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Financial wellness remains one of the most bandied about phrases in our industry—it’s something most aspire to, something plan sponsors are both interested in—and skeptical about—something that seems to have an elusive ROI, at least in objective, quantifiable terms—and yet…
Financial wellness has...
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A recent white paper has garnered a lot of discussion by casting “shade” on a traditional premise about retirement plan withdrawals.
The premise—a so-called “rule of thumb[1]”—isn’t all that old, actually; it dates back only to 1994, when financial planner William Bengen[2] claimed that over every...
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A federal judge has dismissed an excessive fee suit that “contains no factual allegations surrounding defendant’s process for selecting and monitoring investments.”
More precisely, Judge Karin J. Immergut of the U.S. District Court for the District of Oregon granted the Adidas fiduciary defendants...
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While it may not be insurmountable, a federal court judge has refused to sign off on an excessive fee settlement.
The ink was barely dry on the deal struck between Mercy Health Corp. and a set of participant-plaintiffs earlier this month—a deal that called for a remedy of allegations made[1] $3.9...
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While it’s the celebration following a successful harvest held by the Pilgrims and members of the Wampanoag tribe in 1621 that provides most of the imagery around the holiday, Thanksgiving didn’t become a national observance until much later.
Incredibly it wasn’t marked as a national observance...
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What’s the most used and least understood/appreciated acronym in the retirement plan industry?
Well, for my money, it’s “TPA”—short for “third-party administrator.” It’s a term that is widely bandied about, but I think misunderstood by many.
The origins are plain enough—“administrator” in the...
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The plaintiffs in an excessive fee suit got to have their day in court—but the defendants (mostly) made their case.
The plaintiffs here (In re: LinkedIn ERISA Litigation, case number 5:20-cv-05704, in the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of California) are two former and one current...
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Several years ago, we had in mind that it would be fun to get an aquarium for our home, and (even) I got excited at the prospects of filling it with a variety of all kinds and sizes of exotic fish.
Sadly, those hopes were dashed when I discovered that , despite the massive displays of what...
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An excessive fee case whose petition to dismiss was still pending has opted to settle instead.
The suit—filed in August 2020—had alleged that defendants here—Mercy Health Corporation Employees’ Retirement Plan, the Rockford Health System Retirement Plan, and the Rockford Health Physicians...
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It’s ironic that programs designed to provide retirement income pay so little attention to the realization of that objective.
That’s right—for the vast majority of participants today, creating that “paycheck for the rest of your life” remains a DIY undertaking. To this day only about half of...
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The nation’s highest court appears to be considering a review of a challenge to the CalSavers program.
At least that’s implied by the request (Howard Jarvis Taxpayers Ass’n v. Cal. Secure Choice Ret. Savings Program, U.S., No. 21-558, request for response 11/2/21) by the U.S. Supreme Court that...
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Traditionally, October has been a scary month for the markets—so how did they—and the average 401(k) balance—fare this year?
People tend to remember the October “crashes,” notably the stock market crash in 1929, and more recently “Black Monday” in 1987. Those recollections have gone so far as to...
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Like a vampire arising from its recent interment, limits on so-called “Mega” Roths and in-plan Roth conversions have reemerged in the latest round of legislative sausage-making.
Just last week these provisions, along with a number that were projected to be a “game-changer” for retirement security...
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A great resource to help you grow and expand your business could be right under your nose…
Are you spending time you don’t have trying to work out problems you didn’t create? Let’s face it—good service, or the lack thereof, is widely cited as the most common reason why plan sponsors change...
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A $10 billion 401(k) plan sued for breach of fiduciary duty for selecting—and keeping—an underperforming target-date fund family on its fund menu—has struck a settlement.
A little more than two years ago, plaintiffs (Chandra V. Brown-Davis, Yolanda Brown, Ronald Dinkel, Siobhan E. Fannin, Daphne G...
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Halloween is the time of year when one’s thoughts turn to trick-or-treat, ghosts and goblins, and things that go bump in the night—and, for plan sponsors, and those who support them, a good time to think about the things that give us pause—that cause a chill to run down our spine…
Things like…...
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It’s said that if at first you don’t succeed, try, try again—and that’s just what one plaintiff is doing in its attempt to do away with the CalSavers program.
Actually, it’s multiple plaintiffs—the Howard Jarvis Taxpayers Association, Jonathan M. Coupal, and Debra A. Desrosiers—who have petitioned...
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Another excessive fee suit has been tossed by a federal judge for failing to “assert sufficient allegations to support their claim…”
This time the defendants are the fiduciaries of Cincinnati-based TriHealth, Inc.’s retirement plan—a relatively small plan ($457 million)—and the suit filed on...
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A federal judge has put a half dozen 401(k) excessive fee suits on hold pending a decision by the U.S. Supreme Court in a case that ”will likely clarify the pleading requirements for ERISA breach of fiduciary claims in cases such as this…”
That was the determination of Judge William C. Griesbach...
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There is frequently a difference between doing what the law requires and doing everything that you could do as a plan fiduciary. That said, there are things that plan fiduciaries must do and things that—while not required—can keep the plan, and plan fiduciaries, out of trouble.
Let’s get started...
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