From the 2010 outset of its project to extend ERISA fiduciary status broadly to financial intermediaries, including insurance agents, the US Department of Labor (DOL) has consistently relied on the evolution of the private...more
On April 23, 2024, the US Department of Labor (DOL) released its Final Rule 4.0 regarding ERISA fiduciary investment advice, including amended exemptions for conflicted investment advice.
Our initial analysis of the Final...more
5/10/2024
/ Benefit Plan Sponsors ,
Department of Labor (DOL) ,
Employee Retirement Income Security Act (ERISA) ,
Fiduciary Rule ,
Final Rules ,
Insurance Industry ,
Investment ,
Investment Adviser ,
Prohibited Transactions ,
PTEs ,
Retirement Plan
In the guise of clarifications relating to criminal convictions and misconduct, the Department of Labor (DOL) has proposed major amendments to Prohibited Transaction Exemption (PTE) 84-14, also known as the QPAM exemption...more
8/11/2022
/ Affiliates ,
Comment Period ,
Corporate Restructuring ,
Criminal Convictions ,
Department of Labor (DOL) ,
Employee Benefits ,
Employee Retirement Income Security Act (ERISA) ,
Exemptions ,
Foreign Affiliates ,
Prohibited Transactions ,
Proposed Amendments ,
QPAM ,
Real Party in Interest
Since 1996, the US Department of Labor granted more than 1,200 individual exemptions from the ERISA prohibited transaction rules.
One of the distinctive features of ERISA is its prohibition, in ERISA section 406 as a...more
1/5/2022
/ 401k ,
403(b) Plans ,
Benefit Plan Sponsors ,
Department of Labor (DOL) ,
Employee Retirement Income Security Act (ERISA) ,
Exemptions ,
Fiduciary Duty ,
Individual Retirement Account (IRA) ,
Internal Revenue Code (IRC) ,
Prohibited Transactions ,
Reinsurance ,
Related Parties
On October 14, 2021, the US Department of Labor (DOL) proposed changes to ERISA regulations that would again shift the analysis of consideration of environmental, social, and governance (ESG) factors in retirement plans...more
In Field Assistance Bulleting 2021-02, published on October 25, 2021, the US Department of Labor announced with respect to its Fiduciary Rule 3.0 that:
..The temporary ERISA enforcement policy for conflicted fiduciary...more
As businesses return to work after Labor Day 2021, a principal focus for companies that serve US retirement plans will be the impending December 20 enforcement date for the Labor Department’s (DOL) latest fiduciary guidance...more
In a June 14, 2021 information letter, the US Department of Labor (DOL) opined that a claimant appealing an adverse benefit determination under a plan covered by the Employee Retirement Income Security Act of 1974, as amended...more
6/29/2021
/ Audio Recording ,
Benefit Plan Sponsors ,
Claim Procedures ,
Customer Service Calls ,
Denial of Insurance Coverage ,
Department of Labor (DOL) ,
Employee Benefits ,
Employee Retirement Income Security Act (ERISA) ,
Insurance Industry ,
Plan Administrators ,
Third-Party Service Provider
In a report released on May 27, 2021, the US Government Accountability Office (GAO) published the results of a 15-month inquiry into the enforcement of the Employee Retirement Income Security Act of 1974, as amended (ERISA)...more
In a troubling development, the US Department of Labor (DOL) has announced its expectation that it will proceed to propose yet another iteration of investment advice guidance under the Employee Retirement Income Security Act...more
In 2020, the Department of Labor (DOL), in its guidance issued under the Employee Retirement Income Security Act of 1974, as amended (ERISA), remained principally focused on the development of its Fiduciary Rule 3.0 and...more
2/25/2021
/ Administrative Exemption ,
Advisory Opinions ,
Benefit Plan Sponsors ,
Department of Labor (DOL) ,
Employee Benefits ,
Employee Retirement Income Security Act (ERISA) ,
Employer Group Health Plans ,
Fiduciary Rule ,
Prohibited Transactions ,
Proxy Voting ,
Retirement Plan
The US Department of Labor (DOL) has published its Fiscal Year 2020 “Fact Sheet” documenting the criminal and civil enforcement activities of its Employee Benefits Security Administration (EBSA) under the Employee Retirement...more
