Since its adoption the Employee Retirement Income Securities Act of 1974, as amended (“ERISA”), has required employee benefit plan sponsors to make disclosures regarding plan terms and plan expenses. The most well-known of...more
This week we discuss the importance of establishing good claims procedures and the benefits of following those procedures. A plan’s claims procedures should be spelled out clearly in both the plan document and the summary...more
A federal district court denied class certification to health plan participants who claimed the plan promised them lifetime benefits. The court found too many individualized questions about what the plan told each...more
This week in our blog series on best practices in administering benefit claims, we discuss the importance of knowing and, importantly, understanding the laws governing benefit claim administration. Section 503 of ERISA...more
Synopsis: A recent decision of the federal district court for the Southern District of New York warns ERISA fiduciaries that even innocent mistakes that do not misuse plan assets or unjustly enrich the fiduciaries can cause...more
Administrators of plans subject to ERISA (including plans sponsored by for-profit and nonprofit businesses and organizations) must provide participants and beneficiaries with summary plan descriptions (“SPDs”) describing “the...more
There has been a surge of court decisions over the last year addressing fiduciary liability for welfare benefit plans under the Employee Retirement Income Security Act of 1974 (ERISA). These lawsuits should prompt you to...more
As an advisor to many 401(k) plan sponsors, I have been asked occasionally what advice I would give to a person who is relatively new to retirement plan administration....more
This week, we are discussing the five most common compliance mistakes made by 401(k) plan administrators and fiduciaries, the potential liability associated with such mistakes, and steps you can take to avoid making them...more
The landscape surrounding retirement plans maintained by institutions of higher education has been changing in recent years, although certain critical responsibilities that are imposed on plan sponsors have been in place...more
Welcome to the Summer edition of Benefits Litigation Update, brought to you by The ERISA Industry Committee (ERIC) and the law firm Epstein Becker & Green. With a new Administration and executive branch, we are already...more
In October 2012, a defined benefit plan sponsor amended its plan to provide that, effective Dec. 7, 2012, the plan would purchase an annuity to cover the plan’s obligations to make payments to the roughly 41,000 participants...more
In a decision issued a couple of years ago, the United States Supreme Court held that a summary plan description that differed from the plan document could not be enforced as the plan document. The Court said that the summary...more
The Third Circuit recently held that ERISA administrative appeal denial letters must include plan-imposed time limits for commencing a lawsuit challenging the claim denial, and the failure to provide such notice warranted...more
Recently, a federal district court in Georgia, on remand from an appellate court, dismissed a suit brought by participants of the SunTrust Bank 401(k) savings plan alleging fiduciary breaches based on defendants’ decision to...more
The U.S. Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit has held that an ERISA-regulated employee stock-ownership retirement plan’s incorporation by reference of the plan sponsor’s statements to the Securities and Exchange Commission...more
The Employee Retirement Income Security Act of 1974 (ERISA) requires employee benefit plans to provide a summary plan description (SPD) to participants and beneficiaries and also sets forth the minimum required information...more