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 August 5, three Named Plaintiffs sued TIAA and Morningstar in the S.D.N.Y., claiming Defendants engaged in a “scheme to enhance corporate profits” by counseling participants to invest in two of TIAA’s most lucrative...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
A California federal court recently granted an employer win in an ERISA excessive fee case when it dismissed a proposed class action brought by an ex-employee of Schenker, Inc., a transportation logistics company. Partida v....more
A federal district court judge in the Eastern District of Kentucky has enforced an ESOP’s arbitration clause, sending P.L. Marketing Inc. employees’ breach of fiduciary duty claims on behalf of a putative class to individual...more
We have previously blogged on the flurry of class action lawsuits challenging 401(k) plan investments in the BlackRock LifePath Index Target Date Funds. District courts around the country—seven of them in total—have granted...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
The Supreme Court told defined contribution sponsors Monday that they have to monitor all investments in plans’ lineups rather than leave the analysis to participants....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
The Supreme Court recently handed down its much-anticipated decision in Hughes v. Northwestern University. The question before the Court is whether the petitioners – current and former participants in two retirement plans...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 Monday, Jan. 24, 2022, the U.S. Supreme Court issued an important decision dealing with defined contribution retirement plans. These plans, which include 401(k) plans, provide an array of investment choices from which...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 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