The SECURE 2.0 Act of 2022 was enacted at the end of last year as part of the Consolidated Appropriations Act of 2023. The act sets forth a number of changes affecting retirement plans that go into effect over several years....more
1/11/2023
/ 401k ,
403(b) Plans ,
Collective Investment Schemes ,
Employee Benefits ,
Employee Retirement Income Security Act (ERISA) ,
Employees ,
Employer Contributions ,
EPCRS ,
Hardship Distributions ,
Internal Revenue Code (IRC) ,
New Legislation ,
Overpayment ,
QLAC ,
Required Minimum Distributions ,
Retirement ,
Retirement Plan ,
SECURE Act ,
Self-Correction Programs
As costly class action retirement plan litigation under the Employee Retirement Income Security Act (ERISA) proliferates, mandatory individual arbitration has become an increasingly appealing alternative for certain benefit...more
On January 24, the U.S. Supreme Court issued a short unanimous opinion in Hughes v. Northwestern University. The importance of the opinion will likely be modest. At a basic level, all the Supreme Court did was reinstate a...more
Group health plans and insurers have been required since 2008 to ensure that any “nonquantitative treatment limitations” (NQTLs) imposed on mental health or substance use disorder (MH/SUD) benefits are comparable and no more...more
5/19/2021
/ Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) ,
Compliance ,
Consolidated Appropriations Act (CAA) ,
Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) ,
Department of Labor (DOL) ,
Employee Benefits ,
Employee Retirement Income Security Act (ERISA) ,
Employer Group Health Plans ,
IRS ,
Mental Health ,
Noncompliance ,
NQTLs ,
State Legislatures ,
State Regulators ,
Substance Abuse
The Department of Labor (DOL) has issued a final rule to revise its existing rule regarding financial factors in selecting plan investments. We discussed the proposed rule in an earlier article, and this article provides a...more
The Department of Labor (DOL) has issued a notice of a proposed class exemption from certain prohibited transaction restrictions under the Employee Retirement Income Security Act (ERISA) and the Internal Revenue Code (IRC)...more
The Department of Labor (DOL) has issued proposed regulations to revise the DOL's existing investment duties regulation regarding environmental, social, and governance (ESG) investments (sometimes referred to as “socially...more
The Department of Labor (DOL), joined and coordinated in part by the Department of Treasury, Internal Revenue Service, and Department of Health and Human Services, has released several documents providing deadline extensions...more
The President recently signed into law the Coronavirus Aid, Relief, and Economic Security Act or “CARES Act.” The CARES Act is primarily a stimulus package that addresses the current coronavirus crisis, and it includes...more
Last year, the President issued an Executive Order directing the Secretary of the Department of Labor (DOL) to issue regulations to expand access to association health plans (AHPs). Earlier this year, the DOL issued final...more
10/16/2018
/ Affordable Care Act ,
Association Health Plans ,
Department of Labor (DOL) ,
Employee Benefits ,
Employee Definition ,
Employee Retirement Income Security Act (ERISA) ,
Employer Group Health Plans ,
Executive Orders ,
Health Insurance ,
Healthcare Reform ,
Insurance Industry ,
Public Health Insurance Marketplace ,
Regulatory Requirements ,
Trump Administration
On June 21, 2018, the Fifth Circuit Court of Appeals issued a mandate vacating the controversial fiduciary rule issued by the U.S. Department of Labor (DOL) in 2016. The mandate follows the court’s opinion issued on March 15,...more
6/27/2018
/ Appeals ,
Best Interest Contract Exemptions ,
Broker-Dealer ,
Department of Labor (DOL) ,
Disclosure Requirements ,
Employee Retirement Income Security Act (ERISA) ,
Fiduciary Rule ,
Financial Services Industry ,
Individual Retirement Account (IRA) ,
Investment Adviser ,
Investment Management ,
Judicial Mandates ,
Retirement Funds ,
Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) ,
Securities Transactions ,
Vacated
The Department of Labor (DOL) has issued final regulations and FAQs on association health plans (AHPs). The regulations broaden the definition of an “employer” under the Employee Retirement Income Security Act (ERISA). The...more
Late last year, another lawsuit was brought on behalf of participants in a 401(k) plan alleging breaches of fiduciary duties resulting from allegedly high plan fees. This type of case is not novel; the law firm that brought...more
Late last year, another lawsuit was brought on behalf of participants in a 401(k) plan alleging breaches of fiduciary duties resulting from allegedly high plan fees. This type of case is not novel; the law firm that brought...more
As a result of the U.S. Supreme Court’s decision in Tibble v. Edison Int'l, it will now be easier for participants in 401(k) and other participant-directed plans to bring lawsuits challenging investment options added to the...more
In Roe v. Empire Blue Cross Blue Shield, a federal district court addressed the issue of whether a self-funded health plan could include language that denied dependent coverage to same-sex spouses without violating Section...more