The Internal Revenue Service released Notice 2020-51 on June 23, 2020, which provides additional Coronavirus related guidance relating to the waiver of 2020 required minimum distributions (RMDs) under certain defined...more
7/11/2020
/ 401k ,
403(b) Plans ,
Benefit Plan Sponsors ,
CARES Act ,
Coronavirus/COVID-19 ,
Highly Compensated Employees ,
Individual Retirement Account (IRA) ,
IRS ,
Popular ,
Required Minimum Distributions ,
Retirement Plan ,
Safe Harbors ,
SECURE Act
This week, on June 29, 2020, the U.S. Department of Labor (the “DOL”) issued a release (the “Release”) proposing an important new initiative for retirement accounts (“Plans”) that are subject to the Employee Retirement Income...more
Last week, the U.S. Supreme Court ruled on June 1, 2020 in Thole v. U.S. Bank that a participant in a defined benefit (“DB”) plan is constitutionally barred from bringing a fiduciary-breach (or similar) claim under the...more
6/11/2020
/ 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
The U.S. Department of Labor (the "DOL") this week, on June 4, 2020, issued an Information Letter (the "Letter") regarding the use of private equity ("PE") investments in investment options offered under participant-directed...more
A substantial portion of available global investment capital is held under private U.S. pension and other employee benefit plans governed by the Employee Retirement Income Security Act of 1974 (“ERISA”). At the same time, for...more
5/16/2020
/ Corporate Social Responsibility ,
Department of Labor (DOL) ,
Employee Benefits ,
Employee Retirement Income Security Act (ERISA) ,
Environmental Social & Governance (ESG) ,
Fiduciary Duty ,
Field Assistance Bulletins ,
Investment Management ,
Political Parties ,
Retirement Plan ,
Trump Administration
A national emergency was declared on March 13, 2020, as the result of the COVID-19 pandemic. As a result of that declaration, the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) issued emergency declarations for every state,...more
5/14/2020
/ Balloon Payments ,
COBRA ,
Department of Labor (DOL) ,
Employee Benefits ,
Employer Group Health Plans ,
Filing Deadlines ,
Notice Requirements ,
Relief Measures ,
State of Emergency ,
Temporary Regulations ,
U.S. Treasury
Companies receiving assistance under Title IV of the Coronavirus Aid Relief and Economic Security Act will be required to limit compensation payable to certain highly paid officers and employees. In general:
- Officers and...more
The Senate yesterday, March 25, 2020, passed by a vote of 96-0 the stimulus bill known as the Coronavirus Aid, Relief and Economic Security Act (the “Act”), which awaits the President's signature. It has been reported that...more
Under Section 413(2) of the Employee Retirement Income Security Act of 1974 (“ERISA”), ERISA’s three-year statute of limitations for fiduciary breaches and certain other violations starts to run when “the plaintiff had actual...more
3/6/2020
/ Actual or Constructive Knowledge ,
Appeals ,
Breach of Duty ,
Employee Retirement Income Security Act (ERISA) ,
Fiduciary Duty ,
Intel Corp. Investment Policy Committee v. Sulyma ,
Material Disclosures ,
Question of Fact ,
Reaffirmation ,
Retirement Plan ,
Retirement Plan Beneficiaries ,
Reversal ,
SCOTUS ,
Split of Authority ,
Statute of Limitations ,
Summary Judgment
Massachusetts’ Secretary of the Commonwealth, William F. Galvin, caused the Securities Division to issue, on November 29, 2019, a revised proposed uniform standard of conduct for broker-dealers, investment advisers, and their...more
1/3/2020
/ Blue Sky Laws ,
Broker-Dealer ,
Conflicts of Interest ,
Duty of Loyalty ,
Federal v State Law Application ,
Fiduciary Duty ,
Investment Adviser ,
Preemption ,
Proposed Rules ,
Public Hearing ,
Registered Investment Advisors ,
