PODCAST: Williams Mullen's Benefits Companion - New IRS Guidance on SECURE 2.0 Act Student Loan Employer Contributions
PODCAST: Williams Mullen's Benefits Companion - What a Relief! 403(b) Plan Developments
PODCAST: Williams Mullen's Benefits Companion - Court Decisions Impacting Plan Sponsors and Fiduciaries
DOL Clarifies Timing of Lifetime Income Disclosures in Benefit Statements
PODCAST: Williams Mullen's Benefits Companion - Back to the Future: SECURE Act and SECURE Act 2.0
Three Timely Benefits Items Everyone Should Know
Videocast: Asset management regulation in 2020 videocast series – SEC enforcement
PODCAST: Williams Mullen's Benefits Companion - Student Loan Benefits
A third district court has dismissed with prejudice a complaint alleging that defendants breached their fiduciary duties under ERISA by offering 401(k) plan participants the option to invest in BlackRock LifePath Index Target...more
In April, we wrote here about the discouraging trend of opinions allowing commonly asserted breach of fiduciary duty claims in 401(k) and 403(b) plan investment litigation to survive motions to dismiss. While it may be too...more
A federal district court in Florida sent a proposed ERISA breach of fiduciary duty class action to individual arbitration on the basis of a plan arbitration clause that allowed for individual relief and plan-wide injunctive...more
Summary - The U.S. Supreme Court this week unanimously decided an ERISA fiduciary duty case, Hughes v. Northwestern University, which will impact dozens of similar cases currently pending against fiduciaries of section...more
To the disappointment of many in the ERISA community, the Supreme Court issued a six-page opinion on January 24th that declined to opine on most of the issues that were before the Court in Hughes v. Northwestern University,...more
On Monday, January 24, 2022, the U.S. Supreme Court issued an opinion in a case of critical interest to employers offering 401(k) or other defined-contribution retirement plans. In Hughes v. Northwestern University, Case No....more
In a unanimous decision that should serve as a wakeup call to those administrating employee retirement plans, the Supreme Court just reaffirmed and highlighted the ongoing duty of ERISA plan fiduciaries to monitor investment...more
On December 6, 2021, the U.S. Supreme Court heard argument in Hughes v. Northwestern University, a case debating the allegations necessary to state a plausible claim for breach of ERISA’s fiduciary duties in cases challenging...more
Welcome to Goodwin’s ERISA Litigation Update. Litigation involving ERISA-governed benefits plans has exploded in recent years. Lawyers in our award-winning ERISA Litigation practice have extensive experience litigating these...more
Multiple new lawsuits have been filed since the start of 2020. Complications caused by the Coronavirus have not slowed the onslaught of 401(k) fee litigation across the country. Last month, Teva Pharmaceuticals USA Inc. was...more
In August 2020, the SEC issued two orders against VALIC Financial Advisors Inc. (VFA) related to VFA’s management of 403(b) and 457(b) plans. These matters arise out of two of the SEC’s enforcement initiatives, the Teachers...more
In this edition of our Newsletter, we take a look at a pair of cases that, while unrelated, together remind us of the importance of having clear plan rules in place that reflect the plan sponsor’s intention. The first article...more
Bass, Berry & Sims attorney Chris Lazarini examined allegations brought by members of a company’s 403(b) retirement savings plan that the plan fiduciaries violated their duties by selecting and failing to replace higher-cost...more
Over the past several years, the ERISA plaintiffs’ bar has targeted university-sponsored 403(b) plans, arguing that the plan fiduciaries breached their fiduciary duties and engaged in prohibited transactions in connection...more
The plethora of class action lawsuits against colleges and universities over their 403(b) plans have brought a variety of settlements and wins by the defendant schools....more
A federal district court in the District of Columbia dismissed ERISA fiduciary-breach claims by participants in Georgetown’s 403(b) retirement plans that were predicated on allegations that the trustees invested in funds that...more
Recently, the US District Court for the District of Columbia dismissed a proposed class action lawsuit brought by former Georgetown employees under the Employee Retirement Income Security Act of 1974 (ERISA) over fees and...more
Over the last 35 years, Duke University has had a championship basketball team on the court. In another court, Duke didn’t do too well....more
Georgetown University is now the 5th university that has won its case after being sued by plan participants over their 403(b) plan....more
The first breach of fiduciary duty claim to survive to trial alleged that the NYU Retirement Plan Committee failed to consolidate recordkeeping services, failed to property manage the RFP process, failed to allow potential...more
As we head into the thick of summer, all eyes are on President Trump's nomination to the U.S. Supreme Court to replace retiring Justice Anthony Kennedy and the impact the new Justice will have on shaping the law for...more
If you’ve learned anything from me, just realize that anyone can be sued for anything. All you need to be sued is the purchase of a court index number and the filing and serving of a complaint....more
Editor's Overview - As we have observed on other occasions, the ERISA class action plaintiffs' bar has, for several years now, honed in on 401(k) plan fiduciaries and their decisions to select and retain investment options...more
Recently, the Sixth Circuit ruled in Hitchcock v. Cumberland University 403(b) Plan that pension plan participants are not required to exhaust their plan’s administrative remedies before pursuing claims alleging statutory...more
After a brief hiatus, Proskauer's ERISA Newsletter is back with a brand new look. We hope you like it and find it is easier to navigate. In addition to implementing our new format, we have moved to a quarterly publication...more