Cryptocurrencies and digital assets—such as bitcoin, ether and non-fungible tokens (NFTs)—have become some of the hottest investment products in recent years. The growing interest has inevitably led to retirement plan...more
4/1/2022
/ 401k ,
Cryptocurrency ,
Department of Labor (DOL) ,
Employee Retirement Income Security Act (ERISA) ,
Fiduciary Duty ,
Individual Retirement Account (IRA) ,
Investment ,
Investment Adviser ,
IRS ,
Non-Fungible Tokens (NFTs) ,
Plan Participants ,
Retirement Plan
Over the past year, the regulatory backdrop around environmental, social and governance (ESG) investing has shifted. As McDermott Partner Brian J. Tiemann explains in these slides, the US Department of Labor (DOL) under the...more
The Internal Revenue Service (IRS) recently announced the cost-of-living adjustments to the applicable dollar limits for retirement plans for 2022. Most of the dollar limits currently in effect for 2021 will increase, with...more
The US Department of Labor (DOL) recently issued guidance concerning a new exemption under the prohibited transaction provisions of the Employee Retirement Income Security Act of 1974 (ERISA) in connection with the provision...more
7/16/2021
/ Banks ,
Broker-Dealer ,
Department of Labor (DOL) ,
Disclosure ,
Employee Retirement Income Security Act (ERISA) ,
Employees ,
Exemptions ,
Fiduciary ,
Fiduciary Duty ,
Individual Retirement Account (IRA) ,
Insurance Industry ,
Internal Revenue Code (IRC) ,
Investment ,
Investment Adviser ,
New Guidance ,
Personal Representatives ,
Prohibited Transactions ,
Retirement Plan
The Consolidated Appropriations Act, 2021, which became law on December 27, 2020, makes significant changes to the employee retention tax credits available under the Coronavirus Aid, Relief and Economic Security Act (the...more
1/13/2021
/ Borrowers ,
CARES Act ,
Consolidated Appropriations Act (CAA) ,
Coronavirus/COVID-19 ,
Employee Retention ,
Employees ,
Employer Liability Issues ,
Financial Stimulus ,
Paycheck Protection Program (PPP) ,
Relief Measures ,
Tax Credits ,
Trump Administration ,
Wages
On October 30, 2020, the US Department of Labor (the DOL) issued a final rule to codify standards for how plan fiduciaries must consider financial factors when selecting and monitoring plan investments (the “Financial Factors...more
The Department of Labor (DOL) issued a proposed rule with 30-day comment period to address the application of fiduciaries’ duties with respect to proxy voting and exercises of other shareholder rights. The proposal requires...more
The Internal Revenue Service (IRS) recently announced the cost-of-living adjustments to the applicable dollar limits for various employer-sponsored retirement and welfare plans for 2021. Nearly all of the dollar limits...more
The US Department of Labor (DOL) issued an information letter in June 2020 indicating that, in limited circumstances, it will allow defined contribution retirement plans (such as 401(k) plans) to indirectly invest in private...more
9/14/2020
/ 401k ,
Benefit Plan Sponsors ,
Department of Labor (DOL) ,
Disclosure Requirements ,
Employee Benefits ,
Employee Retirement Income Security Act (ERISA) ,
Employees ,
Fiduciary Duty ,
Information Letters ,
Investment Adviser ,
Investment Management ,
New Guidance ,
Private Equity ,
Private Equity Funds ,
Retirement Plan ,
Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC)
A bill titled Jumpstarting Our Businesses’ Success Credit Act of 2020, which would make significant changes to the employee retention tax credits available under the CARES Act, is currently under consideration in the US House...more
In its ongoing effort to help individuals affected by the Coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic, Congress passed the Coronavirus Aid, Relief, and Economic Security Act (CARES Act) on March 27, 2020. The president signed the CARES...more
4/1/2020
/ Business Closures ,
Business Interruption ,
CARES Act ,
Coronavirus/COVID-19 ,
Federal Loans ,
Financial Stimulus ,
Lenders ,
Paycheck Protection Program (PPP) ,
Payroll Taxes ,
Relief Measures ,
SBA ,
SBA Lending Programs ,
Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) ,
Small Business ,
Tax Relief ,
Unemployment Insurance
Coronavirus (COVID-19) raises serious concerns for employers of all shapes and sizes, across all industries and in every business sector. As the impact of COVID-19 continues to grow, many employers are faced with new...more
The IRS recently announced the cost-of-living adjustments to the applicable dollar limits for various employer-sponsored retirement and welfare plans for 2020. Nearly all of the dollar limits currently in effect for 2019 will...more
11/7/2019
/ 401k ,
403(b) Plans ,
457(b) Plans ,
Compensation & Benefits ,
Contribution Limits ,
Cost-of-Living Adjustment (COLA) ,
Defined Benefit Plans ,
Employee Benefits ,
Health Savings Accounts ,
IRS ,
Popular ,
Retirement Plan ,
Summary Plan Description
Beginning September 1, 2019, the IRS is expanding its retirement plan determination letter program to apply to certain individually designed statutory hybrid and merged plans. Employers sponsoring hybrid plans not previously...more
The US Supreme Court recently agreed to review the Eighth Circuit’s decision in Thole v. US Bank, in which the Eighth Circuit held that participants in an overfunded defined benefit pension plan lack standing to sue for...more
7/23/2019
/ Benefit Plan Sponsors ,
Breach of Duty ,
Certiorari ,
Defined Benefit Plans ,
Employee Benefits ,
Employee Retirement Income Security Act (ERISA) ,
Fiduciary Duty ,
Investment Funds ,
Pensions ,
Retirement Plan ,
SCOTUS ,
Standing
This month, Allison Wilkerson, Brian Tiemann and Sarah Engle join host Judith Wethall to talk through the value of conducting a proactive self-audit of 401(k) plans. They will provide best practices designed to reduce the...more
The IRS recently announced the cost-of-living adjustments to the applicable dollar limits for various employer-sponsored retirement and welfare plans for 2019. Although some of the dollar limits currently in effect for 2018...more
Socially responsible investing often sounds like an intriguing idea, but investing plan assets in a socially responsible manner is a notoriously tricky proposition. Earlier this year, the US Department of Labor issued...more
In a recent 2-1 decision, the Fifth Court vacated the US Department of Labor’s controversial expansion of the ERISA fiduciary regulations (the New Fiduciary Rule). If the DOL does not seek a rehearing, the Fifth Circuit will...more
The PBGC’s missing participants program, which previously applied only to single-employer defined benefit pension plans, has been expanded to defined contribution plans, multiemployer defined benefit plans and small...more
On Monday, November 27, 2017, the Social Security Administration announced that the it is lowering the maximum amount of earnings subject to the Social Security tax for 2018 to $128,400. The Social Security Administration...more
The Internal Revenue Service (IRS) recently announced the cost-of-living adjustments to the applicable dollar limits for various employer-sponsored retirement and welfare plans for 2018. Although some of the dollar limits...more
The future of the fiduciary rule—originally set to be implemented this upcoming April—remains uncertain after the White House directed the United States Department of Labor (DOL) to reevaluate, defer implementation and...more
3/3/2017
/ 401k ,
Best Interest Contract Exemptions ,
Department of Labor (DOL) ,
Employee Retirement Income Security Act (ERISA) ,
Federal Register ,
Fiduciary Rule ,
Individual Retirement Account (IRA) ,
Internal Revenue Code (IRC) ,
Investment Adviser ,
OMB ,
Retirement Plan ,
Trump Administration
The future of the fiduciary rule—originally set to be implemented this upcoming April—remains uncertain after the White House directed the United States Department of Labor (DOL) to reevaluate, defer implementation and...more
As employers have moved away from traditional defined benefit plans toward defined contribution plans as the primary retirement savings vehicle for their employees, much has been written about the risks of shifting the...more