Videocast: Asset management regulation in 2020 videocast series – DOL: What’s ahead
States Sue SEC in Ongoing Fight Over Reg BI
Podcast - Credit Funds: How Managers Can Avoid and Mitigate ERISA Conflicts
I-22- The Benefits of Benefits: A Roundtable Discussion on Trending Benefits Issues for 2018
Employment Law This Week: Fiduciary Rule Takes Effect June 9, Rescission of Persuader Rule, Title VII & Sexual Orientation, Overhauling the NLRA
Under recently finalized federal regulations (commonly referred to as the “Fiduciary Rule”) that were scheduled to become effective on September 23, 2024, the U.S. Department of Labor intended to expand the fiduciary...more
On behalf of the ESOPs, Benefits & Compensation team, we hope your Summer is off to a great start. In the time of family vacations and out-of-office replies, the pace of employee benefits changes—both large and small—remains...more
The U.S. Department of Labor (DOL) on April 23, 2024, issued the Retirement Security Rule (the Final Rule), which expands who qualifies as an investment advice fiduciary for purposes of the Employee Retirement Income Security...more
On Tuesday, April 23, 2024, the Department of Labor (the “DOL”) issued final regulations regarding investment fiduciary obligations and the definition of an “Investment Advice Fiduciary” (the “Final Regulations”) under the...more
The first complaint was filed in what is expected to be a wave of litigation alleging breach of fiduciary duty in selecting and monitoring welfare plan vendors. While the facts of this particular case may make it somewhat...more
This newsletter provides updates employers should be aware of heading into 2024, including an outline of the updated 2024 retirement and welfare plan limits, instructions related to the “gag order” attestation requirements...more
On November 3, 2023, the Department of Labor (DOL) published in the Federal Register its long-awaited proposed update to its “fiduciary rule” that defines when a person becomes a fiduciary to a retirement plan subject to...more
Benjamin Franklin once said “don’t put off until tomorrow what you can do today.” While that is always prudent advice, the Department of Labor (DOL) believes it’s best to grant an extension to investment advisors and...more
Don’t Be Like These 401(k) Plan Providers - The beauty of being an ERISA attorney is that when you think you’ve seen it all, you’ve seen something new. While most plan providers are professional, ethical, and competent,...more
Many of us in the retirement plan industry including yours truly, swore up and down that the Biden administration would yank the Department of Labor (DOL) fiduciary rule implemented by the Trump administration. We were wrong....more
On October 30, 2020, the US Department of Labor (the DOL) issued a final rule to codify standards for how plan fiduciaries must consider financial factors when selecting and monitoring plan investments (the “Financial Factors...more
by Bret Busacker The Department of Labor has returned to the Fiduciary Rule once again with its third attempt to provide a regulatory framework that protects retirement investors while not imposing unnecessary burdens on...more
I used to joke that no matter what I did, I could never make my parents happy. The same can be said with any attempt to change the fiduciary rule....more
On June 29, 2020, the Department of Labor (“DOL”) announced1 its new approach to the standards for financial institutions and investment professionals who provide investment advice on a nondiscretionary basis to 401(k) plans,...more
In 1984, Lorne Michaels created a new show, based on Saturday Night Live (SNL) when he was no longer SNL’s producer. It was called “The New Show”, how clever. It failed, people liked the original and within a year, Lorne came...more
Proposed ERISA Restrictions on ESG Investing - On June 23, 2020, the U.S. Department of Labor (the “DOL”) issued a proposed rule that would limit when and how fiduciaries of plans subject to the U.S. Employee Retirement...more
When it comes to health and fitness, you constantly hear studies about what foods fight or cause cancer. Of course, those studies are then debunked. I remember how oat bran was cited to cut down on cholesterol and how...more
In Dorman v. Charles Schwab Corp., the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit held on August 20, 2019 that claims under the Employee Retirement Income Security Act of 1974 (“ERISA”) can generally be subject to mandatory...more
401(k) Plan Sponsors Maybe Cutting Their Nose To Spite Their Face. It's an absolute mistake. I once worked for a man who was the type of person who wouldn't have minded to have lost $5 to save $3. I was at a Synagogue...more
Use of Forfeitures for Safe Harbor Contributions, QNECS and QMACS - The Internal Revenue Service (IRS) recently issued final regulations allowing forfeitures in 401(k) plans to be used to fund safe harbor contributions,...more
Editor's Overview - In last quarter's Newsletter, we commented that all eyes were on President Trump's nomination to the U.S. Supreme Court, as the outcome of the appointment process can have a significant impact on the...more
Please join the Locke Lord Employee Benefits and Executive Compensation Group for our 30th annual employee benefits webinar. Our attorneys will provide an overview of current developments related to employee benefit plans....more
A Plan Advisor Should Be Careful About Their TPA Referrals. They need to. There was a time when a 401(k) financial advisor could get 75 to 100 basis point working on a plan, those were the days of wine and roses. Now...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
In a move that should shock no one, the Department of Labor (DOL) pretty much left the fiduciary rule to die by rolling over and effectively letting the rule die. The last deadline for resuscitating the fiduciary rule passed...more