The FTC and Connecticut Join Forces for Action Against Nissan Dealer
Consumer Finance Monitor Podcast Episode: A Close Look at the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau’s Proposed Rules on Overdraft and Nonsufficient Funds Fees
Consumer Finance Monitor Podcast Episode: The Federal Trade Commission: Looking Back at 2023 and Looking Ahead to 2024 and Beyond
An In-Depth Analysis of the CFPB’s Proposed Overdraft Rule - The Consumer Finance Podcast
The FTC Takes Initiative to Stop Junk Fees
Consumer Finance Monitor Podcast Episode: The Biden Admin “Junk Fees” Initiative Continues: What the Latest Actions Mean for the Consumer Financial Services and Rental Housing Industries, Pt 1
AD Nauseam: Junk Fees Will Keep Us Together
CFPB’s War on Junk Fees - The Consumer Finance Podcast
Recent Tenth Circuit Decision in John Q Hammons Fall Following SCOTUS’ Decision in Siegel v. Fitzgerald Could Result in Significant Refunds for Certain Chapter 11 Debtors
The Constitutionality of Increased Trustee Fees In Bankruptcy
2BInformed: The Future of Fluoride in Drinking Water, the New TSCA Fees Rule, and the Drinking Water Contaminant Candidate List 5
Immigration Insights Podcast: International Entrepreneur Parole Program & Biometrics Requirement
I-22- The Benefits of Benefits: A Roundtable Discussion on Trending Benefits Issues for 2018
Investment Management Update – Fees and Expenses
Bill on Bankruptcy: Rakoff Reverses Himself in Madoff Case
People who didn’t sponsor a plan or weren’t involved in the retirement plan industry before 2012, think some 401(k) industry veterans like myself, are part of some multiverse when we talk about life before fee disclosure. The...more
By July 31, employers that sponsor self-funded medical plans must report and pay their PCORI fee. By July 31, employers that sponsor calendar-year employee benefit plans that are subject to ERISA must file a Form 5500 (unless...more
“Georgia” on your mind? As we look towards the upcoming Masters golf tournament weekend, our minds turn to the condition of the greens (exquisite), the players tee off order (does afternoon help or hinder Tiger on an expected...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
In Krutchen v. Ricoh USA, No. 22-cv-678, 2022 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 206792 (E.D. Pa. Nov. 15, 2022), a Pennsylvania district court dismissed an ERISA excessive fee complaint for failing to provide enough information about alleged...more
Following the U.S. Supreme Court's decision in Hughes v. Northwestern University, courts around the country continue to articulate the pleading requirements for a breach of duty of prudence claim under the Employee Retirement...more
The Seventh Circuit recently provided a ray of sunshine in what has largely been a gloomy stretch for plan sponsors and fiduciaries defending ERISA breach of fiduciary duty claims based on allegedly excessive investment and...more
A “managed account” is a discretionary portfolio management service that makes investment decisions for individual participants within the confines of a 401(k) plan and its fund options. This service is fundamentally...more
On January 24, 2022, the U.S. Supreme Court handed down an important decision affecting plan fiduciaries who select investment options available to participants in a self-directed employee retirement plan (such as a 401(k)...more
On January 24, 2022, in a rare, unanimous 8-0 decision (Justice Barrett recused herself from the case), the Supreme Court of the United States (the “Supreme Court”) vacated a Seventh Circuit affirmation of the dismissal of...more
In Hughes v. Northwestern University, current and former participants in Northwestern University's defined-contribution retirement plans filed litigation on behalf of the plans' participants asserting that the University, its...more
Just this month, the Supreme Court issued its much anticipated decision in Northwestern University, the first time the Court has been called upon to examine a lawsuit alleging that a 401(k) plan’s investment and fees were...more
Since the first round of cases were filed in 2006, plaintiffs’ counsel have raised hundreds of lawsuits challenging the prudence of fees and investments in 401(k) plans. One of the critical issues in those cases is what needs...more
The U.S. Supreme Court recently heard arguments in Hughes v. Northwestern University, in which the Seventh Circuit Court of Appeals had rejected claims that the fiduciaries of two defined contribution retirement plans at...more
The U.S. Supreme Court’s ruling this week in Hughes v. Northwestern University will do nothing to stem the rising tide of retirement plan fee litigation. But the ruling doesn’t mean fiduciary breach claims are more likely to...more
KEY TAKEAWAYS - ..Plan fiduciaries have a duty of prudence to independently evaluate on an ongoing basis investments offered in a plan’s menu of options and remove any imprudent ones. ..Plan participants’ ultimate...more
The past 15 years have witnessed a steady stream of lawsuits alleging that employers’ 401(k) or 403(b) plans forced participants into underperforming or overpriced investment options, or that plan participants’ accounts were...more
In recent years, participants in 401(k) and similar employer-sponsored retirement plans have filed class action suits alleging that the plans contain overly expensive investment options. On Monday, the U.S. Supreme Court...more
The annual filing (and fee payment) for applicable self-insured health plans and specified health insurance policies used to fund the Patient-Centered Outcomes Research Institute (the PCORI fee) is soon coming due—this year,...more
In July 2020, the Government Accountability Office (GAO) prepared a report for the Ranking Member of the Senate Committee on Health, Education, Labor and Pensions about Qualified Domestic Relations Orders (QDROs). QDROs are...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
For my first year of law school, I had a renowned criminal law professor. He had a penchant for ties and an odd love for Melrose Place (I was a Dallas guy myself). For his final law exam, the fact pattern for the final exam...more
I’m a loyal customer and always have been. I’ve always been reluctant to change especially when I’m satisfied with a service. I’m too loyal and sometimes, it costs me money like 401(k) plan sponsors who have misplaced loyalty...more
As A Plan Provider, How You Can Think Outside the Box. You have to be creative. Being a retirement plan provider isn't easy and one of the reasons it isn't easy is because it's so competitive. As I always say, there is...more