Two recent Texas court decisions stayed the fast-approaching September 23, 2024, effective date of the DOL’s new fiduciary rule (including both the new regulation re-defining “fiduciary” investment advice and the related...more
On April 3, 2024, the U.S. Department of Labor (DOL) published an updated final version of prohibited transaction class exemption 84-14, also known as the qualified professional asset manager exemption (PTCE 84-14 or the QPAM...more
The IRS recently issued Notice 2023-43 (Notice) to provide interim guidance on Section 305 of SECURE 2.0 Act of 2022 (SECURE 2.0), which significantly expanded self-correction under the Employee Plans Compliance Resolution...more
SECURE 2.0, which was included as part of the Consolidated Appropriations Act of 2023, was signed into law in late December 2022. The statute contains 92 substantive sections making reforms to a broad array of...more
On October 13, 2021, the Department of Labor (DOL) released a new proposed regulation under ERISA that would replace the previous administration’s “pecuniary factors” rule – which is widely viewed as discouraging the use of...more
With SECURE Act 1.0 (officially titled “Setting Every Community Up for Retirement Enhancement Act”) still being implemented by many plan sponsors, Congress is now considering a new package of laws designed to help close the...more
5/21/2021
/ 401k ,
Benefit Plan Sponsors ,
Contribution Limits ,
Defined Contribution Plans ,
Employee Benefits ,
Individual Retirement Account (IRA) ,
New Legislation ,
Required Minimum Distributions ,
Retirement ,
Retirement Plan ,
Retirement Plan Providers ,
SECURE Act
The Department of Labor (DOL) confirmed on February 12 that the Trump-era Prohibited Transaction Exemption 2020-02 (PTE) would go into effect as scheduled on February 16, 2021. The PTE will likely affect the business of...more
3/23/2021
/ Broker-Dealer ,
Compliance ,
Department of Labor (DOL) ,
Exemptions ,
Fiduciary Duty ,
Investment Adviser ,
IRA Rollovers ,
New Guidance ,
Policies and Procedures ,
Prohibited Transactions ,
PTEs ,
Regulation Best Interest ,
Retirement Plan ,
Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC)
On March 10, 2021, the Department of Labor’s Employee Benefits Security Administration (EBSA), the agency charged with interpreting and enforcing ERISA, announced that it will not enforce the Trump-era “Financial Factors in...more
On June 26, 2020, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit issued its ruling on the challenge to the legality of the Regulation Best Interest final rule (Reg BI), promulgated by the U.S. Securities and Exchange...more
The Setting Every Community Up for Retirement Enhancement (SECURE) Act of 2019 created a new type of plan that may begin operating in 2021 called a pooled employer plan (PEP). A PEP is a plan in which multiple unrelated...more
On March 27, Congress enacted the Coronavirus Aid, Relief and Economic Security (CARES) Act, a massive stimulus package in response to the global coronavirus pandemic. Section 2202 of the CARES Act provides certain...more
The SEC has issued guidance addressing the Form CRS. The first is a Risk Alert from the Office of Compliance Inspections and Examinations (OCIE) indicating that OCIE will be looking for good faith compliance when it conducts...more
On April 7, 2020, the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) Office of Compliance Inspections and Examinations (OCIE) issued a Risk Alert providing guidance for the SEC’s post–June 30, 2020, examinations of firms’...more
On April 7, 2020, the Securities and Exchange Commission’s (SEC) Office of Compliance Inspections and Examinations (OCIE) issued a Risk Alert providing guidance for the SEC’s post June 30, 2020 examinations of firms’...more
The Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) Office of Compliance Inspections and Examinations (OCIE) will be looking for good faith compliance when it conducts examinations of Form CRS after the June 30, 2020 compliance...more
After a delay of several months, Congress passed the Setting Every Community Up for Retirement Enhancement (SECURE) Act, clearing the way for one of the most substantial pieces of retirement plan legislation in years to...more
12/20/2019
/ 401k ,
Benefit Plan Sponsors ,
Employee Benefits ,
Multiple Employer Plan (MEP) ,
New Legislation ,
Part-Time Employees ,
Penalties ,
Required Minimum Distributions ,
Retirement Plan ,
Safe Harbors ,
SECURE Act ,
Tax Credits
The DOL’s newly released final regulation on “Association Retirement Plans” (ARPs) will make it easier for groups and associations of employers to jointly sponsor a combined 401(k) or other defined contribution plan. (These...more