PODCAST: Williams Mullen's Benefits Companion - Trends in Recordkeeper Consolidation and Due Diligence
PODCAST: Williams Mullen's Benefits Companion - Exploring the Value of Qualified Default Investment Alternatives
The Form 5500: What All Employers and Plan Administrators Need to Know and How to Avoid Costly Fines
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 - Payroll Integration for Plan Sponsors
PODCAST: Williams Mullen's Benefits Companion - Plan Administrators’ 2020 Year-End Checklist
Cutting Costs With Employee Benefit Plans (Part 5 of 5) – Implementation
Cutting Costs With Employee Benefit Plans (Part 4 of 5) – Retirement Plan Costs
Cutting Costs With Employee Benefit Plans (Part 3 of 5) – Medical Benefit Costs
Cutting Costs With Employee Benefit Plans (Part 2 of 5) – Identifying Potential Targets
Cutting Costs With Employee Benefit Plans (Part 1 of 5) – Using Benefit Plans to Save Money
CARES Act – Retirement Plan Distributions and Loans: Troutman Sanders and Pepper Hamilton COVID-19 Issues for Employers Podcast Series
Blakes Continuity Podcast: COVID-19: The Regulatory Impact on Pensions
PODCAST: Williams Mullen's Benefits Companion - Plan Administrators’ 2019 Year-End Checklist
This month’s Friday Five discusses cases addressing the effect of continuing to receive benefits during the period of alleged disability, reliance on an employer’s records in making a disability determination, the...more
The U.S. Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit recently issued an opinion with critical implications for the healthcare industry. This court decision clarifies the expansive reach of the Employee Retirement Income Security...more
Join us as we commemorate ERISA’s 50th anniversary and review the past, present and future of this pivotal legislation. This hybrid event offers two options for attendance: in-person or webinar. Both options will have an...more
Within days of one another, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Ninth and Second Circuits ruled—on issues of first impression for both—that ERISA expressly preempts state law breach of contract and promissory estoppel claims...more
This month’s Friday Five explores decisions from around the country discussing differences between LTD and LWOP policies, the breadth of discretion available to claims administrators and the always important topic of timely...more
On March 22, 2024, the United States Court of Appeals for the Seventh Circuit issued a ruling in Bulk Transp. Corp. v. Teamsters Union No. 142 Pension Fund, ordering the Teamsters Union No. 142 Pension Fund (the “Fund”) to...more
The Employee Retirement Income Security Act of 1974 (“ERISA”), as amended, regulates virtually every private employee benefit program in the United States. Among other things, ERISA contains its own civil enforcement section,...more
This month’s Friday Five covers the treatment of job-related stress in assessing an attorney’s disability, the requirements surrounding the qualifications of a medical professional to review a claimant’s medical records in...more
This month’s Friday Five explores a decision ordering an IME prior to a ruling on summary judgment motions, the extent claims reporting records can be sealed, the scope of ERISA preemption in the context of removal, and two...more
Plan administrators should review actions to be taken before the end of 2023 and focus on what to expect for 2024. This checklist addresses plan amendments, notices and other considerations for qualified retirement plans,...more
With recent well-publicized data breaches impacting pension systems and their retirees nationally, as well as increased Department of Labor scrutiny surrounding cybersecurity policies and procedures implemented by ERISA...more
As discussed here, D.K. et al. v. United Behavioral Health et al. is a case that has been carefully watched in the health benefits space for its impact on what health plan administrators must include in adverse benefit...more
The Department of Labor (DOL) announced that it has finalized, together with the Internal Revenue Service (IRS) and Pension Benefit Guarantee Corporation (PBGC), the third and final round of revisions to the Form 5500 Annual...more
The Employee Retirement Income Security Act of 1974 (ERISA) is a body of federal laws and regulations that govern the provision and operation of certain employer-sponsored benefit plans. While its structure and requirements...more
The most valuable feedback is something you can act on. A broker who takes a consultative approach doesn’t just give you options but uses their expertise to provide actionable insights. Let’s face it—not all Human Resources...more
The Biden administration intends to end the national emergency and public health emergency declarations (Emergency Declarations) attributable to the COVID-19 pandemic on May 11, 2023. The COVID-19 pandemic brought multiple...more
This month’s Friday Five explores recent decisions that illustrate the importance of the administrative record built by a claims administrator, and the impact that the depth and thoroughness of the record will have on...more
The October Monthly Minute highlights a class action that hinges on deficient COBRA notices, the new 2023 benefit plan limits, and a case that held the benefit plan provisions in effect at the time of a claim denial control....more
This month’s Friday Five covers cases relating to the interpretation of time periods for claims under life insurance and disability plans, a situation where three separate administrators handled a disability benefits claim...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
Courts around the country continue to approach the enforceability of class-action waivers and arbitration provisions in ERISA plan documents differently. This alert discusses recent decisions addressing these issues in ERISA...more
Nokia of America is one of the latest employers hit with a class-action lawsuit over the fees in its 401(k) plan....more
When a district court faces a claim for benefits under ERISA Section 502(a)(1)(B) where it believes that mistakes were made, but the record is not sufficiently developed to award benefits, the court may remand the matter to...more
This month’s Friday Five discusses cases that focus on what information properly constitutes the administrative record before the court on which a decision must be based. One case explores the ERISA Records Rule which limits...more
Non-ERISA 403(b) plans are still one of the stains of the retirement plan business because, without that ERISA protection, it puts participants at risk for high fees and fraud....more