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Prohibited Transactions Employee Benefits

Mayer Brown

The Current State of the Law in ERISA Forfeitures Cases

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Since September 2023, ERISA plaintiff’s firms have filed approximately 60 class action lawsuits challenging the longstanding practice of plan sponsors using plan forfeitures to offset their employer contributions in 401(k)...more

Ary Rosenbaum - The Rosenbaum Law Firm P.C.

The whole problem with loans

When I draft a new 401(k) plan for a client, one of the first provisions I’ll recommend—including with some reluctance—is a loan feature. Not because I enjoy dealing with it. On the contrary, it’s an administrative pain. But...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

Carlton Fields

Considerations for Plan Sponsors in the Wake of Cunningham v. Cornell

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Excessive fee cases against plans governed by the Employee Retirement Income Security Act (ERISA) have been on the rise for the last decade. ERISA litigation is expanding with novel theories such as forfeiture litigation....more

Pullman & Comley - Labor, Employment and...

Employee Benefit Plan Fiduciaries: Why Solid Fee Benchmarking Should Be On Your To-Do List

Certain transactions between employee benefit plans and “parties in interest” are prohibited under the Employee Retirement Income Security Act of 1974, as amended (ERISA). ...more

Maynard Nexsen

Navigating Increased ERISA Litigation Risk Post-Cunningham: How to Protect Your Plan

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Under the Supreme Court’s recent decision in Cunningham v. Cornell University, No. 23-1007 (April 17, 2025), plaintiffs asserting that ERISA plan administrators engaged in prohibited transactions under ERISA Section 406 are...more

Baker Botts L.L.P.

SCOTUS Holds ERISA Requires No Additional Pleading Requirements beyond § 1106 Elements for Prohibited-Transaction Claims,...

Baker Botts L.L.P. on

On April 17, 2025, the Supreme Court of the United States clarified the pleading requirements to bring a prohibited-transaction claim under the Employee Retirement Income Security Act of 1974 (“ERISA”) in Cunningham v....more

Eversheds Sutherland (US) LLP

Supreme Court lowers pleading standard for ERISA prohibited transaction claims

The US Supreme Court issued a unanimous decision on April 17, 2025 that could have a lasting impact on retirement plan litigation. The decision in Cunningham v. Cornell University clarifies that when plaintiffs bring...more

Holland & Knight LLP

2025 Revisions to the VFCP: Key Changes to Correction and Compliance Options

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Historically, the IRS' Employee Plans Compliance Resolution System (EPCRS) has provided employers structured options for correcting retirement plan failures. Under this framework, certain operational errors qualified for...more

Lowenstein Sandler LLP

Supreme Court Ruling Makes It Easier for Participants To Sue Plan Fiduciaries

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On April 17, the Supreme Court unanimously resolved a circuit split in Cunningham v. Cornell University, holding that plan participants need only allege that fiduciaries engaged in a “prohibited transaction” under the...more

Jackson Lewis P.C.

Supreme Court Clarifies ERISA Prohibited Transaction Pleading Standards

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On April 17, 2025, the U.S. Supreme Court, in a unanimous opinion, resolved a circuit split and established a plaintiff-friendly pleading standard for ERISA prohibited transaction claims in Cunningham v. Cornell University,...more

Littler

The Supreme Court Relieves ERISA Plaintiffs of a Pleading Requirement: What’s Next for ERISA Plan Fiduciaries?

Littler on

On April 17, 2025, the U.S. Supreme Court issued a decision that dealt a blow to benefit plan fiduciaries nationwide. The Court unanimously held in Cunningham v. Cornell University that a plaintiff asserting that a plan and...more

Husch Blackwell LLP

Supreme Court Decision Means Defense of ERISA Prohibited Transaction Claims Just Got More Difficult and More Protracted

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On April 17, 2025, the Supreme Court decided Cunningham v. Cornell University, unanimously holding that a plaintiff can state a valid claim under ERISA by merely alleging that a plan used “plan assets” to pay a service...more

Holland & Knight LLP

Supreme Court Ruling Eases Path for ERISA Prohibited Transaction Claims

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The U.S. Supreme Court on April 17, 2025, issued a greatly anticipated decision in which the justices unanimously held that plaintiffs alleging a prohibited transaction under Section 1106(a)(1)(C) of the Employee Retirement...more

Miller Canfield

ERISA in the Supreme Court: Implications of Cunningham v Cornell University

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On April 17, 2025, the U.S. Supreme Court issued a unanimous opinion in Cunningham v Cornell University, addressing the pleading standard applicable to prohibited transaction claims under the Employee Retirement Income...more

Venable LLP

Supreme Court Endorses Plaintiff-Friendly Prohibited Transaction Pleading Standard

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On April 17, 2025, the Supreme Court resolved a circuit split on the appropriate pleading standard for a specific type of prohibited transaction claim under ERISA. While that decision may sound dry and technical, the...more

Seyfarth Shaw LLP

Supreme Court Lowers Bar to Pleading Prohibited Transactions, Despite “Serious Concerns” of Meritless Litigation

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In a unanimous decision reversing dismissal of prohibited transaction claims based on fees paid to defined contribution plan recordkeepers, the Supreme Court held that ERISA’s prohibited transaction exemptions are affirmative...more

Morgan Lewis - ML Benefits

Long Awaited ESOP Proposals Issued and Then Quickly Withdrawn

On January 20, 2025, an executive order froze two new pieces of proposed employee stock ownership plan (ESOP) guidance announced in a notice of proposed rulemaking and originally set for publication in the Federal Register on...more

Proskauer - Employee Benefits & Executive...

New “Self-Correction” Option for Voluntary Fiduciary Correction Starts March 17, 2025

Starting March 17, 2025, the Employee Benefits Security Administration’s Voluntary Fiduciary Correction Program (“VFCP”) will have a “self-correction” option. Although the new option eliminates the need to wait for formal...more

Morgan Lewis

DOL’s VFCP Final Rule Adds Limited ‘Self-Correction’ Program for Late Contributions, Participant Loan Failures

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The Employee Benefits Security Administration recently released its final rule amending and restating the Voluntary Fiduciary Correction Program, along with corresponding amendments to a related class exemption, Prohibited...more

Holland & Knight LLP

The Rise and Fall of the DOL's Long-Anticipated Proposed Regulation on "Adequate Consideration"

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The U.S. Department of Labor (DOL) on Jan. 16, 2025, released its long-awaited proposed regulation interpreting the definition of "adequate consideration" as applied to private company stock acquired or sold by an employee...more

Shipman & Goodwin LLP

Plan Forfeiture Litigation: A Trend to Watch

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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

McDermott Will & Emery

Trump Places DOL’s ESOP Proposals in Regulatory Moratorium

On January 16, 2025, the US Department of Labor’s (DOL) Employee Benefits Security Administration (EBSA) released two pieces of guidance that, if finalized, would dramatically change the landscape for fiduciaries responsible...more

Pullman & Comley - Labor, Employment and...

Retirement Plan Update – Forfeitures are New Focus of Fiduciary Breach Litigation

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

DLA Piper

Supreme Court Debates ERISA Exemptions in Cunningham v. Cornell University

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The US Supreme Court heard argument on Wednesday, January 22, 2025 from Cornell University and its employees over dismissal of a class action alleging that Cornell University’s retirement plan paid unreasonable recordkeeping...more

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