On June 30, 2020, the US Department of Labor (DOL) published in the Federal Register a proposed rule that would regulate ERISA plan fiduciary conduct when considering investments under an environmental, social and governance...more
On June 18, 2020, the US Department of Labor (DOL) published a request for information (RFI), in advance of its potential proposal of a class exemption (PTE) providing relief for ERISA prohibited transactions arising in the...more
On June 3, 2020, the US Department of Labor (DOL) issued an Information Letter reassuring plan fiduciaries that in appropriate circumstances, a professionally managed fund that contains a private equity component may be...more
The US Department of Labor (DOL) has published its Fiscal Year 2019 "Fact Sheet" documenting the criminal and civil enforcement activities of its Employee Benefits Security Administration (EBSA) under the Employee Retirement...more
In 2019, the Department of Labor (DOL) continued its trend of providing limited advance guidance under the Employee Retirement Income Security Act of 1974, as amended (ERISA). By volume, the amount of 2019 guidance...more
In June 2019, a unanimous Supreme Court in Kisor v. Wilkie retained but limited the scope of Auer deference – the court-created doctrine that courts should defer to an agency’s interpretation of its own regulations or other...more
9/24/2019
/ Administrative Agencies ,
Administrative Interpretation ,
Administrative Procedure Act ,
Auer Deference ,
Chevron Deference ,
Department of Labor (DOL) ,
Employee Benefits ,
Employee Retirement Income Security Act (ERISA) ,
Employment Litigation ,
Fiduciary Rule ,
Judicial Review ,
Kisor v Wilkie ,
Reasonable Interpretations ,
SCOTUS
The principal regulators of US employee benefits have recently published updates to their guidance plans for the coming months.
On May 22, 2019, the US Department of Labor (DOL) published its Semi-Annual Regulatory Agenda,...more
By all accounts, 2019 will see a number of fiduciary and best interest investment advice regulations advance at both the federal and state levels. Firms subject to these regulations will face challenges in dealing with rules...more
5/21/2019
/ Best Interest Standard ,
Broker-Dealer ,
Department of Labor (DOL) ,
Employee Retirement Income Security Act (ERISA) ,
Fiduciary Duty ,
Fiduciary Rule ,
Financial Services Industry ,
Insurance Industry ,
Investment Adviser ,
Proposed Regulation ,
Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC)
The US Department of Labor (DOL) recently published its Fiscal Year 2018 “Fact Sheet” documenting the criminal and civil enforcement activities of its Employee Benefits Security Administration (EBSA) under the Employee...more
By all accounts, 2019 will see the advancement of a number of fiduciary and best interest investment advice regulations at both the federal and state levels. Firms subject to these regulations will face challenges in dealing...more
4/2/2019
/ Best Interest Standard ,
Broker-Dealer ,
Department of Labor (DOL) ,
Employee Retirement Income Security Act (ERISA) ,
Fiduciary Duty ,
Fiduciary Rule ,
Financial Services Industry ,
Insurance Industry ,
Investment Adviser ,
Proposed Regulation ,
Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC)
In the last three weeks, the Department of Labor (DOL) undertook two initiatives that have the potential to improve the efficiency of the retirement system and the retirement security it provides to US workers.
..The first...more
The principal regulators of US employee benefits have recently published updates to their guidance plans for the coming months.
..On October 18, 2018, the US Department of Labor (DOL) published its Semi-Annual Regulatory...more
The legal standards for broker-dealer firms (BDs) and their representatives, particularly in the retirement market, continue to be in flux. BDs were among those most affected by the promulgation in 2016 of the Department of...more