PODCAST: Williams Mullen's Benefits Companion - Can Employers Impose a Health Insurance Surcharge on Plan Participants Not Vaccinated for COVID-19?
Over the years, plan sponsors and administrators have wrestled with the question of what to do with the accounts of participants who left employment years earlier and cannot now be located. ...more
The Employee Retirement Income Security Act (ERISA) prohibits employers who offer health and welfare benefit plans from discriminating against plan participants on the basis of a health status-related factor, such as a...more
We are pleased to present our annual End of Year Plan Sponsor “To Do” Lists. This year, we present our “To Do” Lists in four separate SW Benefits Updates. This Part 1 covers year-end health and welfare plan issues. Parts 2,...more
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
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
On March 10, 2022, the U.S. Department of Labor (“DOL”) issued a Compliance Assistance Release (the “Release”) addressing its views on the availability of cryptocurrencies on 401(k) investment platforms. This guidance comes...more
On March 10, 2022, the U.S. Department of Labor (DOL) issued Compliance Assistance Release No. 2022-01 (the “Release”, available here) which cautions ERISA plan fiduciaries to exercise “extreme care” before they consider...more
New cybersecurity developments and observations, including those relating to U.S. Department of Labor's (DOL) review of cybersecurity issues, warrant prompt consideration by plan sponsors and other fiduciaries of employee...more
We are pleased to present our annual End of Year Plan Sponsor “To Do” Lists. This year, we present our “To Do” Lists in four separate Employee Benefits Updates. This Part 1 covers year-end health and welfare plan issues....more
The DOL’s new fiduciary “rule” became effective on February 16, 2021. The rule is a combination of a new and expansive definition of fiduciary advice (and status) and an exemption from the prohibitions of ERISA and the...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
Benefit plan sponsors and plan fiduciaries should take note and act quickly—the Department of Labor (DOL) has issued a new cybersecurity guidance package with far-reaching effects and has already begun including this in its...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
Retirement plans are increasingly subject to cybersecurity issues, and the U.S. Department of Labor (DOL) is taking notice. On April 14, 2021, the DOL published cybersecurity guidance “for plan sponsors, plan fiduciaries,...more
Last week, we posted on the guidance issued by the US Department of Labor (DOL) for plan sponsors, plan fiduciaries, recordkeepers, and plan participants on cybersecurity best practices. Last week’s post focused on the...more
The Department of Labor (DOL) has just issued first-time retirement plan guidance to address cybersecurity risks for employers, plan fiduciaries, recordkeepers and plan participants. The guidance is in the form of...more
On April 14, 2021, the Department of Labor (“DOL”) issued three documents that provide cybersecurity guidance for plan sponsors, fiduciaries, recordkeepers, and plan participants. Cybersecurity has become an increasingly...more
The clouds have been forming on the horizon for years now: from the courts we have seen emerging lines of ERISA litigation asserting fiduciary obligations to protect the privacy rights of participants, and from the regulatory...more
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
The Department of Labor’s Prohibited Transaction Exemption and Its Impact on Recommendations to Plans, Participants and IRAs (Part 8) - On February 16, 2021, the DOL’s prohibited transaction exemption (PTE) 2020-02 became...more
On October 22, 2019, the U.S. Department of Labor (DOL) announced proposed regulations that would allow disclosures for retirement plans to be posted online. The proposal aims to make retirement plan disclosures more...more
I call myself the “most dangerous ERISA attorney in America” because I’m not afraid to express my opinion. So I’m going to say something that will irk a few people....more
Dangers That As A 401(k) Provider You Need To Avoid. In an instant, it can all be gone. It can take almost a lifetime to build a sterling reputation in the retirement plan industry as a plan provider and it can be...more
Bad Choices For 401(k) Plan Sponsors That Often Lead To Bad Results - It's not about luck. My grandmother was very superstitious and she believed that bad luck could result from a bad choice you make. My grandmother...more
It’s 2019 and one area that the Department of Labor (DOL) could help both the retirement plan industry and plan sponsors out is making electronic disclosures and notices the default option and go with the times....more