PODCAST: Williams Mullen's Benefits Companion - Trends in Recordkeeper Consolidation and Due Diligence
PODCAST: Williams Mullen's Benefits Companion - Exploring the Value of Qualified Default Investment Alternatives
The Form 5500: What All Employers and Plan Administrators Need to Know and How to Avoid Costly Fines
PODCAST: Williams Mullen's Benefits Companion - Cautionary Tales for Preapproved Plan Documents
DOL Clarifies Timing of Lifetime Income Disclosures in Benefit Statements
PODCAST: Williams Mullen's Benefits Companion - Payroll Integration for Plan Sponsors
PODCAST: Williams Mullen's Benefits Companion - Plan Administrators’ 2020 Year-End Checklist
Cutting Costs With Employee Benefit Plans (Part 5 of 5) – Implementation
Cutting Costs With Employee Benefit Plans (Part 4 of 5) – Retirement Plan Costs
Cutting Costs With Employee Benefit Plans (Part 3 of 5) – Medical Benefit Costs
Cutting Costs With Employee Benefit Plans (Part 2 of 5) – Identifying Potential Targets
Cutting Costs With Employee Benefit Plans (Part 1 of 5) – Using Benefit Plans to Save Money
CARES Act – Retirement Plan Distributions and Loans: Troutman Sanders and Pepper Hamilton COVID-19 Issues for Employers Podcast Series
Blakes Continuity Podcast: COVID-19: The Regulatory Impact on Pensions
PODCAST: Williams Mullen's Benefits Companion - Plan Administrators’ 2019 Year-End Checklist
Join us as we commemorate ERISA’s 50th anniversary and review the past, present and future of this pivotal legislation. This hybrid event offers two options for attendance: in-person or webinar. Both options will have an...more
The Employee Retirement Income Security Act of 1974 (“ERISA”), as amended, regulates virtually every private employee benefit program in the United States. Among other things, ERISA contains its own civil enforcement section,...more
It’s hard to believe that 2024 is well underway! That means it’s a perfect time to think about an issue that might get lost in the summertime and (dare I already say) year-end shuffles: fiduciary committees. ERISA imposes...more
This week, the Ninth Circuit considers ERISA claims alleging that a plan administrator unlawfully utilized internal guidelines more stringent than the terms of plaintiffs’ plans and the statute of limitations for an action by...more
The Employee Retirement Income Security Act of 1974 (ERISA) is a body of federal laws and regulations that govern the provision and operation of certain employer-sponsored benefit plans. While its structure and requirements...more
The Department of Labor (DOL) recently issued new guidance on best practices for maintaining cybersecurity in connection with ERISA plans (the Guidance). The Guidance, which is intended for sponsors, fiduciaries, record...more
The fiduciary standards of ERISA apply to all employee benefit plans that are subject to Title I of ERISA. The duty of loyalty, the duty of prudence, and the duty to administer a plan in accordance with its written terms...more
In response to the deluge of ERISA class action breach of fiduciary duty claims, plan sponsors and fiduciaries have increasingly sought to compel individual arbitration of such claims pursuant to arbitration clauses in...more
The Department of Labor (“DOL”) has undertaken a nationwide compliance initiative to ensure that retirement plan participants receive the benefits that they were promised when they reach their retirement age. To that end, the...more
When I worked at that semi-prestigious law firm on Long Island, I used to joke that if the Managing Attorney at the time (sorry Lois) wanted to kill an issue, she’d create a committee for it since a law firm committee would...more
On November 9, 2020, the Supreme Court declined to consider an appeal from the Second Circuit Court of Appeals in Retirement Plans Committee of IBM v. Jander, leaving unresolved for now questions about the specificity...more
On this week’s episode, Carla DewBerry and Sarah Carlins discuss a recent California Federal District Court decision in David Wit v. United Behavioral Health, in which the court found that the defendant insurer violated ERISA...more
In Sullivan-Mestecky v. Verizon Communs. Inc., 961 F.3d 91 (2d Cir. 2020), the Second Circuit held that a claim under Section 502(a)(3) of ERISA could proceed, where the beneficiary pled that the plan and its agents...more
The United States Department of Labor (DOL) finalized a new safe harbor rule for the use of electronic media to furnish information to participants and beneficiaries of employee retirement plans subject to the Employee...more
A recent spate of lawsuits against large employers’ 401(k) retirement plans (a Plan) has refocused attention on the need for plan administrators to ensure that they are honoring their fiduciary duties and prudently managing...more
Not surprisingly, many cities and special districts no longer have monies available in their budgets to spend on things such as legal fees to analyze and correct plan administration problems and compliance issues. When it is...more
I knew Jeff Richie from Vantage Benefits, spoke to him a couple of times ago, and wrote an article for his company regarding fiduciary services. Like with Matt Hutcheson, Jeff Richie was embezzling the money clients entrusted...more
Years ago, a lot of financial advisors weren’t aware of their role as a retirement plan advisor when it came to handling their plan sponsor clients. Most advisors were mailing it in, pocketing the quarterly fee without...more
North Carolina District Court Permits Plan’s Lawsuit Against Third Party Administrator to Continue A federal district court in North Carolina has ruled that a plan subject to the Employee Retirement Income Security Act of...more
The U.S. Supreme Court, in a unanimous decision, has ruled that a plaintiff in a lawsuit alleging a fiduciary breach under the Employee Retirement Income Security Act of 1974 (“ERISA”) did not have “actual knowledge” of the...more
As federal and state governments respond to COVID-19, employers and plan fiduciaries must also address the evolving issues arising under employer-sponsored health plans. The specific considerations covered in this update are...more
For the past 7 years, fee disclosure has certainly helped you as a plan sponsor to finally understand the true cost of plan administration. That’s important because you have a fiduciary duty to only pay reasonable plan...more
Seyfarth Synopsis: Administrators of ERISA plans frequently receive requests from participants, beneficiaries, and their representatives for plan-related documents. A recent decision from the Court of Appeals for the Fifth...more
On November 6, 2019, the Supreme Court will hear oral argument for Retirement Plans Committee of IBM v. Jander to expand on its “more harm than good” pleading standard articulated in Fifth Third Bancorp v. Dudenhoeffer. Both...more
A federal district court in Ohio recently attempted to shed some light on when internal communications between an ERISA plan administrator and its in-house counsel are discoverable and when they are protected by the...more