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Plan Administrators Plan Documents

Ogletree, Deakins, Nash, Smoak & Stewart,...

Annual Notice of Discretionary Match in ‘Pre-Approved’ 401(k) Plans May Be Required Soon!

Employers that provide 401(k) plans on documents that have been “pre-approved” by the Internal Revenue Service (IRS) beware: there is yet another annual notice requirement that may need to be added to your compliance list!...more

Ary Rosenbaum - The Rosenbaum Law Firm P.C.

You need to read the plan document

Being an ERISA attorney for a couple of third-party administration (TPA) firms when I first started helps you develop a sense of humor because there are too many people I was associated with who had absolutely zero training...more

Faegre Drinker Biddle & Reath LLP

Tenth Circuit Interpretation of ERISA Notice Requirement Impacts Plan Administrator’s Right to Deferential Standard of Review

When an ERISA plan delegates authority to the plan administrator to interpret the plan documents for benefit determinations, the plan administrator typically is entitled to a deferential standard of judicial review, and...more

Ary Rosenbaum - The Rosenbaum Law Firm P.C.

The problem with plan investments and audits

Retirement plans with more than 100 participants require a CPA audit for their Form 5500. However, small plans with less than 100 participants may sometimes require an audit. This often happens when more than 5% of the Plan’s...more

Holland & Hart - The Benefits Dial

I Want to Know, Have You Ever Seen…your plan documents?

Owners and employees of smaller organizations often find themselves stretched in many directions. With all of the demands on one’s time associated with operating a business, it is not uncommon to see attention to the...more

Ary Rosenbaum - The Rosenbaum Law Firm P.C.

Keep it simple stupid

As they once said in This is Spinal Tap, there is a fine line between stupid and clever. I can assure you that Michael McKeon who played David St. Hubbins in the movie and co-wrote it, was not in plan administration. Based on...more

Seyfarth Shaw LLP

Beware of the “Overshare”: Construe Requests for ERISA Plan Documents Narrowly!

Seyfarth Shaw LLP on

Seyfarth Synopsis: Administrators of ERISA plans frequently receive requests from participants, beneficiaries, and their representatives for plan-related documents. A recent decision from the Court of Appeals for the Fifth...more

Ary Rosenbaum - The Rosenbaum Law Firm P.C.

Make sure your custodian knows who the trustees are

If you’re a closely held business or not, changes do happen. Whether it’s leadership or who serves as your plan’s trustee, change will likely happen. The problem sometimes is when the plan document has been updated to reflect...more

Ary Rosenbaum - The Rosenbaum Law Firm P.C.

Make sure clients check plan document vs. practice

I’ve spent 21 years as an ERISA attorney and took some classes when I was getting my LLM and I learn something new about retirement plans every day. As a financial advisor, you likely didn’t have the training to be an ERISA...more

Proskauer - Employee Benefits & Executive...

Best Practices in Administering Benefit Claims #2 – Know (and Read) Your SPD

Last week, we kicked off our blog series on the fundamentals of benefit claim administration with an explanation of how important it is to know and read your plan document. The plan document is the legally binding contract...more

Proskauer - Employee Benefits & Executive...

Best Practices in Administering Benefit Claims #1 – Know (and Read) Your Plan Document

Our ERISA Practice Center blog posts often discuss many complex, and sometimes esoteric, substantive and procedural ERISA issues, as well as related agency guidance and case law. In this new ten-part blog series, however, we...more

Jackson Lewis P.C.

North Carolina Court Awards $41 Thousand-Plus Penalty For Failure To Produce Documents Requested By Plan Participants

Jackson Lewis P.C. on

Section 104(b)(4) of ERISA provides that a plan administrator must respond to a written request for certain documents (including the plan documents and summary plan description) by a participant or beneficiary by providing...more

Seyfarth Shaw LLP

When An Innocent ERISA Administrator Mistake Can Lead To Money Damages

Seyfarth Shaw LLP on

Synopsis: A recent decision of the federal district court for the Southern District of New York warns ERISA fiduciaries that even innocent mistakes that do not misuse plan assets or unjustly enrich the fiduciaries can cause...more

Ary Rosenbaum - The Rosenbaum Law Firm P.C.

