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Fiduciary Governance
Retirement plans are not immune to the pandemic and its effects, and that includes nonqualified plans. A recent Plan Sponsor Council of America webinar discussed issues affecting nonqualified plans during the time of COVID-19.
Bruce J. McNeil, Partner, Stoel Rives LLP; E. Matthew Maier, Vice...
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The nation’s largest recordkeeper has come to terms with participants in its own 401(k) regarding allegations of excessive recordkeeping fees, along with some changes in practices.
The Case
The original suit was filed in October 2018 by plaintiffs Kevin Moitoso, Tim Lewis and Mary Lee...
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Many plan sponsors seek the assistance of TPAs with the functions and responsibilities associated with running a retirement plan, but that does not absolve a plan sponsor from all responsibility. A recent blog entry argues that internal controls are key to fulfilling the duties plan sponsors can’t...
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Legislation has been reintroduced to create a national, online “lost and found” database to help plan participants keep track of their retirement accounts as they move from job to job.
The Retirement Savings Lost and Found Act sponsored by Sens. Elizabeth Warren (D-MA) and Steve Daines (R-MT)...
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Near the end of a term of every presidential administration, there’s always a push to finalize key regulatory proposals before a potential new president or Congress can overturn them. And this year appears to be no different.
Released by the White House’s Office of Information and Regulatory...
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The Labor Department has finally unveiled its much anticipated fiduciary rule, though it’s a mixed bag and has a certain “back to the future” feel, along with some new implications for recordkeepers, Pooled Employer Plans and rollover advice.
Titled “Improving Investment Advice for Workers...
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There’s generally not much you can learn from litigation settlements—the parties mostly agree to disagree, and the issues raised remain largely unresolved. But there are exceptions.
When the parties to a potential settlement present it to the court for approval, they take pains to point out...
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The IRS announced on June 23 that it is further extending some compliance deadlines for parts of the South that were affected by storms in April.
Specifically, the relief gives victims of tornadoes, severe storms and flooding that took place in April in parts of Mississippi, South Carolina and...
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The Pension Benefit Guaranty Corporation (PBGC) reports that its single-employer program continues to show vitality, while its multiemployer program remains mired in red ink. The fresh data comes in the recent update to the PBGC’s Pension Insurance Data Tables, which includes data from 2018 and...
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Noting its concern “that the growing emphasis on ESG investing may be prompting ERISA plan fiduciaries to make investment decisions for purposes distinct from providing benefits to participants and beneficiaries and defraying reasonable expenses of administering the plan,” the Labor Department has...
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A lawsuit—short on length and allegations, but laden with insinuation—has been filed in the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of Ohio, citing a “failure of effort, competence, or loyalty.”
The suit was filed by plaintiff-participants Gregory Stark, William Gaff, and Michael Lewin as...
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If you were wondering how long it would take someone to file suit regarding events related to the COVID-19 pandemic—wonder no more.
In what seems to be the first suit filed against a 401(k) plan post-COVID-19 outbreak, the suit—filed June 8 in the U.S. District Court for the District of Rhode...
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An annual fee study evaluating trends in the cost of U.S. open-end mutual funds and exchange-traded funds (ETFs) finds that the asset-weighted average expense ratio dropped to 0.45% in 2019.
Morningstar’s 2019 U.S. Fund Fee Study released June 8 found that the asset-weighted average expense...
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Some Form 5500 filers received relief in April, but not all. And the July 31 Form 5500 deadline looms for calendar-year plans—pandemic or no pandemic.
IRS Notice 2020-23 granted extensions to individuals, trusts, estates, corporations, exempt organizations and other non-corporate tax filers...
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We know that all parties involved in plan administration are struggling with the question of whether the employer or the participant have the right under the CARES Act to:
an extension of loan amounts (I think it’s the employer’s choice);
the right to suspend loan repayments (I think it’s...
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In a recent information letter, the Department of Labor (DOL) has outlined considerations regarding the use of private equity investments in designated investment alternatives made available to participants and beneficiaries in individual account plans subject to ERISA.
The letter was sent in...
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June has already been a busy month for 401(k) litigation, and the law firm of Capozzi Adler PC has filed yet another such suit.
Earlier last month they filed suit against Aegis Media Americas Inc.—the firm that brought suit about a year ago against the BTG International Inc. Profit Sharing 401(...
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Nearly every employer that sponsors a retirement plan should be concerned about potential liability for excessive fee claims, but it appears there are some plan characteristics that may make a plan more susceptible to being sued, according to a new white paper.
Co-authored by Chubb and the...
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The Internal Revenue Service has provided temporary administrative relief to help certain retirement plan participants or beneficiaries who need to make participant elections by allowing flexibility for remote signatures.
Specifically, Notice 2020-42 provides participants, beneficiaries and...
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If you were wondering what the Labor Department was planning to do about its reported revision of the fiduciary rule, wonder no more; a proposal has just been submitted to the Office of Management and Budget for review.
The OMB’s Office of Information and Regulatory Affairs, which is part of the...
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