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Fiduciary Governance
Speculation continues to swirl on whether the Department of Labor will appeal the ruling by the 5th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals vacating the fiduciary rule, but time is running short.At the April 15 opening session of the NAPA 401(k) Summit in Nashville, the Groom Law Group’s David Levine and The...
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While reiterating some long-standing positions on socially responsive investing, the Department of Labor (DOL) has some new cautions about an ESG emphasis in plan design and proxy voting.It has done so in the form of Field Assistance Bulletin 2018-01, issued April 23, which is designed to provide...
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Despite the 4-1 vote by the Securities and Exchange Commission to release for public comment its fiduciary proposals, the commissioners apparently (still) have issues with the current version.In unveiling the package, SEC Commissioner Jay Clayton stated as motivations for this initiative: investor...
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While the Securities and Exchange Commissioners were hardly unanimous in their assessment, they voted 4-1 to release for public comment a set of proposals to “enhance the quality and transparency of investors’ relationships with investment advisers and broker-dealers while preserving access to a...
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“Lifetime income is becoming the most important issue for retirement security,” says Theodore Goldman, Senior Pension Fellow at the American Academy of Actuaries, adding that the academy considers lifetime income “one of the most critical components leading to retirement security.”Goldman shared...
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As workers become more highly mobile, frequently changings jobs and homes, the task of finding missing plan participants can be a time-consuming and difficult process for plan sponsors, particularly in light of the Department of Labor sharpening its focus on efforts taken by sponsors to find...
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At an April 11 session of the Enrolled Agents Meeting held by the Conference of Consulting Actuaries and the American Academy of Actuaries in Washington, DC, a panel of PBGC officials discussed compliance issues regarding single-employer plans, with a focus on late filings and missing participants...
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Scottrade wants to make a federal case out of an administrative proceeding filed by Massachusetts alleging violations of internal policies adopted in anticipation of the Labor Department’s fiduciary rule.Specifically, Scottrade has filed a legal motion to have the administrative proceeding filed by...
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The Securities and Exchange Commission has announced plans for an open meeting to consider the agency’s long-awaited — and much anticipated — fiduciary proposal.According to a notice on the SEC’s website, the meeting will be held on Wednesday, April 18, 2018, at 3:30 p.m. at the Commission’s...
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The IRS and Treasury Department are “making progress” on guidance regarding missing participants, according to a panelist at an April 11 session of the Enrolled Actuaries meeting held by the Conference of Consulting Actuaries and the American Academy of Actuaries in Washington, DC.
Session...
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The Tax Cuts and Jobs Act’s participant loan changes (which delay the account offset on loan defaults related to unemployment or plan termination) trigger something we would all rather not look at: the “uncomfortable” manner in which ERISA’s fiduciary rules apply to loans and their administration....
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The Department of Labor’s (DOL) fiduciary rule may be on hold indefinitely, but that doesn’t mean that fiduciary duties similarly are in limbo. A recent blog entry offers some tips for meeting them. In “A Simple Guide for Meeting 401(k) Fiduciary Responsibilities,” an entry in Employee Fiduciary’s...
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The 5th Circuit Court of Appeals recently “vacated” the DOL’s fiduciary rule and exemptions. What does that mean for recommendations to participants that they take plan distributions and roll them over to IRAs?Well, according to the latest blog post from noted ERISA attorney Fred Reish, “It means a...
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Sign up now for the 2018 ASPPA Eastern Regional Conference to take advantage of the extended Early Bird registration rate, which is now available until April 3.The 2018 Eastern Regional Conference will be held at the Doubletree Center City Hotel in Philadelphia on Thursday, April 26 and Friday,...
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The DOL Advisory Council on Employee Welfare and Pension Benefit Plans’ latest report centers on one overarching theme: simplifying plan disclosures to participants and beneficiaries. The report also recommends further exploration of the utility and effectiveness of electronic delivery mechanisms.“...
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An appeal of a decision supporting the Department of Labor’s (DOL) fiduciary rule won’t have its day in court, after all.
The DOL and the National Association for Fixed Annuities have stipulated and agreed to a “voluntary dismissal” of an appeal pending in the U.S. Court of Appeals for the...
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A suit against third-party administrator Vantage Benefit Administrators has been amended to include another party alleged to be complicit in the theft of money from a number of retirement plans.
Last December, MBA Engineering Inc. had accused Vantage Benefits Administrators, Inc., Vantage CEO...
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Administering a plan can be challenging, even when the plan is actively run and all the participants are accounted for. But throw in a plan that’s abandoned or some participants who are missing, and it’s a lot more complicated. A recent ASPPA webcast addressed those unwelcome situations.In the...
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The 5th Circuit’s ruling in Chamber of Commerce et.al. v. U.S. Dept. of Labor vacating the Department of Labor’s (DOL) fiduciary rule was a win for opponents of the rule — at the very least in the states in that circuit. But a recent analysis suggests that in the long run, opponents who took that...
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In a March 15 decision, the U.S Court of Appeals for the 5th Circuit vacated the Department of Labor’s (DOL) fiduciary rule. But did that ruling really kill the rule? In “Flashpoint: Did the 5th Circuit Kill the DOL Fiduciary Rules?” the Ferenczy Benefits Law Center provides an analysis of the...
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