IRS changes EPCRS program, expands self-correction program

After annoying many plan sponsors and plan providers by increasing user fees for their voluntary compliance program (VCP), the Internal Revenue Service (IRS) goes the other way by increasing the number of opportunities for...more

Best Best & Krieger LLP

What Plan Documents Should You Be Keeping?

Despite the insane popularity of Marie Kondo and her tidying methodology, when it comes to your agency’s retirement (and welfare) plan documents: more is better. ...more

Ogletree, Deakins, Nash, Smoak & Stewart,...

Eighth Circuit Casts Doubt on Cross-Plan Offsetting for ERISA Health Plans

Employers may soon find themselves reviewing and revising health plan master documents and summary plan descriptions (SPDs) and administrative service agreements with respect to an obscure claims administration practice known...more

Ary Rosenbaum - The Rosenbaum Law Firm P.C.

What all good 401(k) plans have

There are so many articles for plan sponsors (I’ve written quite a few) where they go on and on about what plan sponsors need for a successful 401(k) plan. Rather than go into a whole diatribe, here is a Reader’s Digest of...more

Ary Rosenbaum - The Rosenbaum Law Firm P.C.

Out of the box only causes trouble

This is Spinal Tap has the great line that “there is a fine line between being clever and stupid.” The same can be said with plan provisions that are what I call: “out of the box.” I call it out of the box because it reminds...more

Ary Rosenbaum - The Rosenbaum Law Firm P.C.

Keep it Simple, Stupid

When it comes to drafting plan documents, I always say K.I.S.S.: keep it simple, stupid....more

Ary Rosenbaum - The Rosenbaum Law Firm P.C.

The Rosenbaum Law Firm Review - April 2018

Plan Sponsors Need To Fix Their Plan Errors Now! You can't wait, fix it now! For most of us, when we don't feel well, we go to the doctor. We don't wait until things get worse, we take care of things because there...more

Holland & Knight LLP

Tax Reform's Impact on 401(k) Plan Loan Offset Treatment - Actions for Plan Administrators and Human Resources Benefits Managers

Holland & Knight LLP on

• The recent Tax Cuts and Jobs Act of 2017 (the Act), enacted on Dec. 22, 2017, contains a few rules that will impact benefit administrators. • This client alert focuses on changes made to the tax treatment of plan loan...more

Spilman Thomas & Battle, PLLC

Spring Cleaning Comes Early: The Affordable Care Act and the Importance of Updating ERISA Plan Documents

The year 1974 was a watershed for employee benefits. For the first time, the federal government undertook the complicated task of providing a statutory and regulatory framework for employee benefit plans and employee pension...more

Ary Rosenbaum - The Rosenbaum Law Firm P.C.

If You’re A Plan Sponsor, A Scanner Can Be A Good Friend

Being a plan sponsor is a tough job and the amount of paperwork that goes with it can be overwhelming. The paperwork includes plan documents, summary plan descriptions, amendment, valuations, trusts statements, and payroll....more

Mintz - Employment Viewpoints

The Ninth Circuit Weighs in on ERISA’s Plan Document and Summary Plan Description Requirements: Mull v. Motion Picture Ind. Health...

Mull v. Motion Picture Ind. Health Plan educates employers on the basics of the requirements of the Employee Retirement Income Security Act (ERISA) governing plan documents and summary plan descriptions. The lessons are...more

Stinson - Benefits Notes Blog

A Summary Plan Description Can be a Plan Document

In a decision issued a couple of years ago, the United States Supreme Court held that a summary plan description that differed from the plan document could not be enforced as the plan document. The Court said that the summary...more

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