On April 13, 2021, the Department of Labor (“DOL”) issued a set of Frequently Asked Questions (“FAQs”) on the DOL’s new class exemption for the provision of investment advice, known as Prohibited Transaction Exemption (“PTE”)...more
On January 12, 2021, the Department of Labor (“DOL”) issued sub-regulatory guidance detailing what steps plan sponsors should take to locate and distribute retirement benefits to missing or nonresponsive participants (missing...more
On January 27, 2021, the United Kingdom’s Department for Work and Pensions (“DWP”) issued the draft regulation, The Occupational Pension Schemes (Climate Change Governance and Reporting) Regulations 2021 (the “Regulation”). ...more
Notwithstanding the pandemic, or perhaps accelerated by the financial and social implications of it, some countries are continuing apace with making significant changes to their pension systems. One that is accelerating is...more
On December 21, the House and Senate passed a $2.3 trillion omnibus appropriations and COVID-19 relief package, H.R. 133, the Consolidated Appropriations Act, 2021 (the “Act”). President Trump signed the Act into law on...more
The Coronavirus Aid, Relief, and Economic Security Act (“CARES Act”) provided employers valuable relief from the economic stress caused by the COVID-19 pandemic, by creating access to loans under the Paycheck Protection...more
On November 10, 2020, the European Data Protection Board (“EDPB”) released proposed rules describing the conditions that entities subject to the European Union’s (“EU”) General Data Protection Regulation (“GDPR”) can transfer...more
On November 14, 2020, the Department of Labor (“DOL”) published the final rule “Registration Requirements for Pooled Plan Providers” (the “Final Rule”). The Final Rule describes the registration requirements for those seeking...more
On October 30, 2020, the Department of Labor (“DOL”) issued its much-anticipated final rule on Financial Factors in Selecting Plan Investments (the “Final Rule”). The Final Rule amends the DOL’s long-standing “investment...more
For some time, the UK has been working to implement the concept of “superfunds” to consolidate defined benefit (“DB”) plans. We wrote about this early on here. In essence, a superfund would be akin to a collective defined...more
On October 2, 2020, the Northern District of Illinois ruled on motions to dismiss in a closely-watched cybertheft lawsuit arising out of the theft of $245,000 from a participant’s account in the Abbott Laboratories Stock...more
10/16/2020
/ Abbott Laboratories ,
Benefit Plan Sponsors ,
Breach of Duty ,
Cybersecurity ,
Cybertheft ,
Duty of Loyalty ,
Duty of Prudence ,
Duty to Monitor ,
Employee Retirement Income Security Act (ERISA) ,
Fiduciary Duty ,
Popular ,
Retirement Plan
On June 23, 2020, the Department of Labor (“DOL”) issued a proposed regulation (the “Proposed Rule”) defining plan fiduciaries’ duties under the Employee Retirement Income Security Act of 1974 (“ERISA”) when considering...more
The US is not the only country that has been making legislative and regulatory changes in the pension and benefits area in response to COVID-19. ...more
In Thole v. U.S. Bank, the Supreme Court held that defined benefit plan participants who are receiving their full pension benefit lack constitutional standing to bring a lawsuit alleging that the plan fiduciaries breached...more
6/8/2020
/ Article III ,
Breach of Duty ,
Defined Benefit Plans ,
Duty of Loyalty ,
Duty of Prudence ,
Employee Benefits ,
Employee Retirement Income Security Act (ERISA) ,
Fiduciary Duty ,
Injury-in-Fact ,
Investment Adviser ,
Mismanagement ,
Pensions ,
Plan Participants ,
Retirement Plan ,
SCOTUS ,
Standing ,
Thole v U.S. Bank
On June 3, 2020, the Department of Labor (“Department”) issued an Information Letter that, for the first time, provides the Department’s views on the use of private equity investments within 401(k) and other defined...more
6/6/2020
/ 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
The House of Representatives recently passed a fourth round of legislation in response to the COVID-19 pandemic. The bill – called the Health and Economic Recovery Omnibus Emergency Solutions Act (the “HEROES Act” or the...more
