News & Analysis as of

Retirement Plan Rulemaking Process

Troutman Pepper Locke

ESG Investing in 401(k) Plans – More Rule Changes on the Way

Troutman Pepper Locke on

In our recent client alert, “Texas Federal Court Allows an ERISA Fiduciary Challenge Against Alleged “ESG Investing” Without Any ESG Funds,” we reported that a Texas district court recently upheld Biden-administration...more

King & Spalding

U.S. Department of Labor Updates: Yes to Crypto and No to ESG?

King & Spalding on

On May 28, 2025, the U.S. Department of Labor (“DOL”) provided updated guidance on two employee benefit plan-related investment areas: (1) cryptocurrency and (2) environmental, social, and governance (“ESG”) investing....more

Mintz

Trump Administration Will Replace the Biden Administration's Department of Labor Rule Permitting ESG Investing

Mintz on

3 Under the Biden Administration, the Department of Labor ("DOL") had issued a rule that permitted ESG factors to be considered when making investments on behalf of 401(k) plans. (This rule had replaced an earlier one from...more

Kilpatrick

Trump Admin. Rolls Back Biden-Era Rules on 401(k) Plan Investments: Crypto and ESG

Kilpatrick on

The Trump administration has rescinded (or signaled that it will replace) current guidance that was issued by the Biden administration’s DOL regarding (1) retirement plan investments in cryptocurrencies (and other digital...more

Carlton Fields

Getting Clued In: How the SEC’s RILA Rulemaking Affects Variable Annuities

Carlton Fields on

The recent rule and form amendments adopted by the SEC to facilitate the registration of registered index-linked annuities (RILAs) and market-value adjustment annuities (MVAs) on Form N-4 have been broadly welcomed by the...more

Mintz

Biden Administration's DOL Rule Enabling Investment Advisors to Consider ESG Factors Survives Judicial Challenge

Mintz on

On September 21, 2023, Judge Kacsmaryk (N.D. Texas), a famously conservative Trump-appointed jurist, upheld a Department of Labor rule promulgated by the Biden Administration that enables employee retirement plans to consider...more

Eversheds Sutherland (US) LLP

ESG in the United States: A complex landscape

The United States is in the process of transitioning ESG disclosure from voluntary, market-led reporting to a regulatory-driven scheme, principally led by the US Securities and Exchange Commission’s (SEC) anticipated (but...more

Fisher Phillips

Dept of Labor Sued in Crypto 401(k) Guidance Lawsuit: What Employers Need to Know

Fisher Phillips on

The battle over crypto 401(k)s reached a fever pitch last week as 401(k) provider ForUsAll Inc. filed a lawsuit against the U.S. Department of Labor (DOL) in a Washington, D.C. federal court on June 2, alleging that federal...more

Ary Rosenbaum - The Rosenbaum Law Firm P.C.

DOL rules at risk under Biden

With a President Joe Biden in January, expect some major changes with the Department of Labor....more

Groom Law Group, Chartered

DOL Proposed Pooled Plan Provider Registration Rule

The Setting Every Community Up for Retirement Enhancement Act of 2019 (Pub. L. 116-94, Division O, the “SECURE Act”) created a new structure through which completely unrelated employers can participate in a single defined...more

Seyfarth Shaw LLP

Finally! DOL Issues Final Regulations for the E-Delivery of Retirement Plan Disclosures

Seyfarth Shaw LLP on

After a long process, which stretched on for over a decade, on May 27, 2020, the Department of Labor (“DOL”) published final regulations regarding the electronic delivery of required disclosures under the Employee Retirement...more

Fisher Phillips

Labor Department Proposes New Safe Harbor For Electronic Disclosure Under ERISA

Fisher Phillips on

The Department of Labor (DOL) recently issued proposed regulations updating the safe harbor for the electronic delivery of employee benefit plan notifications for plans subject to the Employee Retirement Income Security Act...more

Seyfarth Shaw LLP

Proposed Regulations for Electronic Delivery of Retirement Plan Disclosures: The DOL Modernizes the Disclosure Rules

