Congress made several changes to retirement plans as part of the Consolidated Appropriations Act of 2023, which recently passed both the House and Senate. The final bill contains several provisions affecting retirement plans...more
Employers sponsoring 401(k) or other types of defined contribution plans “pre-approved” by the Internal Revenue Service (IRS) should be aware that the restatement deadline is quickly approaching. The IRS requires pre-approved...more
On November 4, 2021, the Internal Revenue Service (IRS) released Notice 2021-61, which sets forth the 2022 cost-of-living adjustments affecting dollar limits on benefits and contributions for qualified retirement plans. The...more
11/8/2021
/ 401k ,
403(b) Plans ,
457(b) Plans ,
COLA ,
Cost-of-Living Adjustment (COLA) ,
Employee Benefits ,
HDHP ,
HDHPs ,
Health Savings Accounts ,
IRS ,
Qualified Retirement Plans ,
Retirement Plan
On February 21, 2019 attorneys for Andrew Wong, a participant in the T-Mobile USA Inc. 401(k) Retirement Savings Plan & Trust, filed a class action complaint in the U.S. District Court of Massachusetts against FMR LLC,...more
3/13/2019
/ 401k ,
Class Action ,
EBSA ,
Employee Benefits ,
Employee Retirement Income Security Act (ERISA) ,
Fiduciary Duty ,
Investment Management ,
Kickbacks ,
Management Fees ,
Mutual Funds ,
Retirement Plan ,
T-Mobile
The Internal Revenue Service (IRS) has released the 2019 cost-of-living adjustments affecting dollar limits on benefits and contributions for qualified retirement plans. ...more
11/9/2018
/ 401k ,
403(b) Plans ,
457(b) Plans ,
Contribution Limits ,
Cost-of-Living Adjustment (COLA) ,
Defined Benefit Plans ,
Employee Benefits ,
ESOP ,
Health Savings Accounts ,
IRS ,
Qualified Benefit Plans ,
Qualified Retirement Plans ,
Retirement Plan ,
Small Employer Plans (SEPs)
IRS Annual Limits on Qualified Plans for 2019 By Jeffrey P. Cairns -
The Internal Revenue Service has released the 2019 cost-of-living adjustments affecting dollar limits on benefits and contributions for qualified...more
11/7/2018
/ 401k ,
403(b) Plans ,
457(b) Plans ,
Compensation & Benefits ,
Contribution Limits ,
Cost-of-Living Adjustment (COLA) ,
Defined Benefit Plans ,
Defined Contribution Plans ,
Employee Benefits ,
ESOP ,
Health Savings Accounts ,
IRS ,
Retirement Plan ,
Social Security
In past articles in this Blog I reported on decisions of the 9th Circuit Court of Appeals and ultimately the U.S. Supreme Court dealing with a class action for breach of fiduciary duty for selecting retail mutual funds in...more
This week, new U.S. Department of Labor Secretary Acosta announced that the final fiduciary regulations would go into effect on June 9, 2017. The Department also issued two pieces of guidance with regard to the regulations...more
5/25/2017
/ 401k ,
Best Interest Contract Exemptions ,
Conflicts of Interest ,
Department of Labor (DOL) ,
Employee Benefits ,
Employee Retirement Income Security Act (ERISA) ,
Fiduciary Duty ,
Fiduciary Rule ,
Field Assistance Bulletins ,
Investment Adviser ,
Retirement Plan
On March 22, 2017, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit ruled against Christine Bodouva that her restoration of funds to her Company’s 401(k) Plan should be offset against the District Court’s order for forfeiture...more
On February 23, 2017, the Internal Revenue Service issued a “Memorandum for Employee Plans (EP) Examinations Employees,” outlining Substantiation Guidelines for safe harbor hardship distributions from 401(k) plans...more
Last June I blogged about the trend of participant fee class actions moving down to smaller 401(k) Plans. Occasionally, class actions are brought based on other breaches of fiduciary duties, particularly those involving...more
10/25/2016
/ 401k ,
Adverse Employment Action ,
Breach of Duty ,
Class Action ,
Employee Benefits ,
Employee Retirement Income Security Act (ERISA) ,
Fiduciary Duty ,
Financial Markets ,
Florida ,
Hiring & Firing ,
Investment Funds ,
Investment Management ,
Retaliation ,
Retirement Plan ,
Stock Drop Litigation ,
Whistleblowers ,
Wrongful Termination
A Minneapolis law firm recently filed a class action complaint against Lamettry’s Collision, Inc. and the Trustees of its 401(k) Plan, CFO Stephen Daniel and President Joan Lamettry for various breaches of fiduciary duty with...more
Since its availability, many 401(k) plan sponsors, particularly smaller employers have adopted a “Safe Harbor” plan design under Code Section 401(k)(12) or (13) and 401(m)(11) or (12). Safe Harbor plan designs include both a...more
The Internal Revenue Service (IRS) has released the 2016 cost of living adjustments affecting dollar limits on benefits and contributions under qualified retirement plans and health savings accounts, which are largely...more
10/26/2015
/ 401k ,
Cost-of-Living Adjustment (COLA) ,
Defined Benefit Plans ,
Employee Benefits ,
Employee Contributions ,
ESOP ,
HDHP ,
Health Savings Accounts ,
IRS ,
Qualified Benefit Plans ,
Qualified Retirement Plans ,
Retirement Plan
In April 2013 I reported on the 9th Circuit Court of Appeals decision in Tibble v. Edison International which involved an alleged breach of fiduciary duty by the Edison 401(k) Savings Plan committee selecting six retail...more
In 2011, a group of current and former employees filed a class action lawsuit in the District Court of Minnesota claiming that Ameriprise Financial, Inc. and members of its 401(k) Plan fiduciary committee had breached their...more
U.S. Department of Labor (DOL) regulations require 401(k) plan fiduciaries to provide plan participants with a detailed disclosure statement about the plan’s designated investment alternatives, prior to initial enrollment and...more
In Final Regulations issued under Internal Revenue Code Section 401(k) in 2004, the IRS outlined procedures for revoking a safe harbor matching contribution formula after the beginning of a safe harbor plan year. Under those...more
Recently the Employee Plans Compliance Unit (EPCU) of the Internal Revenue Service completed an informal compliance check of 401(k) plans conducted via an extensive written questionnaire sent to plan sponsors. ...more
Congressional hearings on the status of the Social Security system and studies on workers’ retirement readiness have sparked interest in lifetime income solutions from defined contribution plans. ...more
On December 13 the IRS issued an Information Release reminding employers and individuals of the availability of the “Saver’s Credit” for 2012. Those individuals who have remaining salary and bonuses for 2012 who have not made...more