PODCAST: Williams Mullen's Benefits Companion - ERISA Forfeiture Litigation
Recently had a client going through an Internal Revenue Service (IRS) audit and while talking to an agent, they didn’t disagree with my theory that the idea of being able to reduce employer contributions through forfeitures...more
Last year, we alerted you to the filing of several class action lawsuits alleging that plan fiduciaries violated their duties of prudence and loyalty under Title I of ERISA by using forfeitures to reduce employer...more
We understand that running an automotive supplier business involves more than just industry-specific issues. That's why we regularly provide important insights and tips on broader legal trends to help you navigate challenges...more
Recent developments spotlight issues with forfeiture and other unallocated accounts in defined contribution retirement plans, such as 401(k) plans: •The IRS has set the deadline for plan forfeiture use. •Participants in...more
Last year, we alerted you to the filing of several class action lawsuits alleging that plan fiduciaries violated their duties of prudence and loyalty under Title I of ERISA by applying forfeitures to reduce employer...more
On this episode of Williams Mullen's Benefits Companion, host Brydon DeWitt discusses pending court cases regarding the proper use of forfeitures that arise under defined contribution plans. He outlines how these new...more
401(k) plan sponsors are seeing a string of lawsuits challenging their use of forfeitures to offset matching contributions. In the most recent suit, plaintiffs claimed that a 401(k) plan sponsor violated its fiduciary duties...more
There has been a rash of lawsuits recently challenging how forfeitures are used in retirement plans. (Forfeitures are the amounts remaining when the unvested portion of a participant’s account is forfeited.) The novel theory...more
Conflicting orders on motions to dismiss from two California courts foreshadow issues for a new theory of ERISA liability. Employers have faced a recent wave of novel ERISA class actions that challenge the reallocation of...more
A recent rash of class action lawsuits in California claim that using forfeitures to reduce future employer contributions to tax-qualified retirement plans runs afoul of the Employee Retirement Income Security Act (ERISA)....more
The Employee Retirement Income Security Act ("ERISA") plaintiffs' bar has found a new way to allege that 401(k) plan sponsors have breached their fiduciary duty....more
In five recently filed class action lawsuits, 401(k) plan participants allege that plan fiduciaries violated ERISA by using plan forfeitures to offset employer contributions instead of paying plan expenses. The use of...more
Again, litigators are trying to create class action lawsuits against large plans. This time, I think they’re scraping the bottom of the barrel....more
When a participant terminates employment without being fully vested in their qualified retirement plan account, the non-vested portion of the account is a “forfeiture.” While forfeitures are a common element of most...more
The constitutionality of California’s felony forfeiture statute, as applied by the Board of Administration of the California Public Employees’ Retirement System (CalPERS), survived yet another challenge in September 2023,...more
Earlier this year, the Department of the Treasury and the Internal Revenue Service (IRS) issued proposed regulations on the use of forfeitures by tax-qualified retirement plans. The changes, published in the Federal Register,...more
On February 27, 2023, the IRS and the Department of Treasury published proposed regulations regarding the use of forfeitures in qualified retirement plans. If finalized, the proposed rule will be effective for plan years...more
The February 24, 2023, issuance by the IRS of proposed regulations on the use of forfeitures in qualified retirement plans provides some welcome clarity, regulatory house cleaning, and relief for plan sponsors. With a...more
The Internal Revenue Service (IRS) recently issued proposed regulations that would require forfeitures in defined contribution plans—i.e., unvested benefits forfeited by terminating defined contribution plan participants—to...more
The U.S. Department of the Treasury has recently proposed new regulations that clarify when and for what purposes defined contribution plans — such as 401(k) plans — may use forfeitures. These regulations are proposed to...more
The U.S. Treasury Department issued proposed regulations regarding the treatment of forfeited amounts in tax-qualified defined benefit and defined contribution retirement plans. The February 27, 2023 proposed regulations, if...more
Historically, the topic of forfeitures has raised many questions for qualified plan administrators- specifically, how and when they can be used. But there has been little formal guidance from the Department of Treasury and...more
On February 24, 2023, the IRS issued proposed regulations simplifying the use of forfeitures in qualified retirement plans, providing that forfeitures in defined contribution plans must be used by the end of the plan year...more
As a result of the current labor shortage that many employers are currently faced with, more and more companies are finding themselves rehiring former employees. If those former employees previously participated in an...more
With COVID and massive layoffs, we certainly have a partial termination problem to consider. If an employer has a turnover rate of 20% or more, that counts as a partial termination, and employers have to fully vest employees...more