As an old song covered by the Beatles goes, “the best things in life are free, but you can’t keep em for the birds and bees, now give me money, that’s what I want.”...more
A Summary Plan Description, often referred to as an “SPD”, is a document intended to clearly describe and explain the important provisions of an employee benefit plan. The SPD must be written in such a way that the average...more
To help employers properly administer their 401(k) plans, in 2022, Foley & Lardner LLP is authoring a series of monthly “401(k) Compliance Check” newsletters. This article includes some tips for drafting a best-in- class...more
Benefit plan sponsors sometimes send out Summary Plan Descriptions (SPDs) having given too little thought to the legal consequences. Two recent cases illustrate how an organization can end up in serious and costly litigation...more
While considering year-end tasks and planning for the upcoming year, qualified plan sponsors should think about whether they need to revise and/or reissue their summary plan descriptions (SPDs) in 2022....more
No one really appreciates laundry, but having a calendar year-end top 10 list may be exactly what plan sponsors and administration committees need in order to prevent operational or document compliance issues being raised by...more
Since its adoption the Employee Retirement Income Securities Act of 1974, as amended (“ERISA”), has required employee benefit plan sponsors to make disclosures regarding plan terms and plan expenses. The most well-known of...more
The Department of Labor (DOL) has finally issued final regulations providing a new “notice and access” safe harbor for retirement plans to furnish required disclosures by email or other electronic ways to plan participants...more
On May 27, 2020, the United States Department of Labor (DOL) published a Final Rule that establishes an alternative “safe harbor” method by which retirement plan administrators can provide participant disclosures and notices...more
Second Circuit Affirms Decision Rejecting ERISA Claims for Retiree Health Benefits The U.S. Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit has affirmed a district court’s decision dismissing claims under the Employee Retirement...more
After being on the verge of enactment last spring but failing to pass, the SECURE Act is now law. The Setting Every Community Up for Retirement Enhancement Act of 2019 – the SECURE Act – was enacted on December 20, 2019 as...more
Owners and employees of smaller organizations often find themselves stretched in many directions. With all of the demands on one’s time associated with operating a business, it is not uncommon to see attention to the...more
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
We recognize that many of our clients sponsor ERISA welfare benefit plans and are currently undergoing their open enrollment process and issuing related participant communications. To assist our clients with that process, we...more
Our ERISA Practice Center blog posts often discuss many complex, and sometimes esoteric, substantive and procedural ERISA issues, as well as related agency guidance and case law. In this new ten-part blog series, however, we...more
In this episode of the Proskauer Benefits Brief, partner Paul Hamburger, and associate Katrina McCann discuss the suspension of benefits rules, and the unique and interesting issues that arise when defined benefit plan...more
Administrators of plans subject to ERISA (including plans sponsored by for-profit and nonprofit businesses and organizations) must provide participants and beneficiaries with summary plan descriptions (“SPDs”) describing “the...more
As an advisor to many 401(k) plan sponsors, I have been asked occasionally what advice I would give to a person who is relatively new to retirement plan administration....more
Free Advice In Dealing With A TPA's Business Challenges. It's free. I always joke that when my wife discusses to people what I do as an ERISA attorney, she claims she has no idea. Imagine if I was a third party...more
The landscape surrounding retirement plans maintained by institutions of higher education has been changing in recent years, although certain critical responsibilities that are imposed on plan sponsors have been in place...more
• Administrators of all employee benefit plans subject to the Employee Retirement Income Security Act of 1974 (ERISA) should ensure their plans' compliance with ERISA's Summary Plan Description (SPD) requirement. •...more
As 2017 comes to an end, we are pleased to present you with our traditional End of Year Plan Sponsor “To Do” Lists. This year, we are publishing our “To Do” Lists in four separate Employee Benefits Updates. Part 1 covered...more
Welcome to the Summer edition of Benefits Litigation Update, brought to you by The ERISA Industry Committee (ERIC) and the law firm Epstein Becker & Green. With a new Administration and executive branch, we are already...more
Many employers historically were only concerned with privacy and security for health plans under the Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act (HIPAA)1 and state laws; however, there are other references to...more
Plan sponsors should understand that under ERISA, plan participants are entitled to certain disclosures and documents. We should all know that a participant is entitled to the summary plan description, summary annual report,...more