Nevin Adams

DOL Wins First Round of Fiduciary Regulation Litigation

By Nevin Adams 11/7/2016

The first federal judge to rule on litigation regarding the Department of Labor’s (DOL) fiduciary regulation found just about everything plaintiffs raised to be “unpersuasive.”In denying the motions of the National Association for Fixed Annuities (NAFA) for both a preliminary injunction against the... READ MORE

You Can Lead a Horse to Water…

By Nevin Adams 11/4/2016

There’s an old saying: “You can lead a horse to water, but you can’t make him drink.” It’s the lament of many a retirement plan professional who has tried to persuade an employer to offer a workplace retirement savings plan for his/her workers, only to be rebuffed.Moreover, it’s a sentiment... READ MORE

4 Things Plan Sponsors Are Scared of — And 3 More They Should Be

By Nevin Adams 10/28/2016

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. But what are the things plan sponsors are scared about?Getting sued.Plan sponsors will often mention their fear of getting sued, and little wonder. The headlines are... READ MORE

DOL’s First FAQ ‘Wave’ Focuses on BIC

By Nevin Adams 10/28/2016

The 24-page document covers a lot of ground in the form of 34 questions, and while much of it seems to confirm what had been understood (or assumed), the first wave of FAQs certainly provides some comfort – and in some cases clarifies key issues. Those who had hoped for some extension in the... READ MORE

Better Communications = Better Savings?

By Nevin Adams 10/14/2016

Could better communications about retirement income boost retirement savings? A new study finds some intriguing results.“Do Savings Increase in Response to Salient Information about Retirement and Expected Pensions?” looked at the impact of a 2004 reform move by the German pension authority started... READ MORE

401(k) Suit Survives Anti-Alienation Challenge

By Nevin Adams 10/10/2016

Stock drop lawsuits are generally about employer stock that has suffered a precipitous drop in value, and in rare cases, where participants have been deprived from keeping that investment — and then there’s this one.As noted above, these type of employer stock-based lawsuits are often over stock... READ MORE

Big Apple Unveils MEP, Retirement Program for Private-Sector Workers

By Nevin Adams 10/10/2016

New York City Comptroller Scott M. Stringer has unveiled a new city-run retirement plan for private-sector workers — including a city-sponsored multiple employer plan (MEP).The underlying rationale for the program? Nearly 60% of private sector workers in New York City lack access to retirement... READ MORE

Litigation, Regulation, and Tax Reform — Oh My!

By Nevin Adams 10/6/2016

It’s been a busy year, a crazy summer — and we’ve still got a presidential election to go.It has been years since things actually slowed down in the summer (at least in the way we all seem to remember it), but this summer has been busier than any I can remember. Not only has everybody been making... READ MORE

Experts Offer Counsel and Caution on the DOL Fiduciary Regulation

By Nevin Adams 10/6/2016

While the industry has spent a lot of time, energy, effort and money getting ready for the Labor Department’s fiduciary regulation, four of the nation’s leading ERISA legal experts offer some final words of counsel — and caution.Asked to provide any words of advice for those trying to comply with... READ MORE

BIC Litigation Provisions Trigger Another DOL Suit

By Nevin Adams 10/3/2016

A new lawsuit has been filed challenging the Department of Labor’s (DOL) fiduciary regulation’s interference with existing arbitration structures.The suit, Thrivent Financial for Lutherans v. Perez, D. Minn., No. 0:16-cv-03289, complaint filed 9/29/16, filed by Thrivent Financial for Lutherans in... READ MORE

A Look at the DOL Fiduciary Rule Through the Crystal Ball

By Nevin Adams 9/30/2016

While the industry has spent a lot of time, energy, effort — and money — getting ready for the Labor Department’s fiduciary regulation, what will we make of it five years from now? Four of the nation’s leading ERISA legal experts weigh in.Though we’ve had the final regulation to study for some time... READ MORE

Rescuing Retirement from the ‘Rescuers’

By Nevin Adams 9/30/2016

Delegates to the recent NAPA DC Fly-In Forum were treated to a discussion about a proposal touted as “rescuing retirement.” But the math (still) doesn’t seem to work. And it’s likely to kill the 401(k) (or at least its tax benefits). Here’s how.The proposal itself isn’t new — it’s the Guaranteed... READ MORE

How Much of the Excessive Fee Settlements Go to Lawyers?

By Nevin Adams 9/26/2016

In class action suits, plaintiffs’ attorneys generally receive a fee whose amount is contingent on the amount of the verdict or settlement — frequently about a third.What about the excessive fee suits?Most of the excessive fee suits brought to date haven’t made it to trial, but a number have... READ MORE

An 'Educated' Guess

By Nevin Adams 9/26/2016

It’s not hard to find scary headlines about 401(k)s — seems as though every week you read how people aren’t saving enough, are worried that they aren’t saving enough, aren’t saving enough and aren’t worried that they aren’t saving enough… Then in the past couple of weeks, a new twist.First a... READ MORE

The Fourth Quarter

By Nevin Adams 9/23/2016

In most professional sports, the clock — the time remaining in the contest — is a factor (baseball being a notable exception — those nine innings are going to be played, regardless of how long it takes).The clock can be your enemy if you’re trying to hang on to a slender lead — or it can be your... READ MORE

Does Student Debt Affect Retirement Saving?

By Nevin Adams 9/23/2016

We hear a lot about the crushing load of student debt many Millennials carry these days — but is it having an impact on retirement plan participation?Not much, according to “How Does Student Debt Affect Early-Career Retirement Saving?” by reseachers Matthew S. Rutledge, Geoffrey T. Sanzenbacher,... READ MORE

A Little More Time to Consider DOL’s Big 5500 Proposal

By Nevin Adams 9/21/2016

Plan sponsors and TPAs just got what is probably a much-appreciated time extension from the Department of Labor (DOL).The DOL has announced that it is extending the deadline for comments on the proposed Form 5500 changes to Dec. 5, two months later than the original deadline of Oct. 4.In July, the... READ MORE

What the New Fiduciary Rule Means for Plan Committees

By Nevin Adams 9/16/2016

While advisors, broker-dealers, and RIAs continue to make preparations for the new fiduciary regulation, what might those changes mean for plan committees?In a recent ERISA Law Newsletter by the Wagner Law Group, ERISA attorney Marcia Wagner explains that, at least at its narrowest scope, the new... READ MORE

An 'Educated' Guess

By Nevin Adams 9/16/2016

What’s Being Missed About the DOL Fiduciary Regulation?

By Nevin Adams 9/16/2016

What are advisors not (yet) focusing on in the fiduciary regulation that they should be? Four of the nation’s leading ERISA legal experts — former Assistant Secretary of Labor Brad Campbell (now with Drinker Biddle & Reath), Groom Law’s David Levine, Marcia Wagner of the Wagner Law Group, and... READ MORE

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