News & Analysis as of

Retirement Plan Biden Administration

Latham & Watkins LLP

US Government Reopens Discussion of Private Pension Investments Expectations

Latham & Watkins LLP on

The Department of Labor has taken two recent actions that indicate where the approach to retirement investment policy may go under the new administration....more

Morgan Lewis - ML Benefits

US Administration Announces Intent to Replace Biden-Era ESG Rule

The US Department of Labor’s (DOL’s) position on the appropriateness of environmental, social, and governance (ESG) investing strategies in ERISA-regulated retirement plans has ping-ponged for decades (as we’ve covered...more

Ary Rosenbaum - The Rosenbaum Law Firm P.C.

Here we go again

Here’s the short version: the Department of Labor’s decision to reopen the Biden-era ESG rule is overdue—and welcome....more

Ary Rosenbaum - The Rosenbaum Law Firm P.C.

Crypto in 401(k) Plans? Sure—But Let’s Not Lose Our Minds

Well, that didn’t take long. In what’s becoming a routine political tug-of-war, the Trump administration (yes, back again) has rescinded the Biden-era Department of Labor (DOL) guidance cautioning plan sponsors against...more

Troutman Pepper Locke

ESG Investing in 401(k) Plans – More Rule Changes on the Way

Troutman Pepper Locke on

In our recent client alert, “Texas Federal Court Allows an ERISA Fiduciary Challenge Against Alleged “ESG Investing” Without Any ESG Funds,” we reported that a Texas district court recently upheld Biden-administration...more

Ropes & Gray LLP

Trump DOL Withdraws Biden-Era ESG Rule and Crypto Guidance for ERISA Plans

Ropes & Gray LLP on

On May 28, 2025, the U.S. Department of Labor (“DOL”) began to articulate the Trump administration’s retirement policy priorities with its decisions to (i) end its defense of the Biden-era ESG rule in a long-running lawsuit...more

King & Spalding

U.S. Department of Labor Updates: Yes to Crypto and No to ESG?

King & Spalding on

On May 28, 2025, the U.S. Department of Labor (“DOL”) provided updated guidance on two employee benefit plan-related investment areas: (1) cryptocurrency and (2) environmental, social, and governance (“ESG”) investing....more

Mintz

Trump Administration Will Replace the Biden Administration's Department of Labor Rule Permitting ESG Investing

Mintz on

3 Under the Biden Administration, the Department of Labor ("DOL") had issued a rule that permitted ESG factors to be considered when making investments on behalf of 401(k) plans. (This rule had replaced an earlier one from...more

Kilpatrick

Trump Admin. Rolls Back Biden-Era Rules on 401(k) Plan Investments: Crypto and ESG

Kilpatrick on

The Trump administration has rescinded (or signaled that it will replace) current guidance that was issued by the Biden administration’s DOL regarding (1) retirement plan investments in cryptocurrencies (and other digital...more

Carlton Fields

DOL ESG Rule Withstands Demolition of Chevron Deference

Carlton Fields on

In Loper Bright Enterprises v. Raimondo, the U.S. Supreme Court knocked down Chevron U.S.A. Inc. v. Natural Resources Defense Council Inc., leaving the doctrine of Chevron deference in rubble. The doctrine stated that, when a...more

Jackson Lewis P.C.

National Employee Benefits Day: Reflecting on Our Favorite Holiday

Jackson Lewis P.C. on

Each year, National Employee Benefits Day is a chance to reflect on the ever-changing landscape of employer-sponsored benefits. Indeed, this year may be the most pivotal since 2020’s COVID-19 relief guidance. Affecting the...more

Bricker Graydon LLP

Social Security Fairness Act Restores Social Security Benefits to Eligible Public Employees

Bricker Graydon LLP on

On January 5, 2025, Former President Biden signed the Social Security Fairness Act (SSFA), H.R. 82, into law. The SSFA, which garnered bipartisan support in Congress, repeals certain provisions of the Social Security Act that...more

ArentFox Schiff

ESG Update: Texas Federal Court Cites Loper Bright in Upholding Biden-Era ESG 401(k) Investing Rule

