PODCAST: Williams Mullen's Benefits Companion - ERISA Forfeiture Litigation
PODCAST: Williams Mullen's Benefits Companion - Understanding Lifetime Income Products
Coronavirus-Related Retirement Plan Distributions, MPPPs, and Governmental 401(a) Plans
CARES Act – Retirement Plan Distributions and Loans: Troutman Sanders and Pepper Hamilton COVID-19 Issues for Employers Podcast Series
The SECURE Act: Significant Changes for Retirement Plans and IRAs
The Secure Act | How secure are you in your estate plan?
Podcast: Supreme Court May Resolve Key ERISA Statute of Limitations and Proprietary Fund Litigation Questions
The Corporate Law Report: First-to-File Patents, Hiring for Cultural Fit, Roth Conversions Post-Fiscal Cliff, and Global Corporate Insights
Many who work with defined contribution plan administrators and consult plan sponsors on their ERISA fiduciary duties have been carefully monitoring Disberry v. Employee Relations Committee of the Colgate-Palmolive Company...more
On this episode of Williams Mullen's Benefits Companion, host Brydon DeWitt discusses pending court cases regarding the proper use of forfeitures that arise under defined contribution plans. He outlines how these new...more
A federal district court recently granted a motion to dismiss claims that defined contribution plan fiduciaries breached their fiduciary duties of loyalty and prudence, and violated ERISA’s anti-inurement and prohibited...more
Participating in DC plans such as 401(k), 457, and 403(b) plans is the primary way most people save for retirement, and there is considerable sponsor and participant interest in making DC plans more effective at their primary...more
Recently, the Tenth Circuit Court of Appeals held an arbitration provision impermissibly blocked rights afforded to a retirement plan participant under the Employee Retirement Income Security Act (ERISA) and was therefore...more
A new decision from the U.S. Court of Appeals for the 7th Circuit in a so-called “excessive fee” case is good news for plan sponsors, particularly following the Supreme Court’s ruling earlier this year in Hughes v....more
The Sixth Circuit, in a matter of first impression for that Circuit, held an arbitration clause contained in an individual employment agreement did not apply to ERISA fiduciary breach claims brought on behalf of a defined...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
In the March Monthly Minute, we review IRS proposed regulations implementing the SECURE Act, DOL guidance on cryptocurrency investments, and the extended National Emergency “Outbreak Period” guidance. Crypto-Curious vs....more
On March 10, 2022, the Department of Labor issued guidance on the use of cryptocurrency in plans governed by ERISA. The announcement applies to cryptocurrencies as well as digital assets, which include “tokens,” “coins,”...more
The February Monthly Minute examines the DOL’s recent focus on mental health parity compliance, the Hughes vs. Northwestern University retirement plan fee litigation, and the latest COVID-19 testing coverage guidance....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
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
Key Points - 401(k) plan fiduciaries have the duty to monitor reasonableness of fees for all investment options available to participants under a 401(k) plan. Offering low-fee investment options does not alleviate the...more
On January 24, 2022, the U.S. Supreme Court decided Hughes v. Northwestern University, No. 1401, holding that an ERISA fiduciary that offers some prudent investment options in a retirement plan is not thereby categorically...more
With so many fee litigation cases over the last few years, I was concerned that the Federal court was getting sick of cases where plaintiff’s attorney just merely pleaded that the costs of the plan were too much and. it was a...more
On December 21, 2021, the Department of Labor (the “DOL”) published a Supplemental Statement (the “Supplemental Statement”) to its June 3, 2020 Information Letter (the “2020 Letter”) addressing fiduciary considerations for...more
If your company is buying the stock or the assets of another company, get an ERISA attorney to review if there is a retirement plan of your target involved. Too many corporate attorneys forget to call in an ERISA expert and...more
Congress extended the availability of refundable tax credits for Eligible Employers who provide paid family leave or sick leave from April 1, 2021 to September 30, 2021 in connection with COVID-related illness. Under ARPA,...more
The Government Accountability Office recently urged the U.S. Department of Labor to release guidance on cybersecurity matters in an effort to mitigate risks to 401(k) and other retirement plans. The GAO noted that there were...more
On October 30, 2020, the U.S. Department of Labor (DOL) issued a final rule regarding the use by Employee Retirement Income Security Act of 1974, as amended (ERISA), fiduciaries of nonpecuniary, such as environmental, social...more
On August 18, 2020, the Department of Labor (the “DOL”) issued an interim final rule (the “IFR”) implementing Section 203 of the Setting Every Community Up for Retirement Enhancement Act of 2019 (the “SECURE Act”), which...more