PODCAST: Williams Mullen's Benefits Companion - New IRS Guidance on SECURE 2.0 Act Student Loan Employer Contributions
PODCAST: Williams Mullen's Benefits Companion - ERISA Forfeiture Litigation
La Reforma Pensional en Colombia
PODCAST: Williams Mullen's Benefits Companion - Understanding Lifetime Income Products
Multiemployer Pension Plans in Mergers and Acquisitions — Troutman Pepper Podcast
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
#WorkforceWednesday: SECURE 2.0 Act - Navigating New Retirement Plan Provisions in 2024 - Employment Law This Week®
PODCAST: Williams Mullen's Benefits Companion - SECURE 2.0: Leveraging Opportunities Employees Want Most
What Can A Tax Attorney Do For You? A Podcast With Janathan Allen
PODCAST: Williams Mullen's Benefits Companion - Understanding Fees in Retirement Planning
PODCAST: Williams Mullen's Benefits Companion - ESG Investing by Retirement Plans
PODCAST: Williams Mullen's Benefits Companion - New Federal Rule Aims to Hold Investment Advisors to a Higher Standard
Employee Benefits and Executive Compensation: Getting Ready for 2024 - Health and Welfare Plan Developments — Special Edition Podcast
Employee Benefits and Executive Compensation: Getting Ready for 2024 - Qualified Plans — 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 - Partial Plan Terminations
PODCAST: Williams Mullen's Benefits Companion - Virginia Launches New Retirement Savings Program
What makes a good retirement plan financial advisor? Well, it takes attention to detail, an understanding of what the role to entails, and dedication to the client. In addition, what I find is the way a good financial advisor...more
As an ERISA attorney who drafts plan documents at a flat fee, my biggest competitors are not other ERISA attorneys, but third-party administration (TPA) firms. ...more
If I want to get a new doctor or an attorney, I certainly want to know their background. Same with a financial advisor, I don’t want the next Bernie Madoff. When you hire a professional, you want to know their credentials....more
When you start fixing up the house and replacing appliances or items like the front door or the roof you realize that the replacements are more energy efficient. Replacing that old refrigerator or that washing machine can...more
Unfiltered 401(k) Views On What Is Going On Now - For years, dating back to college and law school, I had an unfiltered view of things. I have strong opinions and the opinions are based on my experiences. The problem,...more
When it comes to being a retirement plan provider, you should understand that it’s a relationship-driven business and your employees can be a positive outlet for that. One way for them to be a positive outlet is for you to...more
When you look at the problems of retirement plans, one that gets short shrift is coverage and that is one of the pillars of qualified plans needed to be fulfilled in order to be a qualified plan...more
Organization Ideas For 401(k) Plan Sponsors To Limit Liability Organization tools always pop up for sale after New Year’s because a lot of people want to try to keep their resolutions. My local Costco always trots out the...more
Unless you delegate a fiduciary function to a plan fiduciary such as an ERISA 3(16) and 3(38)fiduciary, it’s your call on things. When a third-party administrator (TPA) decides on their own that you will refund deferrals...more
When it comes to my law practice, I have an open phone call policy. I entertain phone calls from financial advisors and TPAs around the country and try to help them by answering questions regarding their current clients or...more
Recent Changes That Plan Providers May Not Like - On Curb Your Enthusiasm, Ed Asner was a guest star, playing an elderly man who wanted to change his will. Based on a recommendation by Larry David, Ed’s character visited the...more
10 years in, I’m glad I went on my own as an ERISA attorney, so I could provide value to clients, instead of being wedded to a billable hour because of a huge overhead working for a law firm....more
While the Department of Labor (DOL) has been focusing on missing participants, expect them to question plan sponsors about missing participants and the automatic rollover provider that they use...more
401(k) Plan Sponsors Should Focus On What The Government Is Focusing On - In the movie Casino, Robert DeNiro as Sam “Ace” Rothstein wanted to take on the Nevada Gaming Board after they denied his request for his license....more
I served almost 10 years as an ERISA attorney for two third-party administration (TPAs) firms. A good chunk of my time was putting out fires, caused by my untrained plan administrators. So unlike some ERISA attorneys who know...more
The closure of the Studebaker-Packard Corporation car manufacturing plant in 1963 was a major catalyst leading into the enactment of the Employee Retirement Income Savings Act of 1974 (“ERISA.”) ...more
When Your Fired 401(k) TPA Takes Things Personally - Aside from Airplane!, my favorite movie of all time is The Godfather and the underpinning is the complete and utter transformation of Michael Corleone from “college...more
I started my practice almost 12 years ago and I devoted a huge part of it, to helping advisors with their clients. It’s a great way to get referrals, but there are times when the help I provided led me to nowhere...more
When you’re a plan sponsor and you run your own proprietary mutual fund business and have your 401(k) plan invest in said funds, expect to be sued....more
A bad third-party administrator (TPA) can be a weapon of mass destruction. So when plan sponsors focus on price or using their payroll provider in selecting the TPA, they neglect the most important attribute of a good TPA:...more
I referred a client to a third-party administrator (TPA) that would be the best fit for fixing a defined benefit plan that was a hot mess. The fees are a little higher, but the client would make that up with a quality TPA...more
As a financial advisor, you’ve been volunteered as a plan ombudsman and the problem is that you probably don’t have the knowledge of an ERISA expert....more
In any service industry, the quality of service and price can be far and wide. While people say that I focus way too much on the workings of the third-party administration (TPA) business, I have more experience in that field...more
Changing third-party administrators (TPAs) isn’t fun. If you have to for it, do it...more
The Problems With Free and Small Retirement Plans - There is no such thing as a free lunch. There is no such thing as free advice. The more years I spend in the retirement plan business; I know that there is no such thing...more