ArentFox Schiff on

A Biden-era US Department of Labor (DOL) Rule permitting consideration of environmental, social, and governance (ESG) factors when choosing investments as a “tiebreaker” was recently upheld by Texas federal Judge Matthew...more

ArentFox Schiff

Supporting Employees Impacted by Wildfires

ArentFox Schiff on

The ongoing Los Angeles, California, wildfires have caused widespread devastation, forcing residents to evacuate, and have destroyed homes and communities. President Joe Biden approved a Major Disaster Declaration in response...more

Steptoe & Johnson PLLC

Expect Major Changes to Employment Benefits Under the Incoming Trump Administration

Steptoe & Johnson PLLC on

Although President-elect Trump provided few, if any, specific details surrounding his proposed changes to policies affecting employee benefits during his 2024 presidential campaign, employers and employees should expect a...more

Proskauer - Labor Relations Update

President Biden Signs Executive Order Directing Agencies to Prioritize Pro-Union and Union Neutrality Policies

On September 6, 2024, President Biden signed an Executive Order on Investing in America and Investing in American Workers (the “Order”), that, among other things, aims to provide “incentives for federally assisted projects...more

Nossaman LLP

Relying on Loper, Fifth Circuit Sends Chevron-based decision Back to District Court, calling ESG Rule into Question

Nossaman LLP on

On July 18, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit (“Fifth Circuit”) vacated a decision by the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Texas (“District Court”) that upheld the U.S. Department of Labor’s...more

ArentFox Schiff

Biden Administration Issues Final Rule Expanding ERISA Fiduciary Definition, Enhancing Protections for Pension Plan Participants

ArentFox Schiff on

On April 23, the US Department of Labor (DOL) released a final rule significantly expanding the definition of who qualifies as a fiduciary under the Employee Retirement Income Security Act (ERISA) (the Retirement Security...more

Groom Law Group, Chartered

Déjà Vu: Biden’s 2025 Budget Nearly Identical on Health, Retirement

On March 11, 2024, President Biden released his budget for Fiscal Year 2025. Hewing closely to proposals in its last budget, the Administration’s new budget proposes a number of major tax increases, including the following...more

Eversheds Sutherland (US) LLP

Department of Labor’s Fiduciary Rule 4.0 proposal

On October 31, 2023, following its announcement by President Biden, the US Department of Labor (DOL or Department) released its Proposal 4.0 regarding ERISA fiduciary investment advice, including amended exemptions for...more

Brownstein Hyatt Farber Schreck

Updated Retirement Fiduciary Guidance Issued by Biden Administration

On Oct. 31, 2023, the Biden administration released its long-awaited revision to the Employee Retirement Income Security Act (ERISA) fiduciary rule. These regulations define fiduciaries and outline what transactions are...more

Mintz

Biden Administration's DOL Rule Enabling Investment Advisors to Consider ESG Factors Survives Judicial Challenge

Mintz on

On September 21, 2023, Judge Kacsmaryk (N.D. Texas), a famously conservative Trump-appointed jurist, upheld a Department of Labor rule promulgated by the Biden Administration that enables employee retirement plans to consider...more

Jones Day

Congressional Republicans and State Attorneys General Challenge Biden Administration's ESG 401(k) Rule

Jones Day on

Republicans at the state and federal levels are challenging a Biden administration rule (the "Rule") intended to walk back Trump-era regulations restricting the ability of retirement fund managers to consider climate change...more

Faegre Drinker Biddle & Reath LLP

The SECURE Act 2.0: The Most Impactful Provisions #11 — The Saver’s Match for Low Income Workers

The President signed the Consolidated Appropriations Act, which included SECURE Act 2.0, on December 29, 2022. SECURE Act 2.0 has over 90 provisions, some major and some minor; some mandatory and some optional; some...more

Ary Rosenbaum - The Rosenbaum Law Firm P.C.

Biden vetoes ESG proposal overturn

If your Department of Labor (DOL) proposes a rule, as President, you’re not likely to throw them under the bus and overrule them. In a move that surprised no one, President Joe Biden used his first veto to preserve a...more

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