Compliance

A pension plan that has changed actuarial services firms can have a change in funding method automatically approved.

In Amara v. CIGNA Corp., an appellate court has once again agreed that a change in plan terms is an appropriate remedy for plan misrepresentations.

The Department of Labor’s Employee Benefits Security Administration says it restored over $599.7 million to employee benefit plans and participants last year.

A lawsuit claims fiduciaries to Avon Products defined contribution plan violated their duties to participants by keeping company stock as an open plan investment.

An SEC filing reveals that RadioShack is facing several lawsuits over the company stock investment offering in its 401(k) plan, and the DOL is investigating the plan.

In one of many cases challenging a retirement plan’s “church plan” status under ERISA, a federal district court has ruled for the plaintiffs.

A federal district court has denied Boeing’s request for summary judgment on the merits of Spano vs. The Boeing Company, a long-running excessive 401(k) fee case.

The United States Supreme Court will hear arguments in the closely watched 401(k) fee litigation case Tibble v. Edison near the end of February.

The new PBGC Participant and Plan Sponsor Advocate has released her first annual report of issues.

The U.S. Department of Treasury maintains the view that its myRA program is not subject to the extensive reporting, disclosure, fiduciary duty or other requirements of ERISA.

Proposed rules from a number of federal regulators significantly streamline the Summary of Benefits and Coverage form while including an additional coverage example.

The Department of Labor’s Employee Benefits Security Administration (EBSA) and the Internal Revenue Service have proposed additional amendments to excepted benefits rules.

 

A federal appellate court has sent a case back to a district court because the district court’s decision was made before a significant U.S. Supreme Court ruling.

The IRS has provided answers to questions received about the new single-distribution rule for rollovers from retirement plans.

A U.S. Congressman has introduced a bill to encourage small businesses to offer retirement plans for employees.

The GAO recommends an alternative to rolling over small retirement plan balances to individual retirement accounts (IRAs).

An updated IRS web page tells retirement plan sponsors how to correct the mistake of using the wrong tax treatment of employee plan deferrals.

The Internal Revenue Service offers one-page checklists to help with reviewing retirement plan operations.

With invigorated provider interest and new guidance from key regulators, 2014 turned out to be an important year for annuities in employer-sponsored retirement plans.

Several regulations and pieces of guidance issued in 2014 will have a lasting impact on retirement plans.