From the 2010 outset of its project to extend ERISA fiduciary status broadly to financial intermediaries, including insurance agents, the US Department of Labor (DOL) has consistently relied on the evolution of the private...more
On April 23, 2024, the US Department of Labor (DOL) released its Final Rule 4.0 regarding ERISA fiduciary investment advice, including amended exemptions for conflicted investment advice.
Our initial analysis of the Final...more
5/10/2024
/ Benefit Plan Sponsors ,
Department of Labor (DOL) ,
Employee Retirement Income Security Act (ERISA) ,
Fiduciary Rule ,
Final Rules ,
Insurance Industry ,
Investment ,
Investment Adviser ,
Prohibited Transactions ,
PTEs ,
Retirement Plan
The IRS released long-awaited guidance under the SECURE 2.0 Act on December 20, 2023. Notice 2024-2 (Notice) provides clarification of various provisions, including several optional features that plan sponsors have been...more
1/22/2024
/ 401k ,
403(b) Plans ,
Benefit Plan Sponsors ,
Distribution Rules ,
Employee Benefits ,
EPCRS ,
Incentive Compensation ,
Individual Retirement Account (IRA) ,
New Guidance ,
Pension Plan Amendments ,
Retirement Plan ,
Roth IRA ,
SECURE Act
With 2023 drawing to a close, it is a good time for employers to consider any actions needed before year-end with respect to their benefit plans. We made a list, and we encourage plan sponsors to check it twice....more
The Department of Labor (DOL) recently advised that a program under which Citigroup Inc. (Citi) subsidizes investment management fees for its employee benefit plans’ diverse investment managers could be implemented without...more
The IRS has announced a two-year “administrative transition period” for plan sponsors to implement the SECURE 2.0 Act provision requiring higher-income employees to make retirement plan catch-up contributions as Roth...more
8/29/2023
/ 401k ,
403(b) Plans ,
Benefit Plan Sponsors ,
Comment Period ,
Employee Benefits ,
Employee Contributions ,
Individual Retirement Account (IRA) ,
IRS ,
Relief Measures ,
Retirement Plan ,
Roth IRA ,
SECURE Act
The end of an era looms for employee benefits plans, as the Biden administration has announced the end of both the Public Health Emergency and the National Emergency periods on May 11, 2023. The two emergency periods were...more
On February 24, 2023, the IRS issued proposed regulations simplifying the use of forfeitures in qualified retirement plans, providing that forfeitures in defined contribution plans must be used by the end of the plan year...more
President Biden signed the Consolidated Appropriations Act, 2023, on December 29, 2022, which includes the package of retirement plan legislation known as “SECURE 2.0.” SECURE 2.0 contains numerous significant changes for...more
The IRS has extended the deadline for plan sponsors of qualified retirement plans and IRAs to make amendments under the Coronavirus Aid, Relief, and Economic Security Act (CARES Act) and the Taxpayer Certainty and...more
9/27/2022
/ 403(b) Plans ,
457(b) Plans ,
Benefit Plan Sponsors ,
CARES Act ,
Individual Retirement Account (IRA) ,
IRS ,
New Guidance ,
Plan Documents ,
Qualified Retirement Plans ,
Relief Measures ,
Required Minimum Distributions ,
Retirement Plan ,
SECURE Act ,
Time Extensions
The U.S. Department of Labor (DOL) issued Compliance Assistance Release No. 2022-01 on March 10, 2022, cautioning 401(k) plan fiduciaries to “exercise extreme care” before they allow participant investments in cryptocurrency...more
Health plans and insurers must generally cover over-the-counter COVID-19 tests under Frequency Asked Questions (FAQs) issued on January 10 by the Departments of Labor, Treasury and Health and Human Services (tri-agencies)....more
1/12/2022
/ Benefit Plan Sponsors ,
Biden Administration ,
Coronavirus/COVID-19 ,
Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) ,
Department of Labor (DOL) ,
Employer Group Health Plans ,
Health Insurance ,
New Guidance ,
U.S. Treasury ,
Virus Testing ,
Workplace Safety
Since 1996, the US Department of Labor granted more than 1,200 individual exemptions from the ERISA prohibited transaction rules.