Regulation Best Interest ,
Standard of Conduct ,
State Securities Regulators
Last week, on December 20, 2019, the U.S. Department of the Treasury and Internal Revenue Service (the “IRS”) published a proposed regulation (the “Proposed Regulation”) under Section 162(m) of the Internal Revenue Code of...more
12/30/2019
/ Binding Agreements ,
Contract Modification ,
Covered Employees ,
Executive Compensation ,
Grandfathered Status ,
IRS ,
Performance-Based Compensation ,
Popular ,
Proposed Regulation ,
Publicly-Traded Companies ,
Section 162(m) ,
Securities Exchange Act ,
Tax Cuts and Jobs Act ,
Tax Deductions ,
U.S. Treasury
The world of benefits regulation has seen significant change lately, with the enactment of tax reform in 2017 (see “Focus on ERISA - Tax Reform Includes Benefits and Compensation Provisions”), and the rise and fall of the...more
12/20/2019
/ 529 Plans ,
Employee Benefits ,
Employee Contributions ,
Employee Retirement Income Security Act (ERISA) ,
Home Healthcare Workers ,
Individual Retirement Account (IRA) ,
Internal Revenue Code (IRC) ,
Multi-Employer Pensions ,
New Legislation ,
Part-Time Employees ,
PBGC ,
Portability ,
Public Employees ,
Required Minimum Distributions ,
Retirement Funds ,
Safe Harbors ,
SECURE Act ,
Tax Credits ,
Tax Deductions ,
Tax Qualified Plans ,
Withdrawal
The recent decision by the U.S. Court of Appeals for the First Circuit in the Sun Capital Partners case may allay some of the concerns that private-equity and other investment funds that acquire or invest in portfolio...more
12/13/2019
/ Aggregation Rules ,
Appeals ,
Controlled Groups ,
Employee Retirement Income Security Act (ERISA) ,
Joint and Several Liability ,
Multiemployer Plan ,
Partnership-in-Fact ,
PBGC ,
Pensions ,
Portfolio Companies ,
Private Equity Funds ,
Reversal ,
Sun Capital Partners ,
Withdrawal Liability
In Dorman v. Charles Schwab Corp., the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit held on August 20, 2019 that claims under the Employee Retirement Income Security Act of 1974 (“ERISA”) can generally be subject to mandatory...more
9/11/2019
/ 401k ,
American Express v Italian Colors Restaurant ,
Arbitration ,
Best Interest Contract Exemptions ,
Class Action ,
Department of Labor (DOL) ,
Employee Benefits ,
Employee Retirement Income Security Act (ERISA) ,
Federal Arbitration Act ,
Fiduciary Duty ,
Fiduciary Rule ,
Field Assistance Bulletins ,
Mandatory Arbitration Clauses ,
Putative Class Actions
The U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission, on June 5, 2019, voted 3-1 in favor of adopting a package of rules, amendments and interpretations (Final Rules) intended to improve the retail investor experience and to provide...more
6/12/2019
/ Best Interest Standard ,
Broker-Dealer ,
Compliance ,
Compliance Dates ,
Conflicts of Interest ,
Disclosure Requirements ,
Duty of Care ,
Duty of Loyalty ,
Fiduciary Duty ,
Form CRS ,
Investment Adviser ,
Investment Advisers Act of 1940 ,
New Rules ,
Regulation Best Interest ,
Retail Investors ,
Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) ,
Standard of Conduct
The case is particularly noteworthy in that it marks the first time of which we are aware that a judicial decision (even an interlocutory one) has expressly raised the issue of whether the sponsors’ debt characterization of...more
4/4/2019
/ Asset-Backed Securities ,
Damages ,
Debt-Equity ,
Employee Retirement Income Security Act (ERISA) ,
Excise Tax ,
Investment-Grade Notes ,
Investors ,
Prohibited Transactions ,
Retirement Funds ,
Securitization Vehicles ,
Sub-Prime Loans ,
Trusts
The U.S. Department of Labor’s amended “investment advice” fiduciary rule need no longer ask for whom the bell tolls. It tolls for thee. So - ding dong, the rule is dead....more