The No Surprises Act: A Cost Saving Opportunity for Employer Plan Sponsors
As reported in our January 7, 2022 SW Benefits Blog “The DOL Asks and Answers Questions About the New Welfare Plan Fee Disclosure Rules,” group health plans must now comply with the ERISA Section 408(b)(2) disclosure...more
The one drawback in the fee disclosure regulations was that the Department of Labor (DOL) never bothered to develop a model fee disclosure form for plan providers, I understand the hesitancy of the DOL because it’s hard to...more
As an ERISA attorney, my retainer agreements are pretty straight and clear. Governed by the laws that govern attorney behavior, I have no choice. Yet, Third Party Administrators (TPAs) don’t have guidelines to live by. ...more
A long time in a galaxy, far far away (the time before fee disclosure regulations), I talked to the top salesman of a certain third-party administration (TPA) firm that charged an asset-based fee. The TPA wasn’t a producing...more
For my first year of law school, I had a renowned criminal law professor. He had a penchant for ties and an odd love for Melrose Place (I was a Dallas guy myself). For his final law exam, the fact pattern for the final exam...more
Fidelity is being sued and being investigated for shelf space payments they receive from mutual fund companies for room on their fund platform. They’re not the only provider to receive these fees and I find it totally...more
A few weeks back, I published a blog post on some third-party administrators (TPAs) are not really in the administration business but are in the business of selling insurance and assets. So I used some examples from my past...more
I remember as a kid that there was move to use margarine because of the cholesterol that was in butter. Who can forget those talking Parkay carton commercials? Of course, we later learn that many margarines had high amounts...more
Thanks to fee disclosure regulation and litigation against plan sponsors, plan sponsors are focusing on the costs of administering their plan. That’s great, but there’s a problem because of the focus. A study recently shows...more
I worked for a third party administrator (TPA) for almost 5 years and one of my favorite things about the boss there was that he just wanted to cut to the chase. We had an actuary who developed a speech im- pediment when he...more
Everyone has been focused on fees since the implementation of fee disclosure in 2012. It didn’t end retirement plans for everyone, but it put pressure on fees. While the focus on fees have affected those providers that...more
In This Issue: - Pearls of "Wisdom" for 401(k) Plan Providers. - Bells and whistles not being used is worse than having no bells and whistles. - The Fallout from Fee Disclosure continues. - As a 401(k)...more
When I was fresh out of school and started my first job working for a third party administration (TPA), the paralegal that I was working with told me her experience with the retirement plan business that was pre-ERISA. Marge...more
One of my favorite movies of all time is The Deer Hunter. It’s a story about the Vietnam War and the post-traumatic stress disorder a group of friends from Western Pennsylvania who were drafted together and fought alongside...more
What was good yesterday might not be a good today. Asbestos was a great fireproof building material until it was found to cause asbestosis and malignant mesothelioma Thalidomide was a great drug for morning sickness until it...more
When my wife and I bought our house, there were quite a few things that the previous owner forgot to tell us such as the fact they never bothered to pull the pipes from the dental office run by a previous owner 20 years...more