Advertisement
Fiduciary Governance
The recent DOL FAQs provided relief in situations where an advisor provided a non-fiduciary service to an ERISA plan before the applicability date of the fiduciary regulation, but became a fiduciary on June 9 solely because of the change of definition. However, there are situations that the FAQs...
READ MORE
The funded status of U.S. corporate pension plans improved in July, according to assessments by three financial services firms. Milliman, Wilshire Consulting and Legal & General Investment Management America (LGIMA) all report that funded status overall inched up slightly from June to July. But...
READ MORE
Employers with defined benefit plans have long sought to reduce the costs of offering them and handling associated uncertainties. Recent studies discuss the growing trend of turning to pension risk transfers to relieve the pressure and highlight purchase of group annuities as one of the ways they...
READ MORE
The Department of Labor’s (DOL) Aug. 9 proposal that the transition period and full Best Interest Contract (BIC) applicability date of the fiduciary rule be delayed 18 months to July 1, 2019 no doubt was hailed by some as good news. But such a reaction is not universal.The Economic Policy Institute...
READ MORE
Compliance with the Department of Labor’s fiduciary rule has reduced access to brokerage advice services and choice, cost billions, and disrupted retirement savers, according to a new study.The study, commissioned by long-time opponent and fiduciary rule litigant SIFMA and conducted by Deloitte...
READ MORE
Is it a fiduciary act to recommend contributions, or a higher rate of contributions? The Department of Labor (DOL) recently provided some clarity in the frequently asked questions it issued on Aug. 3. The DOL says that doing so would not be deemed a fiduciary act “provided that the information and...
READ MORE
Earlier this year, the 6th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals ruled that the participants in a university’s pension plan do not have to exhaust administrative remedies before they pursue claims of ERISA violations. A recent blog entry discusses what this ruling means for plan fiduciaries.In “Exhaustion...
READ MORE
The fiduciary regulation got another day in court last week — and, for a change, this time the regulation’s challengers appeared to draw blood.The setting was oral arguments before the 5th Circuit Court of Appeals, with the Labor Department making its case for the regulation challenged by a group...
READ MORE
The Labor Department has issued a new set of FAQs on the fiduciary regulation that embraces the recommendations made by the ARA/NAPA Government Affairs Committee (GAC) in a recent comment letter.To recap, the 408(b)(2) regulation requires certain service providers to ERISA-governed retirement plans...
READ MORE
There’s good news and bad news, says the Pension Benefit Guaranty Corporation (PBGC). In its latest projections report, the PBGC says that the deficit its single-employer program has registered likely will end in the near future; however, the results for the multiemployer program are likely to be...
READ MORE
What comes to mind when you think of Socrates? Probably not defined benefit plans. And yet, a recent blog entry posits that there is indeed a connection.In “Know Thyself: Socratic Thoughts on Defined Benefit Fee Policy Statements,” Mike Clark, Consulting Actuary at Principal Financial Group, argues...
READ MORE
The Labor Department has filed for a stay of proceedings in litigation challenging the fiduciary regulation.“Here, a stay of proceedings would be the most efficient use of judicial resources,” the Labor Department noted, going on to state that the plaintiff in the case (Thrivent Financial for...
READ MORE
Nevada’s new law that imposes a fiduciary duty on broker-dealers, sales representatives and investment advisers is now in effect; it also authorizes rules on fiduciary duty.SB 383, which Gov. Brian Sandoval (R) signed into law June 2, went into effect on July 1. The measure not only concerns duties...
READ MORE
A group of lawmakers has responded to the Department of Labor’s (DOL) request for information (RFI) on the fiduciary regulation delay — by expressing concern that the RFI would be used as a pretext for revising the final rule.The group of Democratic Senators and Representatives — Sens. Patty Murray...
READ MORE
Fiduciary duties and functions have been discussed… just a little… over the last few years. But a recent blog entry suggests that cybersecurity should be added to them.Ariel Gaknoki argues that it should in “Fiduciary Obligations to Safeguard Plan Participants’ Data,” an entry appearing in Trucker...
READ MORE
The House Education and the Workforce Committee approved legislation July 19 that would repeal the Department of Labor’s (DOL) fiduciary regulation.Not surprisingly, the 23-17 vote in support of the Affordable Retirement Advice for Savers Act (H.R. 2823) fell along party lines. The bill was...
READ MORE
The surging stock market may have muted suits brought by participants regarding employer stock holdings — but a new one claims to be “about the defendants’ abject failure, as plan fiduciaries, to protect the interests of the participants.”The plan at issue this time is Sears Holdings Corp., which,...
READ MORE
In a July 18 letter responding to the Labor Department’s request for information (RFI) on its fiduciary regulation, the American Retirement Association (ARA) has requested an extension of the applicability date — and a streamlined levelized fee exemption.Level ‘Better’The ARA had authored — and...
READ MORE
House Education and the Workforce Committee on July 19 will markup the Affordable Retirement Advice for Savers Act, a bill that would repeal the Department of Labor’s (DOL) fiduciary rule.In a committee press release announcing the markup, Chair Rep. Virginia Foxx (R-NC) noted that the bill does...
READ MORE
The Department of Labor’s (DOL) recent request for information (RFI) about the fiduciary regulation indicate the issues of greatest interest to the DOL. Fred Reish looks at two issues concerning the Best Interest Contract Exemption (BICE) in that RFI.In a recent (54th, but who’s counting) blog post...
READ MORE