Nevin E. Adams

Those who had hoped for some clarity—or perhaps a shift—in the standards involving where, and how, to draw the line between the obligations of corporate officials and ERISA plan fiduciaries—well, the Supreme Court has decided (again) not to provide it. It’s an issue that the U.S. Supreme Court had... READ MORE

If you have turned on a TV, walked by a radio, driven down a residential street, or answered a phone (or more likely let it go unanswered) in the past month, you will, of course, be aware that our nation officially went to the polls.  Of course, our nation was “going” to the polls—or at least... READ MORE

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 sometimes it’s just a good time to think about the things that give us pause—that cause a chill to run down our spine.  In that category, here are three things to... READ MORE

A reader recently commented, “Nevin: You are continually berating those who question various aspects of 401(k) plans as if the current structure is ‘perfect.’ It isn’t.” That comment was inspired by a recent column of mine critical of a proposal rumored to be under contemplation by the Biden... READ MORE

Noting that the settlement agreement is “fair, reasonable, and adequate, and within the range of possible approval,” the parties in an excessive fee suit have come to terms. More specifically, on Oct. 12, 2020, “after extensive litigation, lengthy discovery,[1] and protracted arm’s-length... READ MORE

In a year full of challenges for plans and plan sponsors alike, we’ve seen a spate of litigation against retirement programs like none in recent memory. So what’s a plan fiduciary to do?  At times, it seems that every plan in American with more than $1 billion in assets has fallen short of at... READ MORE

A different set of plaintiffs tried a (slightly) different approach (with different attorneys) in an excessive fee suit—but got the same result. The defendant in this instance was Trader Joe’s Company Retirement Plan, who had been sued for a variety of alleged fiduciary ills back in 2019 by former... READ MORE

The drumbeat to “fix” the 401(k) seems to be starting a little earlier this year—though the cures seem more likely to kill the patient. The latest ran in the Wall Street Journal recently—a column by Spencer Jakab innocuously titled: “Is America’s Favorite Retirement Plan Broken?” Ironically, in... READ MORE

You might think there couldn’t be another multibillion-dollar 401(k) plan to be sued—and yet there is. This suit was filed by former participant Michael Johnson, “individually and as representative of a class of participants and beneficiaries of the Duke Energy Retirement Savings Plan,” a plan... READ MORE