The Fifth Circuit Court of Appeals’ rejection of the DOL’s Fiduciary rule reintroduces the 1975 five-factor fiduciary test and creates uncertainty for plan sponsors, plan fiduciaries and investment advisors.
After years of...more
6/29/2018
/ Administrative Procedure Act ,
Benefit Plan Sponsors ,
Best Interest Contract Exemptions ,
Chevron Deference ,
Department of Labor (DOL) ,
Employee Retirement Income Security Act (ERISA) ,
Fiduciary Duty ,
Fiduciary Rule ,
Financial Services Industry ,
Individual Retirement Account (IRA) ,
Investment Adviser ,
Regulatory Oversight ,
Retirement Plan
The future of the Department of Labor’s Fiduciary rule is in limbo following the Fifth Circuit’s decision striking it down “in toto.”
The future of the Fiduciary rule is uncertain, particularly in light of the Fifth...more
4/12/2018
/ Administrative Procedure Act ,
Best Interest Contract Exemptions ,
Broker-Dealer ,
Department of Labor (DOL) ,
Employee Benefits ,
Employee Retirement Income Security Act (ERISA) ,
Fiduciary Duty ,
Fiduciary Rule ,
Investment Adviser ,
Retirement Plan ,
Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC)
The department extends non-enforcement policy until July 1, 2019 and plans to propose a new streamlined class exemption under the Fiduciary rule.
The DOL finalized its delay of certain portions of the Fiduciary rule until...more
12/15/2017
/ Best Interest Contract Exemptions ,
Broker-Dealer ,
Department of Labor (DOL) ,
Employee Retirement Income Security Act (ERISA) ,
Fiduciary Duty ,
Fiduciary Rule ,
Individual Retirement Account (IRA) ,
Investment Adviser ,
Retirement Plan ,
Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) ,
Trump Administration
On April 7, 2017, the Department of Labor (DOL) published a final rule delaying the applicability date of the “Fiduciary” rule and certain “Prohibited Transaction Exemption” rules (the Rules) for 60 days from April 10, 2017...more
5/3/2017
/ Best Interest Contract Exemptions ,
Conflicts of Interest ,
Department of Labor (DOL) ,
Employee Benefits ,
Employee Retirement Income Security Act (ERISA) ,
Fiduciary Duty ,
Fiduciary Rule ,
First Amendment ,
Free Speech ,
Investment Adviser ,
Retirement Plan ,
Trump Administration
On March 2, 2017, the Department of Labor (DOL) proposed to delay the applicability date of the “Fiduciary” rule by 60 days. The DOL issued the proposal in response to the February 3, 2017, Presidential Memorandum...more
The Employee Retirement Income Security Act of 1974, as amended (ERISA), protects plan participant benefits and account balances by imposing high standards of care on the plan’s fiduciaries. Fiduciaries who do not follow...more
9/6/2016
/ Cybersecurity ,
Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) ,
Employee Benefits ,
Employee Retirement Income Security Act (ERISA) ,
Employer Group Health Plans ,
Fiduciary Duty ,
Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act (HIPAA) ,
HITECH Act ,
PHI ,
Retirement ,
Retirement Plan
The ERISA Advisory Council1 recently announced that, as part of its goals for 2016, it will be focusing on cybersecurity issues affecting retirement plans and, in particular, the extent to which such issues relate to...more
The year 2016 has only just started, and we have already seen several important court decisions related to employee benefit plans and the Employee Retirement Income Security Act of 1974, as amended (ERISA). This Client Alert...more
2/18/2016
/ Amgen ,
Corporate Counsel ,
Employee Benefits ,
Employee Retirement Income Security Act (ERISA) ,
Medical Expenses ,
Montanile v Board of Trustees ,
Popular ,
Qualified Settlement Funds ,
Retirement Plan ,
SCOTUS ,
Yard Man
On May 18th, the U.S. Supreme Court unanimously held in Tibble et al. v. Edison International et al., No. 13-550 (S. Ct. May 18, 2015) that ordinary principles of trust law impose on ERISA fiduciaries a duty to continually...more
This is the first in a series of client advisories regarding the Department of Labor’s re-proposed regulation on the definition of “fiduciary” under ERISA Section 3(21) and related proposed new and amended prohibited...more
In 2010, the U.S. enacted a sweeping change in enforcement of its tax laws on foreign financial interests, the Foreign Account Tax Compliance Act (FATCA). The main thrust of the act is to penalize foreign financial...more
In IRS Notice 2014-19 and accompanying FAQs, the Internal Revenue Service (“IRS”) issued long-awaited guidance addressing the treatment of same-sex spouses under qualified retirement plans such as 401(k) and defined benefit...more
The First Circuit Court of Appeals recently became the first federal appellate court to hold that a private equity (“PE”) fund can be a “trade or business,” and thus potentially included in a “controlled group” with its...more
On July 22, 2013, the Department of Labor (DOL) announced a one-time opportunity for administrators of participant-directed individual account plans such as 401(k) and ERISA-covered 403(b) plans to “re-set” their annual...more
The Employee Retirement Income Security Act of 1974 (“ERISA”) requires participant-directed retirement plans to provide participants with in-depth disclosures of the plan’s fees, expenses, and investment performance on an...more