On April 17, 2025, the Supreme Court ruled in Cunningham v. Cornell University that, to state a claim under ERISA section 406(a), plaintiffs need only allege the elements contained in section 406(a). Prior to the Supreme...more
On April 25, 2024, the U.S. Department of Labor (“DOL”) published its much-anticipated final regulation on the definition of “fiduciary” under section 3(21)(a)(ii) of the Employee Retirement Income Security Act of 1974, as...more
On April 23, 2024, the U.S. Department of Labor (“DOL” or “Department”) issued a final regulatory package amending its fiduciary investment advice regulation and revising numerous existing prohibited transaction exemptions...more
On April 25, 2024, the U.S. Department of Labor (“DOL”) published its much-anticipated final regulation on the definition of “fiduciary” under section 3(21)(a)(ii) of the Employee Retirement Income Security Act of 1974, as...more
Over the past several years, there has been a growing interest in enhancing employee benefit programs to help employees save for emergencies. Employers and service providers have developed a number of different types of...more
In a September 29, 2023 Advisory Opinion issued to Citigroup Inc. (“Citi”), the Department of Labor (“DOL”) addressed several key ERISA implications arising in connection with a Citi Racial Equity Program (the “Program”). ...more
The Department of Labor (“DOL”) has sent a new, proposed fiduciary rule to the Office and Management and Budget (“OMB”) for review. The text of the proposal is not yet public. OMB must first conduct an interagency review...more
U.S. Department of Labor (“DOL”) has accepted a new setback to its longstanding initiative to subject IRA rollover recommendations to ERISA’s fiduciary standard and its prohibited transaction rules. On May 15, 2023, the DOL...more
Does combining a recommendation to take a rollover from a retirement plan with post-rollover advice mean that advice is being provided on a “regular basis” under the Department of Labor’s (“DOL”) five-part test for fiduciary...more
Yesterday, the Senate passed the Consolidated Appropriations Act of 2023 (the “CAA”) to fund the government through September 30, 2023. Division T of the legislation is the SECURE 2.0 Act of 2022 (“SECURE 2.0”), which builds...more
The Department of Labor (the “DOL”) recently finalized a regulation amending the rules under the Employee Retirement Income Security Act of 1974, as amended (“ERISA”), related to the selection of plan investments and the...more
A September 27, 2022 decision by the Southern District of New York addresses several key theories recently advanced by the plaintiffs’ bar in ERISA-based lawsuits against plan service providers. In Carfora v. TIAA, S.D.N.Y....more
One day after President Biden’s Executive Order on Ensuring Responsible Development of Digital Assets, the Department of Labor’s Employee Benefits Security Administration (“DOL”) issued Compliance Assistance Release No....more
Last week marked a key development in the nascent and still evolving body of case law addressing the status of 401(k) plan participant data as an ERISA “plan asset.” On Tuesday, March 30, 2021, The U.S. District Court for...more
Several highly publicized lawsuits were brought against the Fidelity organization in 2019 in connection with Fidelity’s receipt of “infrastructure fees” from mutual fund families and other investment providers made available...more
3/3/2020
/ 401k ,
Breach of Duty ,
Compensation & Benefits ,
Compensation Agreements ,
Defined Contribution Plans ,
Dismissals ,
Employee Benefits ,
Employee Retirement Income Security Act (ERISA) ,
Fees ,
Fiduciary Duty ,
Investment ,
Investment Funds ,
Mutual Funds
As the U.S. private retirement system has largely shifted away from traditional pensions in favor of a defined contribution plan savings model, a number of policymakers have expressed concerns over whether participants’...more
2/6/2020
/ 401k ,
403(b) Plans ,
Benefit Plan Sponsors ,
Compensation & Benefits ,
Defined Contribution Plans ,
Employee Benefits ,
Employee Retirement Income Security Act (ERISA) ,
Fiduciary ,
Individual Retirement Account (IRA) ,
Lifetime Benefits ,
Lifetime Income Disclosures ,
New Legislation ,
Regulatory Reform ,
Required Minimum Distributions ,
Retirement ,
Retirement Plan ,
Safe Harbors ,
Section 204 ,
SECURE Act ,
Tax Planning ,
Tax Rates