Open MEPs Not for Every Plan Sponsor
If legislation passes to allow for open multiple employer plans (MEPs) for plan sponsors without a common nexus, experts believe they will offer benefits to plan sponsors, but...
Compliance
Vendor Process Reviews Are Crucial to Retirement Plan Cybersecurity
A digital security expert says "the behavioral and human element of data protection is always the most challenging part.”
Pension Participants Claim ERISA Breaches in Dow DuPont Pension Transfer
In a new ERISA lawsuit seeking class action status, the plaintiffs claim their pension assets were disloyally and imprudently transferred during a complex series of corporate spinoffs and...
The Senate Math That Could Block SECURE Act
Senate floor time is at a premium ahead of the 2020 presidential election—so much so that even legislation that passed the House with a near-unanimous bipartisan vote is...
Fidelity Argues Infrastructure Fees Are Necessary
In support of its motion to dismiss a consolidated lawsuit, Fidelity argues that it is entitled to negotiate and collect fees from providers on its FundsNetwork, and that...
Self-Correcting the Inevitable Mistakes
Even the most informed and dedicated retirement plan fiduciaries sometimes miss the target. The good news is, many mistakes can be fixed.
IRS Proposes Change to ‘One-Bad-Apple’ Rule for MEPs
Proposed regulations would provide an exception, if certain requirements are met, to a multiple employer plan (MEP) being disqualified due to the actions of one plan sponsor member.
Attorney Believes Supreme Court Will Side With Plaintiffs in DB Plan Case
"How does it make sense to say that if you are a dollar over-funded, there is no risk of harm to the participants, but if you are a...
The Shifting Mechanics of Hardship Withdrawals
In a new Snapshot publication, the IRS offers a detailed review of the shifting regulatory provisions applying to pre-retirement hardship distributions from DC plans, noting how these are...
GASB Proposes Financial Reporting Changes for Government 457 Plans
An Exposure Draft proposes that if a Section 457 plan meets the definition of a pension plan in Government Accounting Standards Board (GASB) guidance, the appropriate GASB pension...
50-Year Old Mortality Data Questioned in Latest ERISA Lawsuit
The mortality table in question, published in 1971, assumes 90% of Huntington Ingalls Industries’ employees are male and that 90% of contingent beneficiary annuitants are female, while utilizing...
Employees’ Plans to Work Longer Could Be Thwarted by Age Bias
Two more age bias cases were filed recently by the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission, and an agency report says age discrimination can thwart employees’ plans to work longer...
Gucci Settles Excessive Fee Suit
The company will pay $1.2 million, of which, $395,000 goes to class counsel.
Supreme Court Rules in Case With Major Implications for Retirement Plans
The case concerns the issue of how much courts should defer to agency (such as IRS or Department of Labor) interpretations of regulations.
House Blocks Funding for SEC Regulation Best Interest
Industry groups argue that the move would strip critical investor protections.
PBGC Proposes Changes to Several Regulations
The proposed rulemaking would make technical corrections, clarifications, and improvements to its regulations on Reportable Events and Certain Other Notification Requirements, Annual Financial and Actuarial Information Reporting, Termination...
Engaging With Plan Auditors Can Improve Plan Operations and Governance
In testimony to the ERISA Advisory Council, James Haubrock, with the American Institute of Certified Public Accountants (AICPA), explained how using findings from retirement plan financial audits can...
Democratic Leaders Call for GAO Review of Fiduciary Landscape
According to Democratic leaders in Congress, the Department of Labor appears to be doing little, if anything, to inform consumers about conflicts of interest in the advisory and...
Appeals Court Again Cites Dudenhoeffer in Rejecting Stock Drop Suit
The decision out of the 8th Circuit ties together the influential Supreme Court decisions known as Fifth Third v. Dudenhoeffer and Tibble v. Edison.
GASB Issues Implementation Guide on Fiduciary Activities
The central objective of the Statement 84, Fiduciary Activities, is to enhance the consistency and comparability of fiduciary activity reporting by state and local governments.