PODCAST: Williams Mullen's Benefits Companion - Exploring the Value of Qualified Default Investment Alternatives
Legal Alert | DOL Opens ESG Door: What Does It Mean for Plan Fiduciaries?
PODCAST: Williams Mullen's Benefits Companion - What Constitutes Plan Assets Under ERISA?
Corporate Fiduciaries Holding Cryptocurrency - Digital Planning Podcast
Legislation Discussion with PA State Senator Tom Killion
Discussion of PA’s Revised Uniform Fiduciary Access to Digital Assets Act
Under recently finalized federal regulations (commonly referred to as the “Fiduciary Rule”) that were scheduled to become effective on September 23, 2024, the U.S. Department of Labor intended to expand the fiduciary...more
The Department of Labor (DOL) has issued a new regulation defining fiduciary “investment advice” under the Employee Retirement Income Security Act of 1974 (ERISA), as amended, and Section 4975 of the Internal Revenue Code of...more
Case Name and Number: Spence v. American Airlines, Inc., et al., No. 4:23-cv-00552 - INTRODUCTION - On June 20, 2024, Judge Reed O’Connor in the Northern District of Texas (the “court”) denied a motion for summary...more
The Department of Labor ("DOL") recently issued a regulatory package that includes a final rule updating ERISA's definition of an investment advice fiduciary and amending certain related prohibited transaction exemptions...more
Commonly referred to as "excessive fee" litigation, class actions that allege retirement plan investments charge too much and earn too little have increased over the past two decades. Excessive fee cases are difficult to...more
Is ChatGPT sufficiently reliable to provide advice on employee benefits matters? Not yet, but ChatGPT and generative Artificial Intelligence may likely be useful tools for employee benefits attorneys in the future....more
As recently noted by the US Department of Labor (“DOL”), since the passage of the Employee Retirement Income Security Act of 1974 (“ERISA”), “the retirement plan landscape has changed significantly, with a shift from defined...more
The U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) recently approved applications from large investment firms to offer spot bitcoin exchange-traded funds (ETFs). Retail investors can now buy bitcoin ETFs on traditional...more
This newsletter provides updates employers should be aware of heading into 2024, including an outline of the updated 2024 retirement and welfare plan limits, instructions related to the “gag order” attestation requirements...more
On Tuesday, October 31, 2023, the U.S. Department of Labor (the "DOL") issued a new proposed rule pertaining to the definition of “fiduciary” under ERISA and Section 4975 of the Code. If adopted, the proposed rule would...more
On September 21, 2023, a federal judge in Texas granted summary judgment in, and thus dismissed, a lawsuit filed by the Attorneys General of 25 states and other interested parties challenging a final rule issued by the U.S....more
Fiduciaries responsible for the investment of almost $30 trillion in U.S. retirement funds are required by federal law (ERISA) to discharge their duties “solely in the interest of participants and beneficiaries” for the...more
The Department of Labor (the DOL) has released its final rule clarifying how and when ERISA fiduciaries may consider ESG factors in making investment decisions for a plan. The rule also offers substantial guidance on the...more
In response to the continued proliferation of lawsuits against retirement plan fiduciaries, fiduciary liability insurers are raising rates, limiting coverage, and expanding their due diligence of fiduciary processes...more
The U.S. Department of Labor (“DOL”) has issued a final rule (the “Final Rule) addressing how ERISA fiduciaries may consider environmental, social and governmental (ESG) factors in making investment decisions for retirement...more
As someone serving as a plan fiduciary and pooled plan provider, I know the market is not doing too well when I get paid. Of course, I don’t conduct surveys on how bad people are feeling about things. Count on a big plan...more
When it comes to selecting and retaining plan providers, what you have to do as a plan sponsor is to make sure that it’s done on the up and up. You have to demonstrate that the decision was prudent and was a proper exercise...more
In April 2021, Employee Benefits Security Administration division of the United States Department of Labor (“DOL”) issued cybersecurity related guidance intended to assist business owners and plan fiduciaries to prudently...more
Join FordHarrison attorneys Tiffany Downs and Matt Grabell as they discuss best practices from ERISA Litigation and other strategies for staying out of hot water. Tiffany and Matt will discuss recent lawsuits regarding...more
On March 10, 2022, the Department of Labor published Compliance Assistance Release 2022-01, 401(k) Plan Investments in “Cryptocurrencies”. The Release strongly discourages the addition of cryptocurrency (and other digital...more
On this episode of Williams Mullen's Benefits Companion, host Brydon DeWitt is joined by Zan Gormley, a partner in Williams Mullen’s Litigation Section, who discusses the law and guidance on what constitutes “assets of the...more
New cybersecurity developments and observations, including those relating to U.S. Department of Labor's (DOL) review of cybersecurity issues, warrant prompt consideration by plan sponsors and other fiduciaries of employee...more
Over the past year, the regulatory backdrop around environmental, social and governance (ESG) investing has shifted. As McDermott Partner Brian J. Tiemann explains in these slides, the US Department of Labor (DOL) under the...more
On December 6, the U.S. Supreme Court heard oral argument in the case of Hughes v. Northwestern University. The question at issue is whether allegations that a defined-contribution retirement plan paid fees that substantially...more
There is nothing a plan sponsor or ERISA fiduciary can do to prevent allegations of fiduciary breach; however, there are many things they can do to be prepared to rebut such claims. Unfortunately, because of “headline news,”...more