Seyfarth Synopsis: On April 23, 2024, the Department of Labor released its latest attempt to amend its 1975 “fiduciary rule” and seven prohibited transaction class exemptions issued between 1975 and 2020 that investment...more
On April 23, 2024, the DOL finalized its 2023 proposed package of amendments to the regulations defining who is a fiduciary under ERISA by virtue of providing investment advice for a fee, and amendments to seven existing...more
On October 31, 2023, the Department of Labor (“DOL”) issued its latest attempt at revising the rules regarding when investment professionals who provide “investment advice” to employee benefit plans or plan participants are a...more
11/10/2023
/ Department of Labor (DOL) ,
Employee Benefits ,
Employee Retirement Income Security Act (ERISA) ,
Fiduciary Duty ,
Fiduciary Rule ,
Investment Adviser ,
Investment Management ,
Prohibited Transactions ,
Proposed Rules ,
Regulatory Agenda ,
Retirement Plan
Seyfarth Synopsis: At the end of November, the DOL issued final regulations on ERISA’s fiduciary duties when investing plan assets. According to the DOL, these final regulations retain the longstanding core principles that...more
Seyfarth Synopsis: The ever evolving landscape of environmental, social and governance (ESG) factors and 401(k) plan investment options may have just become even more complicated....more
Seyfarth Synopsis: For those of you following the saga of ERISA’s fiduciary duties and ESG investing, we are nearing a possible finish line. The latest turn in the saga came when the DOL issued a new set of proposed...more
Seyfarth Synopsis: In mid-December 2020, after a truncated comment period and without public hearings, the US Department of Labor (DOL) finalized its proposed regulations on a fiduciary’s responsibilities when exercising...more
Seyfarth Synopsis: On October 30, 2020, the Department of Labor (“DOL”) released a final regulation amending the fiduciary regulations governing investment duties under the Employee Retirement Investment Security Act of 1974...more
Seyfarth Synopsis: On the heels of the Department of Labor’s June proposed regulation throwing cold water on plan fiduciaries’ selecting investments in the environment, social and governance (ESG) space, the agency has now...more
Seyfarth Synopsis: On June 23, 2020, the Department of Labor (“DOL”) issued a proposed regulation amending the fiduciary regulations governing investment duties under Employee Retirement Investment Security Act of 1974...more
Seyfarth Synopsis: On June 23, 2020, the Department of Labor (“DOL”) issued a proposed regulation amending the fiduciary regulations governing investment duties under the Employee Retirement Investment Security Act of 1974...more
Seyfarth Synopsis: On Friday, March 27, 2020, in light of the far-reaching impact of coronavirus, President Trump signed the Coronavirus Aid, Relief, and Economic Security (CARES) Act, which includes some relief provisions...more
In an unpublished decision dated May 16, 2019, the Ninth Circuit held that a plan administrator abused its discretion by denying surviving spouse benefits under an ERISA retirement benefit plan to a participant’s domestic...more
6/7/2019
/ Abuse of Discretion ,
Annuities ,
DOMA ,
Domestic Partnership ,
Employee Benefits ,
Employee Retirement Income Security Act (ERISA) ,
Life Insurance ,
Plan Administrators ,
Remand ,
Surviving Spouse ,
Survivor Benefits
In September, the IRS issued Rev. Proc. 2018-52 updating the IRS correction program, i.e., Employee Plans Compliance Resolution System (“EPCRS”). EPCRS allows retirement plan sponsors to correct compliance failures that may...more
For several years now we’ve been keeping you updated on the long and winding road of the Department of Labor’s (“DOL”) Fiduciary Rule....more
6/26/2018
/ Best Interest Contract Exemptions ,
Conflicts of Interest ,
Consumer Financial Products ,
Department of Labor (DOL) ,
Employee Benefits ,
Employee Retirement Income Security Act (ERISA) ,
Fiduciary Duty ,
Fiduciary Rule ,
Financial Services Industry ,
Investment Adviser ,
Investment Management ,
Regulatory Oversight ,
Regulatory Reform ,
Retirement Plan ,
Vacated
On May 7, 2018, the Department of Labor (the “DOL”) issued a temporary non-enforcement policy regarding its investment advice fiduciary regulation (the “Fiduciary Rule”) in Field Assistance Bulletin 2018-02. This guidance was...more
5/9/2018
/ Best Interest Contract Exemptions ,
Conflicts of Interest ,
Department of Labor (DOL) ,
Employee Benefits ,
Employee Retirement Income Security Act (ERISA) ,
Fiduciary Duty ,
Fiduciary Rule ,
Field Assistance Bulletins ,
Financial Services Industry ,
Investment Adviser ,
Investment Management ,
Retirement Plan
On April 23, 2018, the Department of Labor (“DOL”) issued Field Assistance Bulletin No. 2018-01 (“FAB”), which clarifies Interpretive Bulletin 2015-01 (relating to a benefit plan selecting investments to promote social policy...more
4/27/2018
/ 401k ,
Department of Labor (DOL) ,
Employee Benefits ,
Employee Retirement Income Security Act (ERISA) ,
Fiduciary Duty ,
Field Assistance Bulletins ,
Investment ,
Investment Policy Statements ,
Retirement Plan ,
Shareholder Rights ,
Stakeholder Engagement
On March 15, 2018, in Chamber of Commerce of the U.S.A., et al. v. U.S. Department of Labor, the Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit invalidated the Department of Labor’s (“DOL”) new investment advice fiduciary regulation...more
3/26/2018
/ Best Interest Contract Exemptions ,
Conflicts of Interest ,
Consumer Financial Products ,
Department of Labor (DOL) ,
Employee Benefits ,
Employee Retirement Income Security Act (ERISA) ,
Fiduciary Duty ,
Fiduciary Rule ,
Financial Services Industry ,
Investment Adviser ,
Investment Management ,
Regulatory Oversight ,
Retirement Plan ,
Vacated
Included in the definition of a fiduciary in Section 3(21) of the Employee Retirement Income Security Act (“ERISA”) is someone who provides investment advice for a fee. Regulations issued in 1975 by the U.S. Department of...more
4/18/2016
/ Benefit Plan Sponsors ,
Best Interest Contract Exemptions ,
Best Interest Standard ,
Conflicts of Interest ,
Department of Labor (DOL) ,
Employee Retirement Income Security Act (ERISA) ,
Exceptions ,
Fiduciary Duty ,
Final Rules ,
Individual Retirement Account (IRA) ,
Investment Adviser ,
Participant-Directed Plans ,
PTEs ,
Retirement Plan