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
Long-Term Part-Time Employee Eligibility Rules Now in Effect — Troutman Pepper Podcast
PODCAST: Williams Mullen's Benefits Companion - What the J&J Case Means for Plan Administrators
PODCAST: Williams Mullen's Benefits Companion - Understanding Fees in Retirement Planning
Employee Benefits and Executive Compensation: Getting Ready for 2024 – Top-Hat Plans — Special Edition Podcast
PODCAST: Williams Mullen's Benefits Companion - Auto-Portability: A New Way to Keep Retirement Savings Growing
PODCAST: Williams Mullen's Benefits Companion - IRS 2024 Health Plan Affordability Threshold May Put Some at Risk
PODCAST: Williams Mullen's Benefits Companion - Partial Plan Terminations
PODCAST: Williams Mullen's Benefits Companion - Plan Administrators’ 2022 Year-End Checklist
5 Key Takeaways | Establishing Tax Qualified Retirement Plans
PODCAST: Williams Mullen's Benefits Companion - Helping Employers Address the Gender Gap in Retirement Savings
PODCAST: Williams Mullen's Benefits Companion - Millennials, Boomers and Retirement Planning
PODCAST: Williams Mullen's Benefits Companion - What Constitutes Plan Assets Under ERISA?
PODCAST: Williams Mullen's Benefits Companion - Back to the Future: SECURE Act and SECURE Act 2.0
PODCAST: Williams Mullen's Benefits Companion - Payroll Integration for Plan Sponsors
IT NEVER RAINS IN SOUTHERN CALIFORNIA - INTRODUCING THE MALTA FREEZE
THE ACCIDENTAL ENTREPRENEUR PART IV
In a world where retirement plan innovation often comes with more flash than substance, it’s refreshing to see a strategic alliance that actually addresses a fundamental challenge in defined contribution plans: providing real...more
If you’re a plan provider—advisor, TPA, recordkeeper, or pooled plan provider—you’ve probably heard the advice a million times: “Create content to stay top of mind with plan sponsors.” But what kind of content actually works?...more
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
Vestwell made headlines today by announcing a new partnership with Amazon’s Delivery Service Partner (DSP) program to offer Pooled Employer Plans (PEPs) to delivery associates. Sounds impressive, right? Let’s slow down. I’ve...more
I enjoy business history and why certain businesses and organizations fail. I knew Sears and Blockbuster Video would fail, years ahead of time. I knew the synagogue where I was a member and where my son had his bris, would...more
I was very lucky that when I started as an ERISA attorney in 1998, I worked as a staff attorney for a third-party administrator (TPA). It gave me insight and experience that I could never have gotten as an attorney working...more
When I was at law school in Washington D.C., I discovered Hollywood Video which was a thousand times better than Blockbuster because it had a better selection and the rental price was less. I’d spend my free time watching...more
Whether, and the extent to which, a plan fiduciary can consider nonpecuniary environmental, social and governance (“ESG”) objectives in selecting plan investments has been a hot-button issue for many years, with the view on...more
A “sales gimmick” is a term that refers to a method a business employs to immediately generate demand for its product or service. I just bought Fan Fest tickets 6 months in advance because they were giving me a $30...more
When I started at a law firm over 16 years ago, my idea was to start a National practice that was devoted to ERISA and single-employer re- tirement plans. The idea was that utilizing the law firm’s existing clientele to...more
When I was a kid in day school in Brooklyn, we had a classmate whose shtick was that he was rich. He wasn’t rich, his father was a pa- thologist who worked at a city hospital, his mother didn’t work, and they rented a nice...more
Iremember as a kid in the 1980s, being fascinated that 2000 was upon us. Now, we are almost 25 years in, and 2025 is just around the corner. The beauty of the 401(k) plan business is that it’s constantly changing, it’s way...more
When I was a kid, I was rather shy. It certainly didn’t help that my parents were domineering. Even as an adult, I would always try to be agree- able and try to get along by not saying no. For the past 14 years with my...more
By nature, he’s a malcontent. He’s always been a malcontent and you know, that’s just life.” That was re- cord executive David Geffen speaking about The Eagles’ Don Henley. That could probably describe me as an employee. The...more
With Thanksgiving done, we look to the holidays and the New Year. While many of us are busy shopping for loved ones, many businesses and individuals have their eyes geared towards next year. As a retirement plan sponsor, you...more
Plan administrators should review the following actions to be taken before the end of 2024 and focus on what to expect for 2025. The following checklist addresses plan amendments, notices, and other considerations for...more
Ialways say that the real reason I never hired employees for my law firm is that I was once an employee too. That means that no matter what my employer could do, there would probably be some- thing I still would complain...more
This chart shows some of the annually adjusted dollar limits that impact employee benefits, as published by the Internal Revenue Service, the Social Security Administration and the Pension Benefit Guaranty Corporation....more
Having a small plan like a SEP a SIMPLE or a Solo 401(k) Plan may make sense from a financial standpoint. The problem is like I felt when I was an associate attorney at some “fak- akta” (my favorite Yiddish word) Long Is-...more
Our lives are the sum of our choices. How we act and choose to interact with other people can have a bear- ing on our business as 401(k) plan provid- ers. I may be good at a lot of things, but lying isn’t one of them. I...more
Ihave a college degree and two law de- grees (I’m not bragging), so I have three alma maters. I attended Stony Brook University, American University Washing- ton College of Law, and Boston University. Out of the three, my...more
There is a saying I have about scams: “I’m from Brooklyn, you’re go- ing to have to get up earlier in the morning to get one on me.” Growing up in Canarsie Brooklyn in the 1970s and 1980s allowed me to have street smarts,...more
In the movie “Back to School,” Thornton Melon, played by Rodney Dangerfield laments that his second wife, Vanessa is a pain and gives a “great headache.” While participants, namely business owners, want a self-directed...more
When you meet retirement plan sponsors just at different networking events and they find out that you’re a retirement plan provider, they may volunteer that their retirement plan is in perfect shape. As we know as retirement...more
Unless you have been living under a rock or in a cave for the past dozen years, there has been a lot of consolidation in the retirement plan busi- ness. For many, it’s a great thing and for many, it’s not. As a retirement...more