Seyfarth Shaw LLP on

On October 22, 2019, the Department of Labor (DOL) issued proposed regulations providing guidance for retirement plan administrators using electronic delivery for required disclosures, including a new safe harbor....more

Seyfarth Shaw LLP

Welcome To The 21st Century—The DOL Proposes Changes To Antiquated Electronic Disclosure Rules Under ERISA

Seyfarth Shaw LLP on

Synopsis: The Department of Labor (“DOL”) just issued proposed rule changes governing the disclosure of ERISA-required notices via an electronic format (e.g., emails, intranet sites, etc.). These proposed rules update final...more

Troutman Pepper Locke

Final Regulations Issued for Hardship Distributions From Qualified Retirement Plans

Troutman Pepper Locke on

As we wrote in November 2018, the Treasury Department issued proposed regulations that significantly relaxed many rules governing hardship distributions from qualified plans, including eliminating requirements that employee...more

Ary Rosenbaum - The Rosenbaum Law Firm P.C.

Retirement Plan Advisors Advantage - September 2019

Some "Truths" About The Retirement Plan Business. You may not be able to handle it. I'm very outspoken, probably too much. Many people in the industry don't like flamethrowers who call things as they see it. While it...more

McNees Wallace & Nurick LLC

DOL Seeks to Expand Small Business Retirement Plans by Issuing Final Rule on Association Retirement Plans and Other Multiple...

On July 29, 2019, the Department of Labor issued final rules clarifying when an employer group or association, or professional employer organization (“PEO”) may sponsor a defined contribution multiple employer retirement plan...more

Ary Rosenbaum - The Rosenbaum Law Firm P.C.

It’s legal until it’s not

Shelf space payments where mutual fund companies pay to get access on a particular 401(k) custodial platform is a trending topic. The payments made are for access and if you don’t pay if you’re a mutual fund company, you...more

Stinson - Benefits Notes Blog

Department of Labor’s New Guidance Helps Employers of Uniformed Service Members Manage Pension Obligations

The Department of Labor’s Veterans Employment and Training Services (“VETS”) issued a new fact sheet (“Fact Sheet”) to help employers better manage their pension obligations under the Uniform Services Employment and...more

Ballard Spahr LLP

DOL Move Expands Definition of 'Employer' For Multiple Employer Plans

Ballard Spahr LLP on

This week, the U.S. Department of Labor (DOL) published its highly anticipated Final Rule, which allows working owners with no employees and companies in unrelated industries to band together to create a single defined...more

Seyfarth Shaw LLP

SEC Imposes New Standard for Broker-Dealer Investment Advice

Seyfarth Shaw LLP on

On June 5, 2019, the Securities and Exchange Commission (“SEC”) voted to adopt “Regulation Best Interest,” which is intended to increase the duties a broker-dealer owes to its clients. While SEC-registered investment advisors...more

Mintz - Employment Viewpoints

Fifth Circuit Court of Appeals Invalidates the 2016 Final Department of Labor Fiduciary Rule and Related Prohibited Transaction...

What’s a financial advisor to do? On March 15, 2018, the Fifth Circuit Court of Appeals in Chamber of Commerce of the U.S. v. U.S. Dep’t. of Labor, No. 17-10238, 2018 U.S. App. LEXIS 6472 (5th Cir. Mar. 15, 2018) vacated –...more

Jackson Lewis P.C.

President Trump Orders Review of DOL Fiduciary Rule and Addresses Financial Industry in Latest Actions

Jackson Lewis P.C. on

On February 3, 2017, President Trump took actions aimed at alleviating some of the regulatory burdens on the financial services industry. Through a Presidential Memorandum, President Trump ordered the DOL to “examine the...more

Ary Rosenbaum - The Rosenbaum Law Firm P.C.

The Fight against a new Fiduciary Rule continues

It should come as no surprise that the Senate and the House of Representatives are trying to do their best to make sure that the Department of Labor (DOL) is thwarted with implementing a fiduciary rule for retirement plan and...more

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