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 Department of Labor’s final regulation defining fiduciary status for investment advice to retirement investors will be effective this September 23. Where a fiduciary recommendation results in additional compensation for...more
On April 23, 2024, the US Department of Labor (DOL) released its Final Rule 4.0 regarding ERISA fiduciary investment advice, including amended exemptions for conflicted investment advice. Our initial analysis of the Final...more
For the second time in a decade, the Department of Labor (DOL) attempted to expand the reach (and requirements) of the Employee Retirement Income Security Act of 1974 (ERISA). On April 23, 2024, DOL succeeded and announced...more
Following previous failed attempts to expand the fiduciary liability of financial services providers, the DOL released a new rule that broadens the definition of “fiduciary” under ERISA. The new rule is expected to face...more
On Tuesday, April 23, 2024, the Department of Labor (the “DOL”) issued final regulations regarding investment fiduciary obligations and the definition of an “Investment Advice Fiduciary” (the “Final Regulations”) under the...more
Defense counsel frequently lament the difficulties of defending 401(k) investment and recordkeeping fee litigation when different judges render conflicting rulings on motions to dismiss seemingly indistinguishable...more
Following a bench trial in a Pennsylvania federal district court in Nunez v. B. Braun Medical, Inc., 401(k) plan fiduciaries defeated a lawsuit alleging that the fiduciaries imprudently managed and paid excessive...more
Although retirement plan excessive fee cases remain an ongoing concern for plan sponsors, the recent jury trial victory for Yale in Vellali, et. al. v. Yale University, et. al. provides hope for plans with strong, prudent...more
The debate over investment of retirement plan funds based on environmental, social, and corporate governance (“ESG”) factors continues to make waves. This post provides a high-level overview of the current state of play for...more
On March 16, 2023 the Republican governors of 19 states announced an alliance led by Florida Governor Ron DeSantis, to “push back against President Biden’s environmental, social, corporate governance (ESG) agenda that is...more
Fiduciaries responsible for the investment of almost $30 trillion in U.S. retirement funds are required by federal law (ERISA) to discharge their duties “solely in the interest of participants and beneficiaries” for the...more
With the new Department of Labor (DOL) rules on ESG funds, it should be no shock that mutual fund companies starting mutual fund offerings for 401(k) fund lineups. Putnam has launched the Putnam Sustainable Retirement Funds...more
Collective investment trusts (“CITs”) have become an increasingly popular choice for 401(k) plan investment menus over the past decade, consistent with a trend toward lower-cost investment options that has been driven, in...more
The U.S. Department of Labor (“DOL”) has issued a final rule (the “Final Rule) addressing how ERISA fiduciaries may consider environmental, social and governmental (ESG) factors in making investment decisions for retirement...more
As 2022 comes to an end, we are pleased to present our traditional End of Year Plan Sponsor “To Do” Lists. This year, we present our “To Do” Lists in four separate SW Benefits Updates. Part 1 covered health and welfare plan...more
In last month’s 401(k) Compliance Check, we discussed best practices for drafting a 401(k) plan summary plan description (SPD). This month we provide some best practices for plan administrators’ handling of 401(k) plan...more
The Employee Retirement Income Security Act (“ERISA”) imposes both (i) significant responsibilities on fiduciaries of participant-directed individual account plans, including 401(k) plans, and (ii) personal liability for...more
The September Monthly Minute reports on the IRS’ new amendment extension deadline with respect to coronavirus-related distributions and qualified disaster distributions, a recent $131.8 million settlement stemming from...more
The Department of Labor (“DOL”) recently published its Spring 2022 Regulatory Agenda, and here is a summary of several big ticket items: ESG & ERISA: Plan sponsors and investment professionals have been waiting for final...more
For many retirement plan sponsors, Form 5500 preparation season is underway. Plan sponsors should be aware that things have changed with the Form 5500 audit requirements and procedures. These changes push more...more
On October 14, 2021, the US Department of Labor (DOL) proposed changes to ERISA regulations that would again shift the analysis of consideration of environmental, social, and governance (ESG) factors in retirement plans...more
When a participant experiences a distribution event (e.g., terminating service with the employer), and when the participant does not affirmatively elect to take the distribution, a plan document may require that an account...more
Many plan committees will be holding their Q4 meetings soon, and should begin reviewing compliance with recently issued final rules governing investments in plans covered by the Employee Retirement Income Security Act...more
Participants do not always prefer the investment choices retirement plans offer. Whether participants want additional ways to diversify their portfolios or have other reasons, participants are asking retirement plan sponsors...more
There are several fundamental principles and concepts that governmental plan sponsors and fiduciaries need to bear in mind as they select and monitor their plan providers and the fees that these providers charge....more