On May 28, 2025, the Department of Labor (“DOL”) issued Compliance Assistance Release No. 2025-01 which rescinds the DOL’s prior Compliance Assistance Release No. 2022-1 which had warned 401(k) plan fiduciaries against adding...more
In late October 2024, the United States Court of Appeals for the Eleventh Circuit ruled in Romano v. Hancock Life Insurance Company, F.4th 729 (11th Cir. 2024) that certain foreign tax credits that were generated as a result...more
3/3/2025
/ 401k ,
Employee Benefits ,
Employee Retirement Income Security Act (ERISA) ,
ERISA Litigation ,
Fiduciary Duty ,
Financial Services Industry ,
Foreign Tax Credits ,
Insurance Industry ,
Investment ,
Retirement Plan ,
Tax Credits ,
Tax Planning ,
Trustees
Last week, Judge Reed O’Connor of the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Texas, issued the first-of-its-kind ruling on the merits pertaining to environmental, social, and corporate governance (“ESG”) investing...more
1/20/2025
/ 401k ,
American Airlines ,
Breach of Duty ,
Corporate Governance ,
Department of Labor (DOL) ,
Duty of Loyalty ,
Employee Benefits ,
Employee Retirement Income Security Act (ERISA) ,
Environmental Social & Governance (ESG) ,
Fiduciary Duty ,
Investment Adviser ,
Investment Management ,
Retirement Plan
The new “retirement security rule” package, issued by the U.S. Department of Labor (the “DOL”) on October 31, 2023, is the latest chapter in an almost 15-year effort by the DOL to amend the five-part test in its 1975...more
11/28/2023
/ 401k ,
Department of Labor (DOL) ,
Employee Retirement Income Security Act (ERISA) ,
Fiduciary-Standards ,
Individual Retirement Account (IRA) ,
Investment ,
Investors ,
IRA Rollovers ,
Proposed Amendments ,
Proposed Rules ,
PTEs ,
Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC)
Responding to the “terrifying” reality that conflicted investment advice is costing retirement savers billions of dollars each year, on October 31, 2023, the Department of Labor (“DOL”) issued proposed rules representing its...more
11/1/2023
/ 401k ,
Comment Period ,
Department of Labor (DOL) ,
Employee Retirement Income Security Act (ERISA) ,
Fiduciary ,
Internal Revenue Code (IRC) ,
Investment ,
Investment Adviser ,
Investment Management ,
IRA Rollovers ,
Prohibited Transactions ,
Proposed Regulation ,
PTEs ,
Retirement
On December 21, 2021, the Department of Labor (the “DOL”) published a Supplemental Statement (the “Supplemental Statement”) to its June 3, 2020 Information Letter (the “2020 Letter”) addressing fiduciary considerations for...more
1/14/2022
/ 401k ,
403(b) Plans ,
Compensation & Benefits ,
Defined Contribution Plans ,
Department of Labor (DOL) ,
Employee Benefits ,
Employee Retirement Income Security Act (ERISA) ,
Fiduciary Duty ,
Information Letters ,
Investment ,
Investment Management ,
Private Equity ,
Retirement Plan ,
Risk Alert
On October 30, 2020, the U.S. Department of Labor (the “DOL”) issued a final rule on factors for selecting plan investments, which restricts “do-good” or “ESG” investing. In response to public comments, the final rule rolls...more
Proposed ERISA Restrictions on ESG Investing -
On June 23, 2020, the U.S. Department of Labor (the “DOL”) issued a proposed rule that would limit when and how fiduciaries of plans subject to the U.S. Employee Retirement...more
7/20/2020
/ 401k ,
Defined Contribution Plans ,
Department of Labor (DOL) ,
Employee Retirement Income Security Act (ERISA) ,
Environmental Social & Governance (ESG) ,
Fiduciary Duty ,
Fiduciary Rule ,
Individual Retirement Account (IRA) ,
Investment Management ,
New Guidance ,
Proposed Rules ,
Regulation Best Interest ,
Retirement Plan
On June 23, 2020, the U.S. Department of Labor (the “DOL”) issued a proposed rule (which was published in the Federal Register on June 30, 2020) that would amend its “investment duties” regulation set forth at 29 C.F.R. §...more
On June 3, 2020, the Department of Labor (the "DOL") published an Information Letter confirming that an investment option under a 401(k) plan (or other defined contribution plan) may include a limited allocation to private...more
6/11/2020
/ 401k ,
Benefit Plan Sponsors ,
Department of Labor (DOL) ,
Employee Benefits ,
Employee Retirement Income Security Act (ERISA) ,
Fiduciary Duty ,
Information Letters ,
Private Equity ,
Prohibited Transactions ,
Retirement Plan ,
Safe Harbors
On June 3, 2020, the Department of Labor (the “DOL”) published an Information Letter confirming that investment options under a defined contribution plan (e.g., a 401(k) or 403(b) plan) may include a limited allocation to...more
6/8/2020
/ 401k ,
Defined Contribution Plans ,
Department of Labor (DOL) ,
Employee Benefits ,
Employee Retirement Income Security Act (ERISA) ,
Fiduciary Duty ,
Information Letters ,
Investment ,
Investment Management ,
Private Equity ,
Retirement Plan
Editor's Overview -
Happy New Year. We wrap-up 2019 with an article that reflects on significant developments in ERISA litigation during 2019, and takes a look at what's on the horizon for 2020. The courts (at all levels)...more
1/17/2020
/ 401k ,
Affordable Care Act ,
American Arbitration Association ,
Arbitration ,
Article III ,
Benefit Plan Sponsors ,
Best Practices ,
Breach of Duty ,
Cadillac Tax ,
Department of Labor (DOL) ,
Employee Benefits ,
Employee Retirement Income Security Act (ERISA) ,
Employer Liability Issues ,
Individual Mandate ,
Intel Corp. Investment Policy Committee v. Sulyma ,
IRS ,
Loss Causation ,
Multiemployer Plan ,
Pleading Standards ,
Retirement Plan ,
SCOTUS ,
Standing ,
Thole v U.S. Bank ,
Venue
Editor's Overview -
For over two decades, federal law has required covered health plans and insurers to ensure that certain mental health benefits are in parity with offered medical/surgical benefits. The meaning of...more
1/9/2018
/ 401k ,
Affordable Care Act ,
Attorney's Fees ,
Benefit Plan Sponsors ,
Claim Procedures ,
Compensation & Benefits ,
Cost-Sharing ,
Deferred Compensation ,
Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) ,
Department of Labor (DOL) ,
Disability ,
Disability Benefits ,
Employee Benefits ,
Employee Retirement Income Security Act (ERISA) ,
Enforcement Actions ,
Fiduciary Duty ,
Health Savings Accounts ,
Healthcare Facilities ,
Healthcare Reform ,
Income Taxes ,
Individual Retirement Account (IRA) ,
Mental Health ,
Mental Health Parity Rule ,
MHPAEA ,
Public Health Service Act ,
QMAC ,
QNEC ,
Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) ,
Sexual Harassment ,
Shared Responsibility Rule ,
Statute of Repose ,
Tax Deductions ,
Tax Reform ,
User Fees
There are few sure things in life, and although it is probably safe to say that ERISA disclosure regulations would not be considered one of them, there has certainly been a steady stream of new ERISA-related disclosure and...more