Acknowledging uncommon market conditions, the Pension Benefit Guaranty Corporation (PBGC) announced Technical Update Number 23-1 (the Update), which provides a one-time waiver of certain reporting requirements for some...more
A new bill introduced in Congress would allow 403(b) plans maintained by tax-exempt organizations to make use of collective investment trust (CIT) investments—an alternative to mutual funds that may provide significant cost...more
The Internal Revenue Service (IRS) is strategically working to execute the statutory changes that were outlined by the Setting Every Community Up for Retirement Enhancement Act (SECURE Act) of 2019. However, the IRS’s efforts...more
4/12/2022
/ 403(b) Plans ,
501(c)(3) ,
Deadlines ,
Department of Labor (DOL) ,
Employee Benefits ,
Employee Retirement Income Security Act (ERISA) ,
Employer Contributions ,
Individual Retirement Account (IRA) ,
Internal Revenue Code (IRC) ,
IRS ,
Proposed Regulation ,
Required Minimum Distributions ,
Retirement Plan ,
SECURE Act ,
U.S. Treasury
The US Department of Labor (DOL) recently issued guidance concerning a new exemption under the prohibited transaction provisions of the Employee Retirement Income Security Act of 1974 (ERISA) in connection with the provision...more
7/16/2021
/ Banks ,
Broker-Dealer ,
Department of Labor (DOL) ,
Disclosure ,
Employee Retirement Income Security Act (ERISA) ,
Employees ,
Exemptions ,
Fiduciary ,
Fiduciary Duty ,
Individual Retirement Account (IRA) ,
Insurance Industry ,
Internal Revenue Code (IRC) ,
Investment ,
Investment Adviser ,
New Guidance ,
Personal Representatives ,
Prohibited Transactions ,
Retirement Plan
The Pension Benefit Guaranty Corporation (the PBGC) kicked off 2021 by releasing a final rule intended to streamline withdrawal liability calculations for multiemployer plans that are or were in “critical” or “endangered”...more
The Department of Labor (DOL) issued a proposed rule with 30-day comment period to address the application of fiduciaries’ duties with respect to proxy voting and exercises of other shareholder rights. The proposal requires...more
The US Department of Labor (DOL) issued an information letter in June 2020 indicating that, in limited circumstances, it will allow defined contribution retirement plans (such as 401(k) plans) to indirectly invest in private...more
9/14/2020
/ 401k ,
Benefit Plan Sponsors ,
Department of Labor (DOL) ,
Disclosure Requirements ,
Employee Benefits ,
Employee Retirement Income Security Act (ERISA) ,
Employees ,
Fiduciary Duty ,
Information Letters ,
Investment Adviser ,
Investment Management ,
New Guidance ,
Private Equity ,
Private Equity Funds ,
Retirement Plan ,
Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC)
Joe Urwitz, Todd Solomon and Chris Nemeth discuss provisions of The Employee Retirement Income Security Act of 1974 (ERISA) of particular relevance to tax-exempt entities and their investment managers, as well as ongoing...more
On February 28, Todd Solomon and Maureen O’Brien presented a Strafford live webinar, “Private Equity Compliance With ERISA: Navigating Manager Fiduciary Duties for Funds Holding ERISA Plan Assets”. ERISA imposes fiduciary...more
In the presentation “Highlights of Record Retention Requirements Applicable to Employee Benefit Plans,” Todd A. Solomon detailed the general rules of The Employee Retirement Income Security Act of 1974 (ERISA). He discussed...more
The recent wave of 403(b) lawsuits against more than a dozen prominent US universities could herald similar suits for other 403(b) plan sponsors. Plan sponsors can minimize their risk by reviewing their plan governance...more
9/8/2016
/ 403(b) Plans ,
Benefit Plan Sponsors ,
Breach of Duty ,
Class Action ,
Educational Institutions ,
Employee Benefits ,
Employee Retirement Income Security Act (ERISA) ,
Fees ,
Fiduciary Duty ,
Investment Management ,
Retirement Plan ,
Universities
In the last several months, plaintiffs have filed multiple class action lawsuits against plan sponsors, plan fiduciaries and stable value fund providers. These lawsuits, which have involved 401(k) plans sponsored by large...more
6/1/2016
/ 401k ,
Benefit Plan Sponsors ,
Breach of Duty ,
Class Action ,
Duty of Loyalty ,
Duty of Prudence ,
Employee Retirement Income Security Act (ERISA) ,
Fiduciary Duty ,
Investment Adviser ,
Investment Management ,
Investor Protection ,
Retirement Plan
On September 4, 2015, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Seventh Circuit ruled in Fontaine v. Metropolitan Life Insurance Company that the Employee Retirement Income Security Act of 1974, as amended (ERISA), does not preempt...more
In a no-action letter dated February 18, 2015, the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) extended relief from the application of Rule 482 of the Securities Act of 1933 to certain retirement plans that are exempt from...more
As federal and state agencies and courts further examine the implications of the Supreme Court of the United States’ ruling on same-sex marriage in U.S. v. Windsor, the laws and regulations governing employee benefits for...more
The Internal Revenue Service recently established a one-year pilot program that provides plan administrators and plan sponsors of certain non-ERISA and foreign plans subject to the annual Form 5500 reporting requirements...more
Recent guidance issued by the U.S. Department of the Treasury, the Internal Revenue Service (IRS) and the Employee Benefits Security Administration (EBSA) division of the U.S. Department of Labor (DOL) provides some initial...more
10/1/2013
/ Defined Benefit Plans ,
Defined Contribution Plans ,
Department of Labor (DOL) ,
DOMA ,
EBSA ,
Employee Benefits ,
Employee Retirement Income Security Act (ERISA) ,
Family and Medical Leave Act (FMLA) ,
Healthcare ,
IRS ,
Retirement Plan ,
Same-Sex Marriage ,
SCOTUS ,
State of Celebration ,
US v Windsor
Obergefell v. Kasich and Cozen O’Connor v. Tobits may reflect a growing trend of courts and other bodies to recognize same-sex marriages validly celebrated elsewhere even if the couple’s current state of residence does not...more
Recent complaints challenging the “church plan” status of certain pension plans maintained by church-sponsored hospital systems may signal the beginning of a new wave of lawsuits challenging underfunded church pension plans. ...more
Two recent cases challenging benefit eligibility for same-sex spouses highlight the need for employer-sponsored retirement and welfare plans to clearly define "spouse" for eligibility purposes. Employers may want to review...more