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ERISA
In a case with huge implications for the impact of plan disclosures on starting the clock on the timing of filing suit in ERISA cases, the federal government says that “actual knowledge” means just that.
In an amicus brief filed with U.S. Supreme Court, U.S. Solicitor General Noel J. Francisco and...
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The retirement plan world of 2019 is not that of 1995, or 1983, or 1974. And yet, there are important features of years past that laid the groundwork for where we are now — or perhaps, are even making an impact today.
In an Oct. 23 session of the ASPPA Annual Conference, John P. Griffin, Principal...
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The apparent “hack” of a 401(k) participant’s account has led to a suit against the plan sponsor, the recordkeeper and the plan trustee/custodian to recover the stolen funds.
The suit claims that in September and October 2016, an unknown person or persons managed to steal plaintiff Naomi Berman’s...
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General Electric announced on Oct. 7 that it has taken three steps it believes will reduce its pension deficit by approximately $5 billion to $8 billion. GE already has closed its pension plan to new entrants, a step that became effective Jan. 1, 2012.
Here are the steps GE is taking, according to...
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Sen. Elizabeth Warren (D-MA) has put forward a comprehensive labor proposal that seeks to scale back the broad protections offered by ERISA preemption and resurrect the DOL’s fiduciary rule.
The presidential candidate released a 14-page proposal on Oct. 3, “Empowering American Workers and Raising...
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The Pension Benefit Guaranty Corporation (PBGC) has issued two proposed rules related to its ERISA Section 4022 Benefits Payment Regulation.
The first proposal would do the following.
Modernize the assumptions the PBGC uses to determine de minimis lump sum benefits in PBGC-trusteed terminated...
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Let’s start playing the Pension Geek Feud!! Top five answers on the board. Name a way that plan sponsors traditionally make mistakes and blow the Form 5500 deadline:
Completely ignores communications from service vendor
Doesn’t get started early enough on mandatory audit
Starts audit, but...
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Eugene Scalia, President Trump’s nominee to head the Labor Department, was approved Sept. 24 by the Senate Health, Education, Labor and Pensions (HELP) Committee. The full Senate will now vote on his nomination, though a date has not yet been set.
Scalia was approved by the HELP Committee on a 12-...
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Can employment agreements limit an employer’s exposure to the risk of ERISA fiduciary breach claims? A recent blog entry addresses that question by zeroing in on a recent court decision.
In “Employee Agreements: A Method for Mitigating ERISA Fiduciary Exposure?” Hall Benefits Law examines that...
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A lawsuit challenging California’s auto-IRA program for private sector workers just got the backing of the federal government.
Last month the Department of Justice asked a federal court to hold off ruling on a suit challenging California’s auto-IRA program for private sector workers.
The Case at...
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Sen. Lamar Alexander (R-TN), Chairman of the Senate Health, Education, Labor and Pensions (HELP) Committee, has announced that the Committee will hold a hearing on Sept. 19 to consider the nomination of Eugene Scalia to serve as Secretary of Labor.
President Trump had announced in July – via...
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Right on schedule, the Department of Labor (DOL) has sent a proposed rule for electronic disclosures to retirement plan participants to the White House’s Office of Management and Budget.
The proposal, “Improving Effectiveness of and Reducing the Cost of Furnishing Required Notices and Disclosures...
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Plan fees often elicit complaint and sometimes serious action, as lawsuits and court rulings attest. A recent article discusses the Department of Labor (DOL) rules for controlling fees and what they require, as well as how to protect employees from excessive fees.
There is a range of reasons for...
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A court challenge to California’s CalSavers program has reemerged, claiming the state-run mandatory auto IRA program for private sector workers poses a significant financial risk to taxpayers.
The filing (titled somewhat unwieldly, “Plaintiffs’ opposition to Defendants’ motion to dismiss first...
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Missing participants, and the problems they occasion, are becoming a more prominent problem for plan administrators, argues ERISA attorney Heather B. Abrigo, Esq.
“It’s really come to the forefront,” said Abrigo, a partner at Drinker Biddle & Reath LLP, in a July 16 ASPPA webcast. “Plan...
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Patrick Pizzella, the current Deputy Secretary of the Department of Labor, will take over as the Acting Labor Secretary in the wake of Alexander Acosta’s July 12 resignation.
Pizzella, who has served as the Deputy Secretary since April 2018, will likely serve as the Acting Secretary until a...
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The U.S. Supreme Court has agreed to take on yet another ERISA case this term.
This case – Thole v. U.S. Bank, N.A., U.S., No. 17-1712, certiorari granted 6/28/19 – involves a suit by participants in U.S. Bank’s pension plan who, after the plan fiduciaries alleged mismanagement resulted in $750...
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The Department of Labor’s Employee Benefits Security Administration (EBSA) is responsible for overseeing millions of employee benefit plans, including investigating retirement plans when necessary. A recent blog entry examines what an employer should know about that.
In Thompson Coburn LLP’s blog...
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Former American Retirement Association President Marcy L. Supovitz has been named to the ERISA Advisory Council, which advises the Labor Department on policies and regulations regarding ERISA plans.
The 15-member council (formally titled the Advisory Council on Employee Welfare and Pension Benefit...
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The Pension Benefit Guaranty Corporation (PBGC) is seeking the approval of the Office of Management and Budget (OMB) of a collection of information that will help it to determine if certain plans are covered by Title IV of ERISA.
Plan sponsors or plan administrators would use the proposed form and...
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