News & Analysis as of

Retirement Plan Benefit Plan Sponsors Plan Participants

Ary Rosenbaum - The Rosenbaum Law Firm P.C.

When Grey Wins: Natixis Beats ERISA Challenge with Process, Not Perfection

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

Fisher Phillips

Retirement Plan Fiduciaries Must Adjust to New Era of ERISA Litigation: How a Recent SCOTUS Ruling and $39M Jury Award Changed the...

Fisher Phillips on

A Supreme Court decision in April made it easier for plaintiffs to keep ERISA prohibited transaction claims in play longer, and just days later a rare ERISA trial resulted in a huge win for a class of 401(k) plan...more

Ogletree, Deakins, Nash, Smoak & Stewart,...

Do You Really Want to Be an ERISA Fiduciary?

Two recent class action lawsuits charging a breach of fiduciary duty under the Employee Retirement Income Security Act (ERISA) have increased the stakes and raised important considerations regarding a plan fiduciary’s duty of...more

Ary Rosenbaum - The Rosenbaum Law Firm P.C.

Providing Info to Participants

ERISA requires disclosure of certain plan documents to participants including a summary plan description, statements, and notices. The problem is what do you do with people who aren’t participants such as potential employees?...more

Seyfarth Shaw LLP

Missing Participants – What to do With Abandoned Accounts

Seyfarth Shaw LLP on

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

Faegre Drinker Biddle & Reath LLP

Second Circuit Adopts “Meaningful Benchmark” Pleading Standard in ERISA Cases

In Singh v. Deloitte LLP, et al., No. 23-1108, 2024 WL 5049345 (2d Cir. Dec. 10, 2024), the Second Circuit Court of Appeals upheld a district court’s dismissal of a complaint alleging that plan fiduciaries caused an...more

Holland & Knight LLP

Supreme Court Urged to Resolve Split on ERISA Standing Requirements in Excessive Fee Cases

Holland & Knight LLP on

Chavez v. Plan Benefit Services, Inc., 108 F.4th 297 (5th Cir. 2024), began when three employees of a single employer sued the service providers of their health and welfare benefit plan for allegedly charging excessive fees...more

Bricker Graydon LLP

New Plan Distributions are Becoming Operational

Bricker Graydon LLP on

SECURE 2.0 provided employees better access to liquid assets during a major life crisis. We have previously discussed the domestic abuse victim distribution exemption and the emergency personal expense distribution exemption...more

Poyner Spruill LLP

Year-End Round-Up

Poyner Spruill LLP on

The end of the year is fast approaching. Before calendars fill up too much with parties and PTO, now is a good time to take stock of year-end notice requirements for plan sponsors. As a quick reference, included below are...more

Ary Rosenbaum - The Rosenbaum Law Firm P.C.

Microsoft wins Blackrock TDF lawsuit

A U.S. District Court judge threw out a case against Microsoft which claimed that the BlackRock LifePath Index Funds suite of target-date funds was an imprudent investment choice for their plan participants....more

Ary Rosenbaum - The Rosenbaum Law Firm P.C.

Plan sponsor taken off 403(b) lawsuit, advisor isn’t so lucky

A plan sponsor was spared from a 403(b) lawsuit, but the advisor is still on the hook. Two plaintiffs filed a complaint in Texas federal court against their employer, Legacy Counseling Center, Inc. the plan’s manager,...more

Ward and Smith, P.A.

Are Your Retirement Accounts SECURED? Action Steps for Plan Participants and IRA Owners

Ward and Smith, P.A. on

Passed by Congress in late 2019, the SECURE Act contained the most significant changes to qualified retirement plans (QRPs) and IRAs since the Pension Protection Act of 2006. Notably, the SECURE Act eliminated the...more

Bradley Arant Boult Cummings LLP

A Checklist for Your Retirement Plan Fiduciary Insurance Renewal

In response to the continued proliferation of lawsuits against retirement plan fiduciaries, fiduciary liability insurers are raising rates, limiting coverage, and expanding their due diligence of fiduciary processes...more

Ary Rosenbaum - The Rosenbaum Law Firm P.C.

The participant direction dilemma

The problem with offering participants direction of investments is participants themselves. As a whole, they make poor investment decisions and exhibit poor timing. So that is just another reason why Bitcoin and 401(k) plans...more

Holland & Knight LLP

Circuit Courts of Appeal Uphold Dismissal of 401(k) Fee Challenges Post-Hughes

Holland & Knight LLP on

Following the U.S. Supreme Court's decision in Hughes v. Northwestern University, courts around the country continue to articulate the pleading requirements for a breach of duty of prudence claim under the Employee Retirement...more

Ary Rosenbaum - The Rosenbaum Law Firm P.C.

The problem with SDBAs are still there

The federal Thrift Savings Plan will allow participants to allocate some of their assets through a self-directed brokerage account (SDBA) this summer....more

Laner Muchin, Ltd.

DOL Warns Against Plan Investments in Cryptocurrency

Laner Muchin, Ltd. on

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

Parker Poe Adams & Bernstein LLP

DOL Warns Employers About Including Cryptocurrency in 401(k) Plan Investment Options

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

Goodwin

Cryptocurrencies As Investment Options In 401(k) Plans

Goodwin on

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

Miller Canfield

Sixth Circuit Decision Highlights Fiduciary Duties in Handling Premiums and Disclosing Information

Miller Canfield on

Key Takeaways - ..Mishandling of premiums can lead to breach of fiduciary duty claims under ERISA against employers. ..Information beyond what is required to be disclosed by ERISA may need to be provided by plan...more

Shumaker, Loop & Kendrick, LLP

Plan Sponsors on Alert After Recent Supreme Court Decision

On January 24, 2022, the U.S. Supreme Court handed down an important decision affecting plan fiduciaries who select investment options available to participants in a self-directed employee retirement plan (such as a 401(k)...more

Patterson Belknap Webb & Tyler LLP

SCOTUS ERISA Fee Litigation Update: Hughes et al. v. Northwestern University

On January 24, 2022, in a rare, unanimous 8-0 decision (Justice Barrett recused herself from the case), the Supreme Court of the United States (the “Supreme Court”) vacated a Seventh Circuit affirmation of the dismissal of...more

Holland & Knight LLP

Supreme Court Stresses Importance of Ongoing Monitoring of All ERISA Plan Investment Options

Holland & Knight LLP on

In Hughes v. Northwestern University, current and former participants in Northwestern University's defined-contribution retirement plans filed litigation on behalf of the plans' participants asserting that the University, its...more

Dorsey & Whitney LLP

District Court Issues First Post-Northwestern University 401(k) “Fee” Decision

Dorsey & Whitney LLP on

Just this month, the Supreme Court issued its much anticipated decision in Northwestern University, the first time the Court has been called upon to examine a lawsuit alleging that a 401(k) plan’s investment and fees were...more

Perkins Coie

2022 Cybersecurity Issues and Recommendations for ERISA Plan Fiduciaries

Perkins Coie on

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

81 Results
 / 
View per page
Page: of 4

"My best business intelligence, in one easy email…"

Your first step to building a free, personalized, morning email brief covering pertinent authors and topics on JD Supra:
*By using the service, you signify your acceptance of JD Supra's Privacy Policy.
- hide
- hide