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Regulatory Compliance
A participant lawsuit claims that American Airlines has put retirement savings at risk by investing with managers and funds that “pursue leftist political agendas through environmental, social and governance (ESG) strategies, proxy voting, and shareholder activism.”
Participant-plaintiff (and...
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The Senate Committee on Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions (HELP) sent a letter to the Department of Labor (DOL) on May 30 urging it to “effectively and expeditiously” implement SECURE 2.0. It also urged the DOL to prioritize six provisions related to the committee’s mission.
More specifically...
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The IRS has issued guidance on the expansion of the Employee Plans Compliance Resolution System (EPCRS) under Section 305 of SECURE 2.0.
The guidance is contained in Notice 2023-43, which provides interim guidance in advance of an update to Revenue Procedure (Rev. Proc.) 2021-30.
The issues the...
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With inflation running at record levels last year, the IRS provided a sizeable boost to the inflation-adjusted health savings account (HSA) limits for 2024, as determined under Section 223 of the Internal Revenue Code.
The announcement came in Revenue Procedure 2023-23, released May 16.
HSA...
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Appearing at the Employee Benefit Research Institute’s 2023 Spring Policy Forum on May 11, Lisa Gomez, Assistant Secretary for the Employee Benefits Security Administration (EBSA), told attendees that the department is busy working on getting guidance out the door.
On the retirement side, Gomez...
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An excessive fee suit where plan fiduciaries had prevailed on most issues — has now settled the remaining claims.
The suit — filed in mid-2020 by seven former employees of Schneider Electric Holdings, Inc. — had targeted Schneider Electric, the two committees that oversee the $4.5 billion plan,...
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The IRS has issued an update to the 2022-2023 priority guidance plan.
The IRS had released the initial plan on Nov. 4, 2022, setting forth guidance priorities for the 12-month period from July 1, 2022, through June 30, 2023 (the plan year). It released an update to the plan in February.
The To...
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Snap, Crackle — and now, Pop! Another multi-billion 401(k) plan has won its case against allegations of excessive fees.
The victor this time—winning dismissal of a proposed class action with prejudice[1] — was Kellogg’s, and the fiduciaries of its $1.9 billion 401(k) plan. The suit had been filed...
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The IRS has issued a clarification it proposes be added to the 2023 Form 5500 instructions.
Specifically, the clarification is proposed for Schedule SB, Line 26b - Schedule of Projection of Expected Benefit Payments.
What Line 26b does. Line 26b of Schedule SB requires plans covered by Title IV...
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While the retirement plan industry generally applauds the introduction and adoption of state-sponsored retirement plans, the possibility some could compete with and “crowd out” private plans due to how the legislation is structured is an ongoing concern.
However, in some states, the opposite is...
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The fiduciary standards in ERISA include an obligation to act prudently and solely for the exclusive purpose of providing benefits to participants and beneficiaries and for defraying reasonable expenses, and those standards apply to DB plans and DC plans. The Department of Labor (DOL) has not been...
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The fiduciaries of the 99 Cents Only Stores have come to terms in an excessive fee suit involving their 401(k) plan – and for considerably more than…99 cents.
That said, the relatively quick (the suit was filed only about a year ago on March 25, 2022) settlement was, by the standards of such...
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The Department of Labor’s Employee Benefits Security Administration (EBSA) on April 25 issued frequently asked questions (FAQs) on the annual funding notice requirements for multiemployer pension plans that received special financial assistance (SFA) funds under the American Rescue Plan (ARP) Act...
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The IRS has updated the information on its website concerning plan restatement periods and pre-approved plans.
Plan Restatement Periods
Plan sponsors of defined benefit plans that use an IRS pre-approved document have until March 31, 2025, to restate their plans with a 3rd cycle document. ...
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You know the story. The dreaded takeover case where the plan has a massive forfeiture suspense account that has been accumulating for years. Is this a problem? If so, how do you fix it?
We now have answers to these questions. On Feb. 27, 2023, the Treasury and IRS issued proposed regulations (...
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The American Retirement Association applauds the Department of Labor’s proposed addition of a self-correction option for delinquent participant contributions and loan repayments under the Voluntary Fiduciary Correction Program (VFCP) but contends that important clarifications are needed for plan...
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“Following several years of thorough and active litigation…including numerous dispositive and procedural motions, full discovery, and preparation for a twelve-day jury trial originally scheduled for April 2023,” the parties in an excessive fee suit have come to terms.
Here participant-plaintiffs...
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The IRS reports that it issued more than 1,200 determination letters concerning employee retirement plans in federal fiscal year (FY) 2022.
The information is contained in the IRS’ annual Data Book, this edition covering the period Oct. 1, 2021 to Sept. 30, 2022.
The annual Data Book details...
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On April 6, the Treasury Department and IRS released a Strategic Operating Plan detailing how new funding and thousands of new hires will be applied, saying it will provide taxpayers with “world-class customer service and reduce the deficit by hundreds of billions [of dollars].”
The resources —...
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The plaintiffs had claimed the plan fiduciaries had “an imprudent and disloyal preference for its own proprietary funds” — but have now come to terms.
Back in September of 2022, participant-plaintiffs Eric Goldstein, Matt Sudol, and Bonnie Zelazek, individually and as representatives of a class of...
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