A “qualified disclaimer” is a tax-effective way to refuse a transfer of property that would otherwise occur on someone’s death. From time to time, retirement plan administrators may be contacted by a beneficiary who wants a...more
This post examines excess deferrals under non-governmental 457(b) plans, including the approved method for correcting them and the penalty for failing to correct them, to make the case for a change in IRS policy on correcting...more
On October 31, 2023, the Department of Labor published a new proposed regulation (the “Proposed Rule”) defining “investment advice” for purposes of determining when someone advising an ERISA plan or participant or an IRA...more
The opportunity to self-correct mistakes in maintaining a retirement plan has been dramatically expanded by the SECURE 2.0 Act of 2022 (“SECURE 2.0”); see our February 10 blog post for details. However, IRS interim guidance...more
The self-correction of retirement plan operational failures under IRS correction principles has been conditioned upon a plan sponsor’s establishment of compliance practices and procedures since the creation of the Employee...more
Two recent court decisions bring into focus two seldom-asked questions about the reasonable compensation requirement under ERISA. When must an ERISA plan’s service provider compensation be reasonable?...more
As previously reported by Verrill attorney Tawny Alvarez in the firm’s “Taking Care of HR Business” blog on January 5, 2023, the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) proposed a rule that, as drafted by the FTC, would both prohibit...more
2/8/2023
/ Acquisitions ,
Anti-Competitive ,
Competition ,
Corporate Counsel ,
Employee Benefits ,
Employer Liability Issues ,
Employment Contract ,
Federal Trade Commission (FTC) ,
Financing ,
Mergers ,
Non-Compete Agreements ,
Proposed Rules ,
Public Comment ,
Restrictive Covenants ,
Taxation
Collective investment trusts (“CITs”) have become an increasingly popular choice for 401(k) plan investment menus over the past decade, consistent with a trend toward lower-cost investment options that has been driven, in...more
1/4/2023
/ 401k ,
403(b) Plans ,
Benefit Plan Sponsors ,
Collective Investment Schemes ,
Department of Labor (DOL) ,
Employee Retirement Income Security Act (ERISA) ,
Internal Revenue Code (IRC) ,
Investment ,
Investment Adviser ,
Investment Company Act of 1940 ,
Investment Management ,
New Rules ,
Retirement Plan ,
Section 457(f) ,
SECURE Act
Last month, the IRS extended the deadline for retirement plan sponsors to adopt amendments necessary to comply with the Setting Every Community Up for Retirement Enhancement Act of 2019 (the “SECURE Act”) and the Bipartisan...more
On July 27, 2022, the Department of Labor (DOL) proposed a set of amendments to Prohibited Transaction Class Exemption 84-14, the so-called “QPAM Exemption,” which permits an investment fund holding assets of ERISA plans and...more
Benefit plan sponsors sometimes send out Summary Plan Descriptions (SPDs) having given too little thought to the legal consequences. Two recent cases illustrate how an organization can end up in serious and costly litigation...more
Health and Welfare Plans -
Employers that made available COVID-19 relief and benefit enhancements in 2020 – such as the increased carry over limit and extended grace period for health flexible spending accounts – need to...more
The latest installment in the regulatory back-and-forth over the investment of ERISA-governed retirement plan assets based on environmental, social, and corporate governance (“ESG”) factors arrived on October 14, 2021 in the...more
10/20/2021
/ 401k ,
Corporate Counsel ,
Corporate Social Responsibility ,
Department of Labor (DOL) ,
Employee Benefits ,
Employee Retirement Income Security Act (ERISA) ,
Environmental Social & Governance (ESG) ,
Fiduciary Duty ,
Investment Management ,
New Guidance ,
Proposed Regulation ,
Retirement Plan
This Client Advisory summarizes developments in the law governing employee benefit plans prompted by the COVID-19 pandemic. We explain what these developments mean for plan sponsors and highlight the need to adopt plan...more
8/19/2021
/ 401k ,
403(b) Plans ,
American Rescue Plan Act of 2021 ,
CARES Act ,
COBRA ,
Compensation & Benefits ,
Consolidated Appropriations Act (CAA) ,
Coronavirus/COVID-19 ,
Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) ,
Department of Labor (DOL) ,
Employee Benefits ,
Employee Retirement Income Security Act (ERISA) ,
Employer Mandates ,
Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) ,
Executive Compensation ,
GINA ,
Health and Welfare Plans ,
IRS ,
Medicare ,
New Guidance ,
Paid Leave ,
Pharmacy Benefit Manager (PBM) ,
Reasonable Accommodation ,
Remote Working ,
Retirement Plan ,
Vaccinations
A recent survey of full-time college and university faculty found that, as of the beginning of the 2020-2021 academic year, approximately 25% of those surveyed expected to retire later than they had anticipated before the...more
In our April 2020 post, we detailed how employee layoffs can cause a qualified retirement plan to undergo a “partial termination,” resulting in required 100% vesting of the affected employees’ benefits. As 2020 drew to a...more
Tax-exempt organizations often provide deferred compensation to their officers, key employees, and most highly compensated employees. Like current compensation payable to such employees, deferred compensation must be reported...more