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Regulatory Compliance
The Bay State’s Securities Division of the Office of the Secretary of the Commonwealth has formally released new proposed fiduciary conduct standards for broker-dealers, agents, investment advisers and investment adviser representatives – but how does it view ERISA’s fiduciary standard?
The...
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Seven months ago, the United States Supreme Court asked the Solicitor General of the United States to weigh in on a case with significant implications for the burden of proof in ERISA lawsuits. Now they have.
In a 28-page “friend of the court” brief (Putnam Investments, LLC v. Brotherston, U.S.,...
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Thanksgiving has been called a “uniquely American” holiday, and while that may be something of an overstatement, it is unquestionably a special holiday, and one on which it seems appropriate to reflect on all for which we should be thankful.
So, as I look back at this past year:
I’m thankful that...
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[UPDATED 12/04/19]
Secretary of the Commonwealth William F. Galvin, Massachusetts’ chief securities regulator, has signed off on new regulations that would impose a uniform fiduciary conduct standard in that state.
A hearing on the proposed regulations, which were filed with Galvin’s Publications...
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Sens. Charles Grassley (R-IA) and Lamar Alexander (R-TN) have issued a white paper and technical explanation that discuss the challenges facing multiemployer pension plans and the Pension Benefit Guaranty Corporation (PBGC) and also offer a multiemployer pension and recapitalization reform plan....
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The enforcement and benefit advisor programs of the Labor Department’s Employee Benefits Security Administration do not appear to be slowing down much, with robust activity in fiscal year 2019.
The enforcement program alone recovered more than $2 billion from its investigations – up from $1.6...
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There’s a move afoot on Capitol Hill to push back on the Department of Labor’s (DOL) expansion of the e-delivery safe harbor – and it’s bipartisan.
Reps. Morgan Griffith (R-VA) and Donald McEachin (D-VA) have reached out to their colleagues in the U.S. House of Representatives, inviting them to...
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On Nov. 22, the American Retirement Association weighed in on the Labor Department’s e-delivery proposal.
The proposal – which fulfills a key component of President Trump’s August 2018 retirement security Executive Order – would allow plan administrators who satisfy specified conditions to provide...
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On Nov. 22, the American Retirement Association provided information to the Labor Department on the general disclosure framework under the Employee Retirement Income Security Act of 1974 (ERISA), focusing on “design, delivery, and content.”
The Request for Information (RFI) accompanied a proposal...
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Cyber crime, and cyber security, obviously are a concern for plans. But that means more than making sure plan records and accounts are not targets and victims — it also includes other functions, structures and systems.
Experts at the recent SPARK Forum held in Palm Beach, FL offered insights and...
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What is a short plan year? A recent blog post from DWC – The 401(k) Experts defines the term, but argues that what’s more important is why a short plan year exists.
The post points out that defining a short plan year is very easy: any plan year with fewer than 12 months. “Company-sponsored...
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The IRS has revised Publication 4810, Specifications for Electronic Filing of Form 8955-SSA, Annual Registration Statement Identifying Separated Participants With Deferred Vested Benefits. The revisions, made in November 2019, are to update the form for filing concerning the 2019 plan year....
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Multiple employer plans (MEPs) are close — a provision in the pending SECURE Act would ease the rules restricting them, and the Department of Labor issued a final rule in July that makes it easier for small businesses to offer retirement savings plans to their workers through association retirement...
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The Department of Labor’s Employee Benefits Security Administration (EBSA), the IRS and the Pension Benefit Guaranty Corporation have released advance copies of the 2019 Form 5500 and the Form 5500-SF, as well as their schedules. They will be used for reporting information pertaining to the 2019...
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Stephanie Avakian, Co-Director of the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) Division of Enforcement, outlined the agency’s examination of the administration of teacher retirement plans at a recent conference.
In keynote remarks she presented Nov. 5 at the 2019 SEC Regulation Outside the United...
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The Pension Benefit Guaranty Corporation (PBGC) set about providing revenue in response to claims as soon as it was established in 1974 with the enactment of ERISA. The PBGC makes figures available on the parties and industry segments to which it makes payments, and it has updated that data through...
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The Pension Benefit Guaranty Corporation (PBGC) has proposed modifications to the Form 5500 and also to its Schedule R (Retirement Plan Information) for reporting about the 2020 plan year.
Form 5500
The PBGC is proposing minor modifications to the Form 5500 Series to improve the accuracy of...
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The IRS has just announced in Notice 2019-60 that it is providing additional temporary nondiscrimination relief for closed definedbenefit plans through 2020.
Notice 2019-60 provides additional temporary nondiscrimination relief for DB plans that provide ongoing accruals but that have been amended...
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New survey results by HealthSavings Administrators finds that employers overwhelmingly outpace benefits professionals in viewing HSAs as a retirement planning tool.
The survey of 270 benefits professionals and employers found that 90% of surveyed employers, benefit consultants, benefit brokers...
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On Oct. 22, the Department of Labor (DOL) released a proposed rule that would provide the ability to default participants into electronic disclosure of certain required participant documents. This week, we’d like to know what you think, and how you’d improve/modify that proposal, if at all.
As...
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