclosure safe harbor. The new safe harbor permits retirement plan administrators to deliver certain plan documents by...more