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
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
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
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
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
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
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
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
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
Hughes v. Northwestern University, No. 19-1401: Whether allegations that a defined-contribution retirement plan paid or charged its participants fees that substantially exceeded fees for alternative available investment...more