On November 19, 2021, the U.S. House of Representatives voted to approve the Build Back Better Act (H.R. 5376, the “BBB Act”), the budget reconciliation bill that includes much of President Biden’s economic and social policy...more
11/24/2021
/ Affordable Care Act ,
Biden Administration ,
Drug Pricing ,
Health Insurance ,
Individual Retirement Account (IRA) ,
Infrastructure ,
Medicaid ,
Medicare ,
Medicare Part D ,
Popular ,
Prescription Drugs ,
Tax Credits
On November 15, 2021, President Biden signed the Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act (the “IIJA”) into law. IIJA contains two sections that may affect qualified retirement plans....more
On October 25, 2021, the Department of Labor (“DOL”) issued Field Assistance Bulletin 2021-02 announcing...more
On October 14, 2021, the Department of Labor (the “DOL”) published a proposed regulation, “Prudence and Loyalty in Selecting Plan Investments and Exercising Shareholder Rights” (86 Fed. Reg. 57272, the “Proposed Rule”). The...more
The Department of Labor (“DOL”) is relying on a recent Supreme Court decision to effectively extend the amount of time the agency has to bring fiduciary breach claims. DOL investigations often last years, so it is common for...more
The Department of Labor (“DOL”), Department of the Treasury (the “Treasury”), and Pension Benefit Guaranty Corporation (“PBGC”) (collectively, the “Agencies”) recently released a notice of proposed revisions to the Form 5500...more
On September 15, the House Ways and Means and Energy and Commerce Committees advanced components of the Democrats’ $3.5 trillion budget reconciliation package (“Budget Legislation” or “the Legislation”). The Legislation...more
On July 26, 2021, the Department of Labor ( “DOL”) issued a brief set of Frequently Asked Questions (the “FAQs”) clarifying certain issues related to the interim final rule (the “IFR”) implementing the lifetime income...more
Groom has prepared a comparison here of the provisions in two key retirement bills being considered by the 117th Congress: the Securing a Strong Retirement Act of 2021 (H.R. 2954, “SECURE 2.0”) and the Retirement Security &...more
Securing a Strong Retirement Act of 2021 as marked up by the House Ways and Means Committee on May 5, 2021....more
The House Ways and Means Committee has just approved the bipartisan Securing a Strong Retirement Act, often referred to as SECURE 2.0. Groom’s policy team will be hosting a brief discussion of the bill as well as the...more
5/7/2021
/ 401k ,
403(b) Plans ,
Benefit Plan Sponsors ,
Employee Benefits ,
Individual Retirement Account (IRA) ,
Legislative Agendas ,
Retirement ,
Retirement Funds ,
Retirement Plan ,
Retirement Plan Providers ,
SECURE Act ,
Webinars
On April 13, 2021, the Department of Labor (“DOL”) issued a set of Frequently Asked Questions (“FAQs”) on the DOL’s new class exemption for the provision of investment advice, known as Prohibited Transaction Exemption (“PTE”)...more
On March 11, 2021, President Biden signed into law the American Rescue Plan Act (Pub. Law 117-2, the “Act” or “ARPA”). The Act, among other things, provides significant funding relief for single-employer defined benefit...more
On February 8, 2021, in the latest turn in the saga of a closely-watched ERISA cybersecurity lawsuit, the Northern District of Illinois again dismissed fiduciary breach claims against Abbott Laboratories (“Abbott Labs”)...more
On March 10, 2021, the House of Representatives passed the version of the American Rescue Plan Act (H.R. 1319, the “Act”) previously passed by the Senate on March 6. President Biden is expected to sign the legislation on...more
3/12/2021
/ Affordable Care Act ,
CARES Act ,
COBRA ,
Coronavirus/COVID-19 ,
Employee Benefits ,
Employee Retirement Income Security Act (ERISA) ,
Flexible Spending Accounts ,
Health Insurance ,
Multiemployer Plan ,
Paid Leave ,
Relief Measures ,
Sick Leave ,
Tax Credits
On March 10, 2021, the House of Representatives passed the American Rescue Plan Act (H.R. 1319, the “Act”), sending it to President Biden for his signature later this week. The Act includes a number of significant health,...more
3/11/2021
/ Affordable Care Act ,
American Rescue Plan Act of 2021 ,
Benefit Plan Sponsors ,
Biden Administration ,
COBRA ,
Coronavirus/COVID-19 ,
Employee Benefits ,
Executive Compensation ,
Health and Welfare Plans ,
Health Insurance ,
Health Plan Sponsors ,
Internal Revenue Code (IRC) ,
Multiemployer Plan ,
Pensions ,
Relief Measures ,
Section 162(m) ,
Tax Credits ,
Tax Deductions ,
Tax Planning ,
Webinars
On February 12, 2021, the House Ways and Means Committee approved key changes to the pension funding rules as part of its portion of COVID-19 budget reconciliation legislation pursuant to the budget resolution (S. Con. Res....more
In recent months, two competing visions for multiemployer pension reform legislation have been introduced in Congress....more
On January 7, 2021, the Pension Benefit Guaranty Corporation (“PBGC”) issued final regulations updating its guidance under sections 4211 and 4219 of the Employee Retirement Income Security Act of 1974 (“ERISA”), which govern...more
On January 12, 2021, the Department of Labor (the “DOL”) issued three pieces of guidance detailing the DOL’s view of what steps plan fiduciaries should take to locate and distribute retirement benefits to missing or...more
On December 21, the House and Senate passed a $2.3 trillion omnibus appropriations and COVID-19 relief package, H.R. 133, the Consolidated Appropriations Act, 2021 (the “Act”). President Trump signed the Act into law on...more
The Coronavirus Aid, Relief, and Economic Security Act (“CARES Act”) passed earlier this year delayed the due date of quarterly and final contributions otherwise due in calendar year 2020 to January 1, 2021. But because...more
On October 30, 2020, the Department of Labor (“DOL”) issued its much-anticipated final rule on Financial Factors in Selecting Plan Investments (the “Final Rule”). The Final Rule amends the DOL’s long-standing “investment...more
On September 4, 2020, the Department of Labor (the “Department”) published a proposed regulation related to proxy voting and the exercise of certain shareholder rights (85 Fed. Reg. 55219, the “Proposed Rule”) by fiduciaries...more
We are nearing the final stretch of the 2020 campaign. What have the parties proposed for the future of the U.S. retirement system? A chart below summarizes the policy documents prepared by the parties outlining their goals...more
9/2/2020
/ Department of Labor (DOL) ,
Employee Retirement Income Security Act (ERISA) ,
Fiduciary Rule ,
Joe Biden ,
Pensions ,
Political Campaigns ,
Political Candidates ,
Presidential Elections ,
Retirement ,
Retirement Plan Providers ,
Tax Incentives ,
Tax Planning ,
Trump Administration