JD
I was discussing the subject of retirement over the long holiday weekend with family.
There was a lot of talk about Social Security (or the looming lack thereof), the impact(s) of inflation, and how the markets (stock and housing) had boosted prospects, but ultimately decided we weren’t sure when...
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On July 16 the IRS released Revenue Procedure (Rev. Proc.) 2021-30, and with it a series of updates that plan sponsors and those working to correct plan failures will find of interest, including two new benefit overpayment correction methods.
The IRS noted that the two new overpayment correction...
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An excessive fee suit filed by a litigator new to the ERISA space makes a series of new, sweeping allegations (including the plan’s advisor and auditor) alongside some familiar challenges.
Indeed the plaintiffs’ arguments—if as yet unproven—are extraordinarily detailed, and tread ground(s) not...
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After a split decision on the merits—and a $3.1 million settlement—the plaintiffs’ attorneys asked for a fee of $5.4 million. Guess what the judge allowed?
In the case at hand—Ramos v. Banner Health—the plaintiffs (represented by Schlichter Bogard & Denton LLP) just last month lost their...
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The nation’s highest court has agreed to hear a case that the law firm of Schlichter Bogard & Denton says is having a “chilling effect” on excessive fee litigation.
The district court ruled in favor of the plan fiduciary defendants in March 2018, and the appellate court affirmed that decision...
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The study of history is a passion of mine, and while it seems a bit trite, the old adage that those who don’t remember the past are doomed to repeat it seems more apropos by the day. Regardless, I never cease to be touched by the experience of walking the grounds where famous individuals or great...
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Transamerica has now settled another suit brought by participants who had alleged a breach of fiduciary duty in retaining proprietary funds in its own 401(k).
Specifically, in a suit filed by participant-plaintiffs Jeremy Karg, Matthew R. LaMarche and Shirley Rhodes (individually and as...
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With all the buzz about cryptocurrency—well, I’m sure it will come as no surprise that somebody wants to bring it into 401(k)s.
More specifically, recently ForUsAll, a retirement investment platform for small businesses, announced the introduction of the Alt 401(k)—a platform that not only allows...
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The ROI for financial wellness has always been elusive—but a new survey suggests that it might not matter.
Asked “Why are you creating or expanding your financial wellbeing program?”, respondents to Alight’s 17th edition of Hot Topics in Retirement & Financial Wellbeing said that not only was...
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The plaintiffs—who won at least a partial victory in an excessive fee case—but came up short on damages—appealed that decision—and lost again. Oh, and guess who their persistent lawyers were?
In a Nutshell
In an appeal with regard to the decisions in favor of the fiduciary defendants (and their...
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I was talking to a friend recently, and commending him on his forthcoming bump in take-home pay, though neither his compensation nor tax bracket had moved an iota.
Turns out he’s got a daughter who has just graduated from college and—wonders of wonders, she has a job lined up in her field of study...
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Another proprietary fund suit has been settled—for money, and procedural changes in plan administration.
The defendant in this case is John Hancock, which was sued by plaintiff Jennifer Baker, a participant in the John Hancock plan from 2014 until 2019. That suit, filed just ahead of the COVID-19...
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Life has many lessons to teach us, some more painful than others—and some we’d just as soon be spared. But the graduates of 2021—well, they’ve been through a lot, arguably more than most—but with any luck at all, the days and years ahead will be brighter. Regardless, if you have a graduate—or if...
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There’s an old adage that investors should “Sell in May and go away”—in order to avoid the summer market doldrums—but what about the average 401(k)?
Well, as it turns out that May was a good, though not a great, month for the markets—but a bit better for the average 401(k) account.
Despite some...
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The terms of an excessive fee settlement have come to light—and there’s a (relatively) unique twist.
The suit was filed nearly two years ago against the plan fiduciaries of the $5.2 billion Lowe’s 401(k) plan and Aon Hewitt Investment Consulting, Inc. (which served as the plan’s fiduciary...
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A plan fiduciary—and their outsourced investment consultant—are being sued for a “self-serving” fund swap that is alleged to have cost participants more than $100 million to date.
This time it’s plaintiff Maggie Thomson[1] (on behalf of some 42,000 participants in the $1.4 billion Caesars...
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A new excessive fee suit—one with some familiar themes, but also some unique arguments—claims that plan fiduciaries used participants as a “captive investor base to effectuate…self-serving business strategies that ran counter to the Participants’ interests.”
In a Nutshell
(Another) group of...
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The plaintiffs in the case note that, despite a meticulous detailing of the program, the analysis applied by the appellate court “comes to the wrong conclusion for several reasons, all of which are questions of exceptional importance.”
Case History
The original suit, filed in the U.S. District...
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At the recent Plan Sponsor Council of America National Conference, Erin Lowry, author of the Broke Millennial book series, offered insights on better communication with younger workers.
At the outset, Lowry took pains to distinguish the tensions that currently exist between Millennials and the...
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As if retirement savers didn’t have enough to worry about, last week a report reminded us how much money they’re going to need in retirement… just for health care.
In fact, Fidelity Investments’ 20th annual Retiree Health Care Cost Estimate claims that a 65-year-old, opposite-gender couple[1]...
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