PODCAST: Williams Mullen's Benefits Companion - New IRS Guidance on SECURE 2.0 Act Student Loan Employer Contributions
PODCAST: Williams Mullen's Benefits Companion - Understanding Lifetime Income Products
PODCAST: Williams Mullen's Benefits Companion - Trends in Recordkeeper Consolidation and Due Diligence
Long-Term Part-Time Employee Eligibility Rules Now in Effect — Troutman Pepper Podcast
PODCAST: Williams Mullen's Benefits Companion - What the J&J Case Means for Plan Administrators
What Can A Tax Attorney Do For You? A Podcast With Janathan Allen
PODCAST: Williams Mullen's Benefits Companion - Understanding Fees in Retirement Planning
The No Surprises Act: A Cost Saving Opportunity for Employer Plan Sponsors
PODCAST: Williams Mullen's Benefits Companion - ESG Investing by Retirement Plans
Employee Benefits and Executive Compensation: Getting Ready for 2024 – Top-Hat Plans — Special Edition Podcast
Employee Benefits and Executive Compensation: Getting Ready for 2024 - Health and Welfare Plan Developments — Special Edition Podcast
PODCAST: Williams Mullen's Benefits Companion - Auto-Portability: A New Way to Keep Retirement Savings Growing
PODCAST: Williams Mullen's Benefits Companion - IRS 2024 Health Plan Affordability Threshold May Put Some at Risk
PODCAST: Williams Mullen's Benefits Companion - SECURE 2.0 Act Relief for Plan Corrections
PODCAST: Williams Mullen's Benefits Companion - Partial Plan Terminations
Podcast Episode 189: Adding Context to Compliance and Color To Your Legal Practice
PODCAST: Williams Mullen's Benefits Companion - SECURE 2.0 Act - More Relief for Plan Administrators
The Burr Broadcast April 2023 - The Official End of COVID-19 Emergencies
#WorkforceWednesday: SECURE Act 2.0 - What 401(k) Plan Sponsors Need to Know - Employment Law This Week®
PODCAST: Williams Mullen's Benefits Companion - Plan Administrators’ 2022 Year-End Checklist
The DOL has not appealed the decision in the Florida Federal District Court that vacated its fiduciary “re-interpretation.” That re-interpretation, in effect, said that ongoing investment advice to a rollover IRA could be...more
On June 29, 2020, the U.S. Department of Labor (the Department) formally reinstated its “five-part test” for determining what constitutes “investment advice” under ERISA and Section 4975 of the Internal Revenue Code (the...more
The Fifth Circuit Court of Appeals’ rejection of the DOL’s Fiduciary rule reintroduces the 1975 five-factor fiduciary test and creates uncertainty for plan sponsors, plan fiduciaries and investment advisors. After years of...more
The nationwide vacatur of the Department of Labor “investment advice” fiduciary definition and related exemptions by the US Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit on March 15, 2018, does not bring an end to the challenges...more
On March 15, 2018, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit ruled, in a 2-to-1 decision, that the U.S. Department of Labor (DOL) abused its authority and acted unreasonably in promulgating its 2016 fiduciary rule and...more
In the six months since Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) Chairman Jay Clayton requested public comments on standards of conduct for investment advisers and broker-dealers, industry participants, investors and other...more
The US Department of Labor issued a notice extending the transition period for the Best Interest Contract exemption (the “BIC”), and other exemptions, from the prohibited transaction provisions of the Fiduciary Rule for an...more
This updates our August 15 blog entry, which targeted employers who sponsor retirement or welfare plans and are concerned about their fiduciary liabilities for properly selecting service providers....more
On November 29, the Department of Labor (DOL) announced an extension to July 1, 2019, of the previously established deadline for transition relief from many provisions of the new fiduciary rule applicable to investment...more
On November 29, the US Department of Labor (DOL) finalized its 18-month extension of the transition period under the Best Interest Contract Exemption (the "BIC Exemption"). As described in Katten's earlier advisory,...more
By a notice published in the Federal Register on November 29, 2017, the Department of Labor (DOL) extended from January 1, 2018, until July 1, 2019, the date for compliance with the full conditions in its new “investment...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
The Department of Labor published a Proposed Rule to extend from January 1, 2018 to July 1, 2019, the applicability date of the Best Interest Contract (“BIC”) Exemption, the Class Exemption for Principal Transactions in...more
By a notice published in the Federal Register on August 31, 2017, the Department of Labor proposed to extend from January 1, 2018, until July 1, 2019, the date for compliance with the full conditions in its new “investment...more
On August 9, 2017, the Department of Labor (DOL) and Secretary of Labor, Alexander Acosta, submitted a proposal to the Office of Management and Budget (OMB) to further delay the applicability date of certain parts of the...more
On August 9, the US Department of Labor (DOL) announced in a court filing that it has proposed an 18-month extension of the full implementation of the Best Interest Contract Exemption (the "BIC Exemption") under the ERISA...more
If you’ve had better things to do, you might only be vaguely aware that the new fiduciary rule becomes effective on June 9, 2017. We’ve written about this before (here and here), but a quick refresher might be helpful as the...more
On April 4, 2017, the Department of Labor released its final rule postponing the applicability date of its new “investment advice” fiduciary definition and related exemptions. This extension, which was published in the April...more
When it comes to standards, I know Kosher is Kosher. However, when it comes to meat, observant Jews now only eat Glatt Kosher meat. It’s a higher standard in the sense that it’s supposed to mean that there is a lack of...more
CAMPAIGN PROMISES AND THE FIDUCIARY FIGHT - President Elect Trump’s campaign website states that he intends to issue a moratorium on new regulations that are “not compelled by Congress or public safety.” His stated goal...more
One of the District Courts hearing challenges to the U.S. Department of Labor’s Conflict of Interest regulatory package has upheld the regulation and related prohibited transaction class exemptions, including the Best...more
When I first started in the 401(k) plan business in 1998, it was a boom time for the stock market and mutual funds. That got plan sponsors wanting daily valued participant directed 401(k) plans and that helped put almost an...more
On April 6, 2016, the U.S. Department of Labor (DOL) issued its highly anticipated final rule addressing when a person is considered to be a fiduciary under the Employee Retirement Income Security Act of 1974 (ERISA) and the...more
The US Department of Labor’s new fiduciary rule is aimed at financial advisors, including brokers, who provide retirement plan services. However, the new rule will impact compliance obligations and potentially, costs for plan...more
The Future Is Now For 401(k) Plan Sponsors. The future is here. When I was the head ERISA attorney at a New York based third party administrator (TPA), I left because I saw the future of the retirement plan...more