On August 16, President Biden signed into law the Inflation Reduction Act of 2022 (P.L. 117-169; the “Act”). Although the Act differs considerably from the wide-ranging domestic economic package Democrats had initially...more
The Department of Labor (“DOL”) recently proposed an amendment (the “Proposed Amendment”) to Prohibited Transaction Class Exemption 84-14 (the “QPAM Exemption”). The Proposed Amendment would...more
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
On July 8, 2022 the Pension Benefit Guaranty Corporation (“PBGC”) published its final regulation implementing the Special Financial Assistance (“SFA”) program for multiemployer pension plans under the American Rescue Plan Act...more
As the markets continue to create challenges for plan fiduciaries and asset managers, financial regulators are actively working on a number of projects that impact the investment of benefit plan assets. The Securities and...more
On March 29, the House overwhelmingly passed H.R. 2954, the Securing a Strong Retirement Act of 2021 (“SSRA”), by a vote of 414-5. This alert contains Groom’s summary of the legislation as passed by the chamber....more
Over the decades since the enactment of the Employee Retirement Income Security Act of 1974, as amended (“ERISA”), many plan sponsors, service providers, and industry groups have applied for, and been granted, prohibited...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
On March 9, 2022, President Biden issued the highly-anticipated Executive Order on Ensuring Responsible Development of Digital Assets (“Executive Order”). The Executive Order is in response to the significant growth and...more
On December 29, 2021, the Department of Labor (“DOL”) released a final form revisions (“Final Revisions”) modifying the Form 5500 Annual Return/Report of Employee Benefit Plan (“Form 5500”) for benefit plans. 86 Fed. Reg....more
When Congress first passed legislation to create “cash or deferred arrangements” – the original term for 401(k) plans – few people could have predicted that, over the course of a single generation, DC plans would come to...more
On December 21, 2021, the Department of Labor (“DOL”) issued a statement concerning the investment in private equity by ERISA-covered defined contribution plans (the “Statement,” available here). The Statement is intended to...more
On November 19, 2021, the U.S. House of Representatives voted to approve the Build Back Better Act (H.R. 5376, the “BBB Act”), the budget reconciliation bill that includes much of President Biden’s economic and social policy...more
11/24/2021
/ Affordable Care Act ,
Biden Administration ,
Drug Pricing ,
Health Insurance ,
Individual Retirement Account (IRA) ,
Infrastructure ,
Medicaid ,
Medicare ,
Medicare Part D ,
Popular ,
Prescription Drugs ,
Tax Credits
On November 15, 2021, President Biden signed the Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act (the “IIJA”) into law. IIJA contains two sections that may affect qualified retirement plans....more
On October 25, 2021, the Department of Labor (“DOL”) issued Field Assistance Bulletin 2021-02 announcing...more
On October 14, 2021, the Department of Labor (the “DOL”) published a proposed regulation, “Prudence and Loyalty in Selecting Plan Investments and Exercising Shareholder Rights” (86 Fed. Reg. 57272, the “Proposed Rule”). The...more
The Department of Labor (“DOL”) is relying on a recent Supreme Court decision to effectively extend the amount of time the agency has to bring fiduciary breach claims. DOL investigations often last years, so it is common for...more
The Department of Labor (“DOL”), Department of the Treasury (the “Treasury”), and Pension Benefit Guaranty Corporation (“PBGC”) (collectively, the “Agencies”) recently released a notice of proposed revisions to the Form 5500...more
On September 15, the House Ways and Means and Energy and Commerce Committees advanced components of the Democrats’ $3.5 trillion budget reconciliation package (“Budget Legislation” or “the Legislation”). The Legislation...more
On July 26, 2021, the Department of Labor ( “DOL”) issued a brief set of Frequently Asked Questions (the “FAQs”) clarifying certain issues related to the interim final rule (the “IFR”) implementing the lifetime income...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 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 March 11, 2021, President Biden signed into law the American Rescue Plan Act (Pub. Law 117-2, the “Act” or “ARPA”). The Act, among other things, provides significant funding relief for single-employer defined benefit...more