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Regulatory Compliance
On January 30, the final rule titled “Prudence and Loyalty in Selecting Plan Investments and Exercising Shareholder Rights”—a.k.a. the “ESG rule”—became effective. American Retirement Association CEO Brian Graff recently sat down with the Employee Benefits Security Administration’s Tim Hauser to...
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The Labor Department has weighed in on an excessive fee case on behalf of the participant-plaintiffs — asserting that the district court made a bad call on the burden of proof.
The case under appeal involves Home Depot, and a decision last fall by Judge Steven D. Grimberg in the U.S. District ...
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The U.S. Department of Labor’s Employee Benefits Security Administration (EBSA) is resoliciting comments on its Voluntary Fiduciary Correction Program (VFCP) for input on changes mandated by the SECURE 2.0 Act of 2022.
Also cited were comments to the proposed amendment to Prohibited Transaction...
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The plaintiffs in an excessive fee suit are pressing for consideration of a settlement, arguing that recent decisions against claims similar to theirs don’t bode well for their case.
Now, in fairness, that’s not precisely their argument[1]. But these plaintiffs (Reichert et al. v. Juniper Networks...
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The IRS said on Feb. 8 that it will be issuing opinion letters for pre-approved defined benefit plans that were updated for changes in plan qualification requirements listed in Notice 2020-14 and that were filed with the IRS during the third six-year remedial amendment cycle for pre-approved DB...
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There are few things more disruptive to the peace or clarity of a 401(k) plan than a switch in recordkeepers.
Let’s face it — change — even change for the better — is frequently disruptive to the human psyche. Most of us tend to drift into comfortable “ruts” of pattern, or perhaps habit — places...
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Yet another 401(k) excessive fee suit has been dismissed for failing to allege a “plausible” claim of injury.
The most recent—a suit filed against Fluor Corp.’s 401(k) a little more than a year ago by former participants Deborah Locascio and David Summers. Represented by Miller Shah LLP and...
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The Pension Benefit Guaranty Corporation (PBGC) on Jan. 27 announced the appointment of John Hanley as Chief of Negotiations and Restructuring.
Since joining the PBGC in 2005, Hanley has served in several leadership positions, including Deputy Chief of Negotiations and Restructuring. He has worked...
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SECURE 2.0 is a reality now — and two industry experts offered their insights in a Jan. 25 webcast as the dust settles.
American Retirement Association Director of Regulatory Affairs Kelsey Mayo, who also is a Partner at Poyner Spruill LLP, and American Retirement Association Director of...
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Mere days before the Labor Department’s ESG regulation is set to go into effect, a coalition of 24 states has filed suit to stop it.
More specifically, the coalition, led by Texas Attorney General Paxton, says in a press release that the 2022 Rule “undermines key protections for retirement savings...
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Just four years after striking an excessive fee settlement, a fund company has been sued again — for allegedly not making the changes to its 401(k) lineup the settlement contemplated.
The defendants in the case are Allianz Asset Management of America, and the (new) participant-plaintiffs are Chad...
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Certain tax information could be disclosed to the Maryland Small Business Retirement Savings Board to help in administering the Maryland Small Business Retirement Savings Program and Trust.
Legislation that created the state-run auto-IRA program that businesses can offer went into effect on July...
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A new suit — with a plaintiff represented by a new (but suddenly active) law firm claims to be “another example of a large plan filling its 401(k) plan with (1) lower yielding, expensive investments when identical, cheaper classes were available at the time of selections/retentions, while (2)...
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The comment period for changes to the Department of Labor’s popular Voluntary Fiduciary Correction Program (VFCP) is rapidly coming to a close, with all comments due by Friday, Jan. 20.
The proposed changes, released in November, simplify and expand the original VFCP, “thereby making it easier for...
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The Pension Benefit Guaranty Corporation (PBGC) has issued a final rule adjusting civil penalties for failure to provide certain notices or other material information and for failure to provide certain multiemployer plan notices. The PBGC is required to amend its regulations annually to adjust...
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In a changing of the guard, Rep. Jason Smith (R-MO) has been selected by the House Republican leadership to take over as chairman of the powerful House Ways and Means Committee, but what does that mean for retirement policy?
Overall, Rep. Smith appears to be somewhat of a blank slate in this area...
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The IRS has updated the procedures for letter rulings and information letters. The update is contained in Revenue Procedure (Rev. Proc.) 2023-1.
More specifically, the IRS has updated the procedures for letter rulings and information letters issued by the Associate Chief Counsel (Corporate),...
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The IRS has updated the procedures for determination letter requests. The new procedures are outlined in Revenue Procedure (Rev. Proc.) 2023-04.
Rev. Proc. 2023-04 is a general update of Rev. Proc. 2022-4, published in Internal Revenue Bulletin 2022-01, which sets forth:
general information...
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In a new episode of the Nevin & Fred podcast, Nevin (Adams) and Fred (Reish) take a look at the Labor Department’s much-anticipated final ESG rule.
The Labor Department says that it will allow “plan fiduciaries to consider climate change and other environmental, social and governance factors...
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A recently unveiled settlement in a 401(k) excessive fee suit has hit a snag.
In fairness, the announced settlement was only a “partial” settlement—one that plaintiffs Wendy Berry, Lorri Hulings, and Kathleen Sammons announced with regard to claims against Aon Hewitt Investment Consulting, Inc. as...
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