The No Surprises Act: A Cost Saving Opportunity for Employer Plan Sponsors
I f you’re thinking of hiring your payroll provider to also serve as your 401(k) plan’s third-party administrator (TPA), stop. Think again. Then think again harder. I’ve been an ERISA attorney for more than 25 years. In that...more
While the Department of Labor (DOL) has been focusing on missing participants, expect them to question plan sponsors about missing participants and the automatic rollover provider that they use...more
Happy Summer from the K&C ESOPs & Employee Benefits practice group. We’ve compiled a short list of employee benefits updates from the second quarter of 2022....more
401(k) Plan Sponsors Should Focus On What The Government Is Focusing On - In the movie Casino, Robert DeNiro as Sam “Ace” Rothstein wanted to take on the Nevada Gaming Board after they denied his request for his license....more
The snowball effect is a term for a process that starts from something that is small and builds upon itself, becoming larger and also perhaps potentially dangerous or disastrous. The idea is that an avalanche can be started...more
Big Concepts That 401(k) Plan Providers Forget About. Whether it was working for others or working for charitable organizations, it seems that there is a culture out there that seems to forget why these businesses and...more
I always talk about how plan sponsors need to work with experienced financial advisors, third party administration (TPA) firms, and ERISA attorneys on their plan needs. Like with reasonable fees, I believe that the term...more
My experience at law school could probably be summed up by one event. For first-year law students, there is an event that everyone participates in and it’s called Moot Court where students argue a fictional appellate case in...more
As an ERISA attorney, I always have an open phone policy with plan sponsors, financial advisors, accountants, TPAs, and other attorneys from around the country on questions they may have about their plan or a client’s...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
On December 20, 2019, after months of uncertainty, the Setting Every Community Up for Retirement Enhancement (“SECURE”) Act finally became law. The SECURE Act makes numerous changes to both the Internal Revenue Code (IRC) and...more
On December 20, 2019, President Trump signed into law the Further Consolidated Appropriations Act, 2020 (the “Appropriations Act”), a comprehensive government funding bill that includes substantial employee benefits-related...more
In one of the first ERISA cases to address claims against fiduciaries for excessive health plan fees, the court entered judgment in favor of the defendants on all counts. The decision addresses health plan fiduciary standards...more
Chutzpah is nerve, shameless audacity. The best example of chutzpah is someone who kills their parents and asks the court for leniency because they’re an orphan. I’ve been in this business of ours for the past 20 plus...more
The Help Plan Providers Need And What They Don't. Avoid the people who want to sell you everything. When you're in business as a retirement plan provider, you will see that there is a surge of humanity that wants to...more
I recently go through a harrowing Department of Labor (DOL) audit over the late deposit of salary deferrals. What was the problem for the client was multiple locations and multiple payroll providers and previous third-party...more
A Plan Advisor Should Be Careful About Their TPA Referrals. They need to. There was a time when a 401(k) financial advisor could get 75 to 100 basis point working on a plan, those were the days of wine and roses. Now...more
Mistakes An Employer Needs To Avoid When Starting A 401(k) Plan. It's important to get off the right foot. I'm a firm believer that you need to get off on the right foot if you start something new. Otherwise, you have a...more
The Road and Roadblock To Dynamic Plan Provider Marketing. What to do and what to avoid. When I was in college, I didn't take any classes in marketing. In law school, the last thing they'll teach any law student is...more
That Fiduciary Warranty Is Not Worth The Paper it's Printed On. They are pretty much worthless. A 401(k) plan sponsor is also a plan fiduciary and they have the responsibility to prudently run their plan. One major...more
A "Crystal Ball" On Life After The New ERISA Fiduciary Rule. We can see the future if we look closely enough. The Department of Labor's (DOL) new fiduciary rule that is going to go in effect in April 2017 is going...more
Editor's Overview - This month, we have re-published an interview of our colleague Seth Safra discussing the Department of Labor’s final regulation concerning fiduciaries and conflicts of interest. In this interview,...more
Straight Talk for Retirement Plan Providers. Just like it is. When I had the idea of starting a National ERISA practice 8 years ago, I knew I would have a tough time in getting clients especially when the law firm I...more
One of my favorite movies of all time is The Deer Hunter. It’s a story about the Vietnam War and the post-traumatic stress disorder a group of friends from Western Pennsylvania who were drafted together and fought alongside...more
Unless they are involved in the retirement plan industry a plan sponsor must delegate much of their duties to retirement plan providers that may include third party administrators (TPAs), financial advisors, and ERISA...more