One of the distinctive features of ERISA is its prohibition, in ERISA section 406 as a...more
1/5/2022
/ 401k ,
403(b) Plans ,
Benefit Plan Sponsors ,
Department of Labor (DOL) ,
Employee Retirement Income Security Act (ERISA) ,
Exemptions ,
Fiduciary Duty ,
Individual Retirement Account (IRA) ,
Internal Revenue Code (IRC) ,
Prohibited Transactions ,
Reinsurance ,
Related Parties
On October 14, 2021, the US Department of Labor (DOL) proposed changes to ERISA regulations that would again shift the analysis of consideration of environmental, social, and governance (ESG) factors in retirement plans...more
Just in time for the Olympics, the Internal Revenue Service (IRS) is attempting to take a medal in the category of “long-form voluntary compliance programs”. The IRS issued Revenue Procedure 2021-30 (Rev. Proc. 2021-30),...more
In a troubling development, the US Department of Labor (DOL) has announced its expectation that it will proceed to propose yet another iteration of investment advice guidance under the Employee Retirement Income Security Act...more
A district court decision in March has added to the sparse authority regarding the status of participant data under ERISA, particularly whether recordkeepers or other providers can use that data to offer additional products...more
On March 11, 2021, President Biden signed the American Rescue Plan Act (the Act), which includes some notable changes and relief for employers and workers. This legal alert summarizes the key issues relating to the Act’s...more
On March 11, 2021, President Biden signed the American Rescue Plan Act (the Act), which includes some notable changes and relief for employers and employee benefit plans. The Act expands the section 162(m) deduction...more
3/15/2021
/ American Rescue Plan Act of 2021 ,
Benefit Plan Sponsors ,
Biden Administration ,
COBRA ,
Coronavirus/COVID-19 ,
Employee Benefits ,
Family and Medical Leave Act (FMLA) ,
Health Insurance ,
Pensions ,
Relief Measures ,
Section 162(m) ,
Tax Credits ,
Tax Deductions
On June 19, 2020, the Internal Revenue Service provided additional guidance for plan sponsors implementing the Coronavirus Aid, Relief, and Economic Security Act (CARES Act) retirement plan relief. Notice 2020-50 expands the...more
The CARES Act provides for special federal tax treatment for “coronavirus-related distributions” from most types of tax-qualified retirement plans and IRAs. The distribution must be made between January 1, 2020 and December...more
As employers prepare their workforces for issues related to COVID-19, they should also take steps to ensure that their benefit plans are prepared. The impact of the virus will put a financial and logistical strain on many...more
3/12/2020
/ 401k ,
Benefit Plan Sponsors ,
Coronavirus/COVID-19 ,
Disability Benefits ,
Employee Benefits ,
Employer Group Health Plans ,
Flexible Savings Accounts (FSAs) ,
Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act (HIPAA) ,
HSA ,
PHI ,
Summary of Benefits and Coverage
On December 20, 2019, President Trump signed into law the Further Consolidated Appropriations Act, 2020 (the “Appropriations Act”), a comprehensive government funding bill that includes substantial employee benefits-related...more
1/3/2020
/ 401k ,
403(b) Plans ,
Appropriations Bill ,
Beneficiaries ,
Benefit Plan Sponsors ,
Defined Contribution Plans ,
Department of Labor (DOL) ,
Employee Benefits ,
Employee Retirement Income Security Act (ERISA) ,
Individual Retirement Account (IRA) ,
Multiemployer Plan ,
Required Minimum Distributions ,
Retirement ,
Retirement Plan ,
Safe Harbors ,
SECURE Act ,
TPAs ,
U.S. Treasury
On October 23, 2019, the United States Department of Labor (DOL) published proposed regulations that would add a new safe harbor for the use of electronic disclosures by retirement plans subject to the Employee Retirement...more
On June 4, 2019, the US Supreme Court granted the petition for writ of certiorari of the defendant fiduciaries in Retirement Plans Committee of IBM, et al. v. Larry W. Jander, No. 18-1165. The justices will review the Second...more
6/13/2019
/ 401k ,
Benefit Plan Sponsors ,
Breach of Duty ,
Disclosure Requirements ,
Employee Retirement Income Security Act (ERISA) ,
Failure To Disclose ,
FIfth Third Bancorp v Dudenhoeffer ,
Petition for Writ of Certiorari ,
Pleading Standards ,
Retirement Plan ,
Stock Drop Litigation