[WEBINAR] Preparing for Changes in the “Vested Rights Doctrine” - Understanding Plan Design Options
[VIDEO] Legal Update: Is the California Rule in Flux?
[VIDEO] Pension Liability by the Numbers
[VIDEO] Perspectives: The Practical Effects of Today's Pension Programs
The following is a brief description of acts that were passed during the 2024 Session of the Connecticut General Assembly that may be of interest to Connecticut school leaders. ...more
At its March 7, 2024 meeting, the Connecticut General Assembly’s Labor and Public Employees Committee began the process of approving bills. The following is a brief summary of the bills that the Committee has voted favorably...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
Following its initial action, see Latest Developments from the Connecticut General Assembly: The Labor and Public Employees Committee Begins to Speak, the General Assembly’s Labor and Public Employees Committee likely...more
Earlier this month, the Kansas Public Employees Retirement System (KPERS) urged legislators to reject key aspects of “anti-ESG” bills introduced in the Kansas Senate and House of Representatives. Both bills are designed, in...more
At its March 10, 2022 meeting, the General Assembly’s Labor and Public Employees Committee began the process of approving bills. The following is a brief summary of the bills that the Committee voted favorably on and...more
Last month, the Securities and Exchange Commission announced that it was proposing a new rule under the Exchange Act. In an accompanying "fact sheet", the SEC said that it was doing so "to increase transparency and...more
SB 278 Imposes Increased Statutory Liability for CalPERS Reporting Errors - SB 278 was signed into law on Sept. 27, adding Government Code section 20164.5. Section 20164.5 imposes new liability on employers when CalPERS...more
Minnesota employers will be heading back to the drawing board to revise their handbook disclaimers. The Minnesota Supreme Court now requires specific language in policies that set out the terms and conditions for payment of...more
On January 20, 2021, the Puerto Rico Department of the Treasury (Departamento de Hacienda, commonly known as “Hacienda”) issued Administrative Determination No. 21-01 (AD 21-01), which provides that lump-sum distributions...more
On November 24, 2020, the California Supreme Court denied two requests for depublication of the First Appellate District’s decision Marin Assn. of Public Employees v. Marin County Employees’ Retirement Assn. (2016) 2...more
Over the past several months, we have seen a number of public agency clients struggle through the process of evaluating and selecting a retirement plan adviser based only on generic questionnaires, a few phone calls, and an...more
Modifications Are Permissible Under the California Rule - In a unanimous decision, the California Supreme Court held that changes made to the County Employees’ Retirement Law, known as CERL, by pension reform measures...more
In a landmark decision of a unanimous court, on July 30, 2020, the California Supreme Court issued its second case in two years on the scope of the “California Rule,” Alameda County Deputy Sheriff’s Assoc. et al., v. Alameda...more
When it comes to retirement plan servicing arrangements for most public agencies, there are basically two flavors: bundled and unbundled. It is important for public plan sponsors and plan fiduciaries to understand the...more
Based on numerous requests for plan documents from public agency clients, we know that many cannot find complete sets of their historical and current retirement plan documents that are properly authorized, signed and dated....more
In February, I penned this post about some of Nevada's historic rural courthouses. Recently, I visited Goldfield, Nevada. Although Goldfield is the county seat of Esmeralda County, it has no gas station and no supermarket. ...more
The California Public Employees Retirement System (aka CalPERS) is the largest defined-benefit public pension in the United States. It is governed by a Board of Administration that consists of 13 members who are elected,...more
As many California public agencies are forced to furlough employees during the COVID-19 pandemic, questions arise as to how furloughs are treated for retirement plan distribution rules’ purposes....more
On April 15, 2020, the California Supreme Court scheduled oral argument in the much-anticipated California Supreme Court public retirement case, Alameda County Deputy Sheriff's Association, et al. v. Alameda County Employees'...more
As expected, the recently enacted Coronavirus Aid, Relief, and Economic Security Act contains provisions providing affected workers with greater, more tax-favored, access to portions of their retirement savings. Although it...more
Many governmental 457(b) deferred compensation and 401(a) defined contribution plan sponsors do not take full advantage of the contribution limits for these plans. To do this, you need to understand: the limits, who they...more
The world of benefits regulation has seen significant change lately, with the enactment of tax reform in 2017 (see “Focus on ERISA - Tax Reform Includes Benefits and Compensation Provisions”), and the rise and fall of the...more
On December 12, 2019, the California Court of Appeal for the First Appellate District handed down a unanimous decision in Luke v. County of Sonoma, Sonoma County Employees’ Retirement Association, et al., affirming the...more
There are several tools that can be used to correct or fix governmental plan problems. First, some classification. Practically all the retirement plans we discuss are “tax-advantaged” in one form or another. However,...more