On April 17, 2025, the Supreme Court ruled in Cunningham v. Cornell University that, to state a claim under ERISA section 406(a), plaintiffs need only allege the elements contained in section 406(a). Prior to the Supreme...more
Each week while Congress is in session, our Policy team delivers a key update to highlight a topical benefits, health, or retirement news item from the Hill, such as a newly introduced bill, a summary of a committee hearing,...more
Participating in DC plans such as 401(k), 457, and 403(b) plans is the primary way most people save for retirement, and there is considerable sponsor and participant interest in making DC plans more effective at their primary...more
In the past month, plaintiffs have filed two separate lawsuits – Dimou v. Thermo Fisher Scientific, Inc. and Rodriguez v. Intuit, Inc – accusing plan fiduciaries of violating the Employee Retirement Income Security Act of...more
SECURE 2.0 created “pension-linked” emergency savings accounts, a new type of short-term savings program integrated within a 401(k) or other individual account plan.
In this edition of our SECURE 2.0 webinar series, Groom...more
The landmark legislation aimed at modernizing the retirement system, SECURE 2.0, has finally arrived, and with its 90 provisions, there is a lot to unpack.
On Wednesday, January 4, 2023 at 2:00 – 3:00 p.m. ET, Groom...more
12/30/2022
/ 401k ,
403(b) Plans ,
Benefit Plan Sponsors ,
Deadlines ,
Employee Benefits ,
Individual Retirement Account (IRA) ,
Retirement ,
Retirement Funds ,
Retirement Plan ,
Retirement Plan Providers ,
SECURE Act ,
Webinars
In June, the Senate committees with jurisdiction over retirement approved their versions of retirement reform legislation. The Senate bills are the Enhancing American Retirement Now Act (unnumbered, the “EARN Act”), which was...more
One day after President Biden’s Executive Order on Ensuring Responsible Development of Digital Assets, the Department of Labor’s Employee Benefits Security Administration (“DOL”) issued Compliance Assistance Release No....more
Groom has prepared a comparison here of the provisions in two key retirement bills being considered by the 117th Congress: the Securing a Strong Retirement Act of 2021 (H.R. 2954, “SECURE 2.0”) and the Retirement Security &...more
Securing a Strong Retirement Act of 2021 as marked up by the House Ways and Means Committee on May 5, 2021....more
The House Ways and Means Committee has just approved the bipartisan Securing a Strong Retirement Act, often referred to as SECURE 2.0. Groom’s policy team will be hosting a brief discussion of the bill as well as the...more
5/7/2021
/ 401k ,
403(b) Plans ,
Benefit Plan Sponsors ,
Employee Benefits ,
Individual Retirement Account (IRA) ,
Legislative Agendas ,
Retirement ,
Retirement Funds ,
Retirement Plan ,
Retirement Plan Providers ,
SECURE Act ,
Webinars
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
As the U.S. private retirement system has largely shifted away from traditional pensions in favor of a defined contribution plan savings model, a number of policymakers have expressed concerns over whether participants’...more
2/6/2020
/ 401k ,
403(b) Plans ,
Benefit Plan Sponsors ,
Compensation & Benefits ,
Defined Contribution Plans ,
Employee Benefits ,
Employee Retirement Income Security Act (ERISA) ,
Fiduciary ,
Individual Retirement Account (IRA) ,
Lifetime Benefits ,
Lifetime Income Disclosures ,
New Legislation ,
Regulatory Reform ,
Required Minimum Distributions ,
Retirement ,
Retirement Plan ,
Safe Harbors ,
Section 204 ,
SECURE Act ,
Tax Planning ,
Tax Rates
Congress recently passed the Setting Every Community Up for Retirement Enhancement Act of 2019 (the “SECURE Act”), the largest package of retirement system reforms in over a decade. Many of the provisions in the SECURE Act...more
1/16/2020
/ 401k ,
403(b) Plans ,
457(b) Plans ,
Adoption ,
Compensation & Benefits ,
Employee Benefits ,
Employer Contributions ,
Form 5500 ,
Individual Retirement Account (IRA) ,
New Legislation ,
Part-Time Employees ,
Penalties ,
Pensions ,
Plan Administrators ,
Regulatory Reform ,
Required Minimum Distributions ,
Retirement ,
Retirement Plan ,
Safe Harbors ,
SECURE Act ,
Small Employer Plans (SEPs) ,
Tax Credits ,
Tax Planning ,
Tax Rates
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)