6/1/2020
/ CARES Act ,
COBRA ,
Coronavirus/COVID-19 ,
Employee Benefits ,
Employee Retirement Income Security Act (ERISA) ,
Families First Coronavirus Response Act (FFCRA) ,
Health and Welfare Plans ,
Health Insurance ,
Legislative Agendas ,
Pensions ,
Relief Measures ,
Retirement Plan
Brief Takeaway -
As a result of the Coronavirus Aid, Relief, and Economic Security Act (“CARES Act”), plan sponsors and service providers across the country are bracing for a flurry of participant activity with respect to...more
4/16/2020
/ Breach of Duty ,
CARES Act ,
Coronavirus/COVID-19 ,
Cyber Threats ,
Defined Benefit Plans ,
Employee Benefits ,
Employee Retirement Income Security Act (ERISA) ,
Fiduciary Duty ,
Fraud ,
Relief Measures ,
Retirement Plan
On Wednesday, March 25, 2020, the Senate passed the Coronavirus Aid, Relief, and Economic Security Act (H.R. 748, the “CARES Act” or “the Act”). The Act is the largest economic stimulus bill in American history and provides...more
On March 18, 2020, the Senate voted to approve H.R. 6201, the Families First Coronavirus Response Act (the “Act”), by a vote of 90-8. The version of the Act approved by the Senate is the same as the version with “technical...more
In the early morning hours of Saturday, March 14, 2020, the House of Representatives passed H.R. 6201, the Families First Coronavirus Response Act (the “Act”), by a bipartisan vote of 363-40. The Senate has postponed its...more
3/17/2020
/ China ,
Clinical Laboratory Testing ,
Coronavirus/COVID-19 ,
Cost-Sharing ,
Crisis Management ,
Emergency Management Plans ,
Employer Liability Issues ,
Family and Medical Leave Act (FMLA) ,
Health and Safety ,
Infectious Diseases ,
Legislative Agendas ,
Paid Leave ,
Paid Time Off (PTO) ,
Pending Legislation ,
Preventive Health Care ,
Public Health ,
Sick Pay ,
Tax Credits ,
Workplace Safety
Brief Takeaway: Plan sponsors that offer employer stock in their benefit plans can breathe a sigh of relief, as the Supreme Court vacated one of the only plaintiff-friendly rulings in ERISA “stock drop” litigation. ...more
1/17/2020
/ Appeals ,
Breach of Duty ,
Corporate Officers ,
Dismissals ,
Duty of Prudence ,
Employee Retirement Income Security Act (ERISA) ,
Employee Stock Purchase Plans ,
ESOP ,
Failure To Disclose ,
Fiduciary Duty ,
FIfth Third Bancorp v Dudenhoeffer ,
Fraud ,
Inflated Projections ,
Insider Information ,
Misrepresentation ,
Plan Participants ,
Pleading Standards ,
Popular ,
Remand ,
Retirement Plans Committee of IBM v Jander ,
Reversal ,
SCOTUS ,
Securities Violations ,
Vacated
On January 10, 2020, the staff of the Securities and Exchange Commission (“SEC”) updated its frequently asked questions on Regulation Best Interest (the “FAQs”).
...more
1/16/2020
/ Best Interest Standard ,
Broker-Dealer ,
Conflicts of Interest ,
Department of Labor (DOL) ,
Disclosure Requirements ,
Executive Orders ,
Fiduciary Duty ,
Fiduciary Rule ,
Investment Adviser ,
Investment Management ,
New Rules ,
Regulation Best Interest ,
Retail Investors ,
Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) ,
Securities Regulation ,
Standard of Conduct ,
Trump Administration
On Thursday, December 19, the Senate passed two spending bills to fund the government through September 30, 2020, one of which (H.R. 1865, the “Further Consolidated Appropriations Act of 2020” or the “Act”) contains the...more
1/10/2020
/ 401k ,
403(b) Plans ,
457(b) Plans ,
529 Plans ,
Affordable Care Act ,
Benefit Plan Sponsors ,
Cadillac Tax ,
Church Plans ,
Consolidated Appropriations Act (CAA) ,
Defined Benefit Plans ,
Department of Labor (DOL) ,
Employee Benefits ,
Employee Retirement Income Security Act (ERISA) ,
Employer Group Health Plans ,
Individual Retirement Account (IRA) ,
Lifetime Income Disclosures ,
Medicare ,
Non-Discrimination Rules ,
Part-Time Employees ,
PBGC ,
Penalties ,
Plan Administrators ,
Pooled Registration Pension Plans ,
Portability ,
Prescription Drug Coverage ,
QACA ,
Repeal ,
Required Minimum Distributions ,
Retirement Plan ,
Retirement Plan Providers ,
Safe Harbors ,
SECURE Act ,
Small Employer Plans (SEPs)