News & Analysis as of

Retirement Plan Compensation & Benefits Department of Labor (DOL)

Seyfarth Shaw LLP

So, How Can Participants Invest Their Retirement Money?

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Under the current administration, the Department of Labor has once again changed course on its view of permissible investing strategies for retirement plans, warming to crypto and private equity, and confirming their distrust...more

Carlton Fields

Unsafe Harbor? Deregulation and the Limit of the Secure Act Safe Harbor for Selection of Lifetime Income Provider

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On January 31, 2025, President Trump signed Executive Order 14192, titled“ Unleashing Prosperity Through Deregulation.” Its stated purpose was to encourage the reduction of private expenditure required to comply with federal...more

Troutman Pepper Locke

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

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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

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

Saul Ewing LLP

Correcting Liquidity, Valuation, or Transfer Problems With OTC-Traded Stocks in Retirement Plans to Minimize Enforcement and...

Saul Ewing LLP on

Over 8,000 stocks trade on American stock exchanges, but billions of dollars in daily trades in these listed stocks and 12,000 more unlisted (non-exchange-traded) stocks occur outside of an exchange in Over-The-Counter...more

Seyfarth Shaw LLP

DOL Issues New Guidance Streamlining the Voluntary Fiduciary Correction Program

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The Department of Labor (DOL) has issued a much awaited amendment to its Voluntary Fiduciary Correction Program (VFC Program). Notably, the amendment adds a self-correction feature for the delinquent transmittal of...more

Seyfarth Shaw LLP

The DOL May Not Actually Want to Hear From You: New Guidance Streamlining the Voluntary Fiduciary Correction Program

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The DOL updated its voluntary fiduciary correction program (“VFCP”) which was introduced over 20 years ago to allow plan sponsors to corrected enumerated fiduciary breaches. The amended VFCP now allows for self-correction of...more

Seyfarth Shaw LLP

Missing Participants – What to do With Abandoned Accounts

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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

Saul Ewing LLP

Organizing Your Company’s Health and Welfare Plans Part 2: Creating a Committee Checklist

Saul Ewing LLP on

In the prior article we discussed the reasoning behind creation of a health and welfare committee to oversee administration of the health and welfare plans. In creating a charter, a plan sponsor will need to decide whether to...more

Carlton Fields

The Case of Excessive Fees: Supreme Court to Investigate Pleading Standard in ERISA Excessive Fee Litigation

Carlton Fields on

ERISA class action litigation against retirement plan fiduciaries remains a prominent feature of the legal landscape this year. These lawsuits typically involve allegations that plan fiduciaries acted imprudently in...more

Baker Donelson

Preparing Employers for SECURE 2.0 Compliance in 2025

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As 2024 draws to a close, plan sponsors should be aware of those provisions of the SECURE Act 2.0 that become effective in 2025. Recall that the SECURE 2.0 Act (SECURE 2.0) was enacted on December 29, 2022, and while some...more

Carlton Fields

Sometimes, Pension De-Risking Makes Cents

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In a defined benefit plan, participants usually accrue a monthly benefit based on a formula that typically considers their last three years’ salary before retirement and years of service with their employer. For example, the...more

Littler

July is Still the New January! Littler’s Workplace Policy Institute’s Mid-Year Legislative Report

Littler on

Hot off the press – here is Littler’s mid-year report!  As federal regulators, states and cities continue to pass new workplace regulations through the calendar year, we summarize each state’s notable labor and employment law...more

Carlton Fields

Auto-Portability Providers Racing to Close Retirement Plan Gap

Carlton Fields on

For decades, both the federal and state governments have been working to tackle the coverage gaps in our retirement system. In the race for retirement readiness, dark horses like state plans with mandatory adoption...more

K&L Gates LLP

QPAM Exemption Amendment—Key Takeaways and Action Steps for Advisors and Other Stakeholders

K&L Gates LLP on

Executive Summary - Many investment advisers and other financial institutions rely on the Department of Labor’s QPAM Exemption when providing services to, and transacting with, employer-sponsored retirement plans, individual...more

Morris, Manning & Martin, LLP

Voluntary Reporting for a Mandatory Database: DOL’s New Approach for the SECURE Act 2.0 Retirement Savings Lost and Found

On April 15, the Department of Labor (“DOL”) published a Notice of Proposed Information Request (the “Notice”), outlining its plan to create the Retirement Savings Lost and Found required by SECURE Act 2.0.  Although...more

Morris, Manning & Martin, LLP

Expanded Fiduciary Rule Finalized By DOL

Lost amidst the hoopla of invalidated non-competes and overtime rules, the U.S. Department of Labor issued its long-awaited final fiduciary rule (the “Final Rule”) yesterday. The Final Rule is more limited in scope than the...more

Patterson Belknap Webb & Tyler LLP

Does Your Retirement Plan Need a 'PLESA'?

Pension-Linked Emergency Savings Accounts (“PLESAs”) are a special retirement plan feature created under SECURE ACT 2.0. PLESAs were first permitted to be made available to participants as of January 1, 2024. PLESAs, which...more

Bricker Graydon LLP

2024 Inflation Adjustment to DOL Penalties

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The Department of Labor recently announced the 2024 inflation adjustments for ERISA-related penalties applicable to health and welfare and retirement plans. Applicable penalties increased for 2024 as follows...more

Kaufman & Canoles

ESOPs & Employee Benefits Q3 2023 Client Update

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As summer turns to fall, the employee benefits landscape continues to evolve. A few of our thoughts on recent updates are below. Also be on the lookout over the coming weeks for a separate guide to SECURE 2.0 provisions that...more

Ary Rosenbaum - The Rosenbaum Law Firm P.C.

EBSA releases 2022 enforcement tally

The Department of Labor’s Employee Benefits Security Administration, announced their enforcement tally by claiming they recovered $1.4 billion for fiscal year 2022. That contrasts with EBSA recovering $2.4 billion in 2021,...more

Ary Rosenbaum - The Rosenbaum Law Firm P.C.

Company sued over retirement plan

A California environmental consultant is being sued by the Department if Labor for failing to manage or administer their profit-sharing plan since the late 1990s or early 2000s, effectively barring distribution of...more

Ary Rosenbaum - The Rosenbaum Law Firm P.C.

AI is here for 401(k) review

I’ve been long in this business to remember no participant websites, so I’m amazed by technological breakthroughs. Artificial Intelligence (AI) tools BenchMine is billed as the first-ever AI 401(k) comparative analysis...more

Polsinelli

New Form 5500 Rules Permit More Plans to Qualify for Audit Exemption

Polsinelli on

The Department of Labor, Internal Revenue Service, and Pension Benefit Guaranty Corporation recently issued final rules on employee benefit plan annual reporting requirements that are effective for plan years beginning on or...more

Ary Rosenbaum - The Rosenbaum Law Firm P.C.

Senator wants crypto option, good luck

As Bitcoin starts inching back up, I’m in the black again and expect more clamor for crypto options in 401(k) plans. Senator Tommy Tuberville, R-Alabama, reintroduced legislation to create a law, the Financial Freedom Act...more

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