PODCAST: Williams Mullen's Benefits Companion - New IRS Guidance on SECURE 2.0 Act Student Loan Employer Contributions
What Can A Tax Attorney Do For You? A Podcast With Janathan Allen
PODCAST: Williams Mullen's Benefits Companion - Auto-Portability: A New Way to Keep Retirement Savings Growing
#WorkforceWednesday: SECURE Act 2.0 - What 401(k) Plan Sponsors Need to Know - Employment Law This Week®
PODCAST: Williams Mullen's Benefits Companion - Plan Administrators’ 2022 Year-End Checklist
PODCAST: Williams Mullen's Benefits Companion - Court Decisions Impacting Plan Sponsors and Fiduciaries
PODCAST: Williams Mullen's Benefits Companion - Helping Employers Address the Gender Gap in Retirement Savings
PODCAST: Williams Mullen's Benefits Companion - Millennials, Boomers and Retirement Planning
The Form 5500: What All Employers and Plan Administrators Need to Know and How to Avoid Costly Fines
PODCAST: Williams Mullen's Benefits Companion - Cryptocurrency in 401(k) Plans
PODCAST: Williams Mullen's Benefits Companion - What Constitutes Plan Assets Under ERISA?
2022 Resolutions: What Healthcare Practices Need To Tackle In the New Year
PODCAST: Williams Mullen's Benefits Companion - Cautionary Tales for Preapproved Plan Documents
DOL Clarifies Timing of Lifetime Income Disclosures in Benefit Statements
PODCAST: Williams Mullen's Benefits Companion - Back to the Future: SECURE Act and SECURE Act 2.0
PODCAST: Williams Mullen's Benefits Companion - Payroll Integration for Plan Sponsors
PODCAST: Williams Mullen's Benefits Companion - Plan Administrators’ 2020 Year-End Checklist
PODCAST: Williams Mullen's Benefits Companion - Cybersecurity Considerations for Retirement Plan Sponsors
Three Timely Benefits Items Everyone Should Know
PODCAST: Williams Mullen's Benefits Companion - COVID-19 Edition - Employee Benefits Considerations When Conducting Furloughs and Layoffs
The Eleventh Circuit Court of Appeals recently affirmed a district court’s grant of summary judgment in favor of the fiduciaries of the Home Depot 401(k) plan, who defended against claims that they breached their fiduciary...more
A California district court recently denied a motion to dismiss claims that the fiduciaries of a 401(k) plan breached their ERISA fiduciary duties of prudence and loyalty by selecting underperforming, high-cost investments...more
On this episode of Williams Mullen's Benefits Companion, host Brydon DeWitt is joined by Beryl Ball, principal financial advisor at CAPTRUST, who offers insight on the new retirement plan auto-portability system....more
Many think estate planning is only a concern for those who are later in their stage of life or wealthy. They put it off for years, or entirely. Estate planning is for everyone and essential to maintain financial security...more
ESOPs can pay fair market value for the stock: Stock purchased by an ESOP must be appraised by an independent third party expert working with a trustee for the ESOP who must also be independent from the seller. The ESOP is...more
At the very end of 2022, President Biden signed the $1.7 trillion omnibus spending package which includes the SECURE 2.0 Act. SECURE 2.0 builds on The Setting Every Community Up for Retirement Enhancement (SECURE) Act of 2019...more
Recent Changes That Plan Providers May Not Like - On Curb Your Enthusiasm, Ed Asner was a guest star, playing an elderly man who wanted to change his will. Based on a recommendation by Larry David, Ed’s character visited the...more
10 years in, I’m glad I went on my own as an ERISA attorney, so I could provide value to clients, instead of being wedded to a billable hour because of a huge overhead working for a law firm....more
I have some simple rules to live by. I never bet on the Mets, eat at a place called Mom’s, play cards with a guy named Doc, or do business with family....more
The Acme Rocket Sled Company Retirement Plan Administration Committee recently selected a new investment advisor for the company’s 401(k) plan. During the RFP process, the new advisor observed that the Investment Policy...more
I’m still amazed when I find participant-directed 401(k) plans without a financial advisor. While I understand how solo 401(k) plans don’t have an advisor because individuals think they can do it on their own, it makes no...more
It’s a known fact that I don’t care for self-directed brokerage accounts in 401(k) plans, but I won’t act as a censor for good news....more
If you start a retirement plan provider practice, it can be frustrating. Like I always say about things in my life, “If it wasn’t a struggle, it wasn’t any fun”. Building a retirement plan practice isn’t easy because a stash...more
As you know, Congressman Jamie Raskin (D-MD) was booked for That 401(k) National Virtual Conference. As you also may know, Congressman Raskin was the Associate Dean at American University Washington College of Law when I...more
Stuff That Won’t Help A Retirement Plan Sponsor Limit Their Liability - A seat belt in a car is useless if the driver or passenger isn’t wearing it. A smoke detector is useless if the batteries are dead. Vitamin C won’t...more
I once referred a 401(k) plan to an advisor. He did a terrible job and there were issues regarding his ability to do the work. Making a lousy referral is even worse than doing poor work of your own because at least you had...more
I always talk about my open-door policy with financial advisors and third party advisors where I will help these plan providers out without me actively seeking their business. I kind of have that liberty because it’s my law...more
Over the past several months, we have seen a number of public agency clients struggle through the process of evaluating and selecting a retirement plan adviser based only on generic questionnaires, a few phone calls, and an...more
Captain Kirk didn’t believe in the no-win situation, he learned the hard way in Star Trek II: Wrath of Khan. There are certain situations as a plan provider where a client relationship puts you in a no-win situation...more
In terms of customer service, I don’t think there is anyone worse than my home school district. The Oceanside school district has a Board of Education with more members with kids on school district payroll than with members...more
According to the J.D. Power 2020 U.S. Retirement Plan Participant Satisfaction Study, most plan providers aren’t helping participants in the participants’ eyes....more
The Internal Revenue Service (IRS) Voluntary Compliance Program (VCP) is one of the best methods for retirement plan sponsors to come clean and cost-effectively fix their plan errors, rather than getting hammered with...more
When it comes to my law practice, I have an open phone call policy. I entertain phone calls from financial advisors and TPAs around the country and try to help them by answering questions regarding their current clients or...more
I am still how often I find participant-directed 401(k) plans without a financial advisor. While I understand how solo 401(k) plans don’t have an advisor because individuals think they can do it on their own. I have a solo...more
I always talk about how plan sponsors need to work with experienced financial advisors, third party administration (TPA) firms, and ERISA attorneys on their plan needs. Like with reasonable fees, I believe that the term...more