PODCAST: Williams Mullen's Benefits Companion - What the J&J Case Means for Plan Administrators
PODCAST: Williams Mullen's Benefits Companion - Understanding Fees in Retirement Planning
The Form 5500: What All Employers and Plan Administrators Need to Know and How to Avoid Costly Fines
PODCAST: Williams Mullen's Benefits Companion - Back to the Future: SECURE Act and SECURE Act 2.0
NOWOTNY KNOWS SQUAT! Part IV Using Post-Retirement Medical Plans to Raise AUM and Sell Life Insurance
NOWOTNY ON DEATH AND TAXES EPISODE 35 USING POST-RETIREMENT MEDICAL PLANS TO RAISE AUM
KNOCK YOURSELF OUT - RESUSCITATING TAXPAYERS WITH BUYER'S REMORSE!
Coronavirus-Related Retirement Plan Distributions, MPPPs, and Governmental 401(a) Plans
Blakes Continuity Podcast: COVID-19: The Regulatory Impact on Pensions
PODCAST: Williams Mullen's Benefits Companion - Plan Administrators’ 2019 Year-End Checklist
The SECURE Act 2.0, enacted in December 2022, made several updates to what must be included in annual funding notices (“AFN”) issued by defined benefit pension plans. For large plans (as defined below) with a plan year ending...more
The Department of Labor (DOL) issued guidance earlier this month that will affect defined benefit plans’ annual funding notices. The annual funding notice requirements were amended by SECURE 2.0 and are effective for plan...more
On April 3, 2025, the U.S. Department of Labor (DOL) issued important new guidance for employers that sponsor defined benefit (pension) plans. This guidance provides new model notices and addresses several outstanding...more
SECURE 2.0 introduced many changes for retirement plans, including updated disclosure requirements for a defined benefit plan’s annual funding notice (AFN). These updated AFN disclosure requirements apply for all plan years...more
Under the Bipartisan Budget Act of 2015 (“BBA 2015”), Pension Benefit Guaranty Corporation (“PBGC”) premiums for plan years beginning in 2025 are due one month earlier than normal. For example, for calendar year plans,...more
In a defined benefit plan, participants usually accrue a monthly benefit based on a formula that typically considers their last three years’ salary before retirement and years of service with their employer. For example, the...more
The Department of Labor (DOL) announced that it has finalized, together with the Internal Revenue Service (IRS) and Pension Benefit Guarantee Corporation (PBGC), the third and final round of revisions to the Form 5500 Annual...more
The Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals recently addressed several issues of first impression in Bafford v. Northrop Grumman (9th Cir. April 15, 2021), a lawsuit involving retirees who received vastly overstated pension benefit...more
In a new information letter, the U.S. Department of Labor (DOL) concludes offering professionally managed asset allocation funds, which include a private equity component as an investment option in an individual account plan...more
Americans are facing a retirement crisis. The foundation for building a secure retirement — Social Security, employer-provided pensions, and personal savings — has been weakened because most private sector companies no longer...more
Employer-sponsored retirement plans come in many varieties. For example, under 401(k) and other defined contribution plans, employees and, often, employers may make specific contributions to an employee’s plan account...more
The U.S. Department of Labor (DOL) recently announced that it is expanding an audit program directed at large defined benefit pension plans. The program, which originated in the DOL’s Philadelphia region and is expanding, is...more
Major Revisions to Qualified Plan Determination Letter Process Announced - Effective January 1, 2017, the staggered five-year determination letter remedial amendment cycles for individually designed plans will be...more
The volatility and unpredictability of an employer's obligations under a defined benefit pension plan can have a significant impact on its bottom line. This is especially true of plans with liabilities for pension benefits...more
The Department of Labor recently issued final regulations implementing the annual funding notice that defined benefit plans are required to provide under Section 101(f) of ERISA. The final regulations are similar to the...more
Two federal appeals courts issued contradictory rulings on the validity of subsidies for the purchase of health insurance under the federal marketplace established pursuant to the Affordable Care Act (ACA). On July 22, a...more