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Fiduciary Governance
A social media name brand now finds itself “linked” to a 401(k) excessive fee suit.
The plaintiffs here (Bailey v. LinkedIn Corp., N.D. Cal., No. 5:20-cv-05704, complaint 8/14/20) are two former, and one current participant of the LinkedIn Corporation 401(k) Profit Sharing Plan and Trust. For...
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In a remarkably short period, an excessive fee suit involving proprietary funds has settled for what may be the largest monetary settlement among those cases to date.
The suit—filed on Feb. 15, 2019 by plaintiff (and former McKinsey plan participant) Tushar Bhatia against McKinsey and MIO (MIO...
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If you thought the battles over fiduciary rulemaking were over, think again. Top Democrats from the House and Senate committees that oversee ERISA-based issues are calling on the Department of Labor to withdraw its investment advice package and start over.
In an Aug. 6 letter to Labor...
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A 4½-year-old suit regarding the lack of a stable value alternative—where a judge once ruled that an $8.8 million settlement was insufficient—has been decided in favor of the plan fiduciaries.
According to U.S. District Judge John McBryde’s recitation of the case background, the American...
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We’ve only just passed the effective date for the new e-delivery rules—but the campaign to undermine their impact is already underway.
Coincident with the official effective date of the new rules, the Pension Rights Center, a pension advocacy group, has just unveiled an “Ask for Paper” campaign...
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A pension plan’s funded status is critical information. A recent blog entry argues that calculation of a pension plan’s funded status involves more than measuring the values of the plan’s assets; it also entails measuring its liability. How best to do that? There’s the rub.
In “What Is the ‘...
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Yet another stock drop participant-plaintiff has come up short—this time on appeal.
The original suit dates back to 2016. Echoing themes common to these so-called “stock drop” suits, the Wells Fargo defendants were charged with intentionally withholding “material non-public information” from plan...
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For the second time in a week, the Eighth Circuit Court of Appeals has weighed in on another stock-drop suit.
Stock drop cases inevitably arise from a surprise impact to corporate earnings and stock price, and sure enough, this one followed the announcement of losses suffered by an ESOP...
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The IRS Employee Plans office has issued a reminder regarding upcoming filing deadlines applicable to most retirement plans. Especially important is that the IRS did not extend the deadline for filing the Form 5500, which remains July 31.
Accordingly, the 2019 Form 5500 is due on July 31, 2020,...
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The Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) on July 28 announced that it has reached a $40 million settlement with VALIC Financial Advisors (VFA) over failing to disclose payments to promote services to Florida educators.
The SEC charged VFA, a financial services vendor in nearly every school...
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Editor's Note: This is the sixth installment in an occasional series concerning correcting plan loan failures.
Q. What interest rate should the plan use to correct a late deposit of elective deferrals or loan repayments?
A. The correction for a late deposit of deferrals or loan repayments...
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At the start of 2020, Nuveen’s Senior Portfolio Manager & Chief Equity Strategist expected economic growth to pick up modestly, but then the Coronavirus threw everything for a loop. So what does he see for the rest of the year?
In January, Doll offered his annual set of 10 Predictions that...
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There is still a lot of 2020 left to go. But 2021 is fast approaching, and a July 22 Plan Sponsor Council of America (PSCA) webcast offered ideas on how to prepare for that.
In “Year-End Checklist: COVID-19 issues and Preparing for 2021,” three Winston & Strawn LLP attorneys—Ariane Andrade, an...
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Considering the Department of Labor’s proposed prohibited transaction class exemption for investment advice fiduciaries, Sen. Patty Murray (D-WA) indicated at the 2020 NAPA D.C. Fly-In Forum July 21 that it may be time for a legislative rewrite.
In response to a question about whether she...
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An employer, its two plans, and the plan trustee have—together—filed suit against Matrix Trust, alleging that it not only failed to disclose certain fees, but that the custodian held on to them.
The class action suit was filed by MBA Engineering, Inc., as Sponsor and Administrator of the MBA...
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Addressing the 2020 NAPA D.C. Fly-In Forum July 21, a key Department of Labor (DOL) official confirmed that the DOL’s deadline relief provided in response to the Coronavirus pandemic also applies to initial paper notices under the DOL’s new electronic disclosure regulations.
Responding to a...
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A new white paper outlines some suggestions for easing the task of paying premiums to the Pension Benefit Guaranty Corporation (PBGC).
“PBGC premiums remain a major burden for pension sponsors,” says October Three in “The PBGC Premium Burden Report – 2020,” an analysis of the experience of...
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On May 21, the Department of Labor (DOL) finalized a new safe harbor for electronic disclosures. A July 9 Plan Sponsor Council of America (PSCA) webcast discussed the new safe harbor, the scope of the rules and what it all means.
Panelists in “The New Electronic Disclosure Rule Is Here!” included...
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Legislation has been introduced in the New Jersey state legislature that would impose a tax on financial transactions—including those in your 401(k)—to fix the state’s widening budget gap.
Unlike other financial transaction tax (FTT) proposals, however, this bill takes a slightly different...
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Noting that the Department of Labor previously held several days of hearings under the former fiduciary rule, the ranking Democrat on the Senate committee with primary jurisdiction over ERISA-related issues has called on the DOL to hold a hearing.
The request comes from Sen. Patty Murray (D-WA...
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