High Court Declines Review of Excessive Fee Case
October 30, 2012 (PLANSPONSOR.com) – The U.S. Supreme Court has refused to review a case in which retirement plan participants sued John Hancock over excessive fees.
Compliance
Gotbaum Urges More Flexibility for Retirement Plans
October 30, 2012 (PLANSPONSOR.com) – The job of regulatory agencies is to encourage the offering of retirement plans.
ERISA Advisory Council Reschedules Meeting
October 26, 2012 (PLANSPONSOR.com) - Due to the forecast of severe weather, the ERISA Advisory Council open meeting scheduled for October 30-31, 2012, will now be held November...
Coal Union Sues for Former Patriot Workers' Benefits
October 26, 2012 (PLANSPONSOR.com) – A coal union is suing an employer for failing to fulfill benefits obligations and violating the Employee Retirement Income Security Act (ERISA).
Md. Men Plead Guilty to Pension Theft
October 24, 2012 (PLANSPONSOR.com) – Two Maryland men pled guilty to engaging in a scheme to steal more than $9 million from an employee pension plan.
Judge Moves Forward Fannie Mae Stock Drop Suit
October 23, 2012 (PLANSPONSOR.com) – A federal judge has determined participants in the Federal National Mortgage Association’s (FNMA) Employee Stock Ownership Plan (ESOP) can move forward with a...
USERRA Lawsuit for NYC Workers Expands
October 23, 2012 (PLANSPONSOR.com) – A federal lawsuit investigating the City of New York’s calculation of pension funds was expanded to include all retired City workers called to...
Court Finds Baltimore County Pension Plan Discriminatory
October 22, 2012 (PLANSPONSOR.com) – A federal judge found the Baltimore County Employee Retirement System (ERS) violates the Age Discrimination in Employment Act (ADEA).
Avoiding Audits Following Fee Disclosure
October 19, 2012 (PLANSPONSOR.com) – Following the final Department of Labor (DOL) 408(b)(2) and 404(a)(5) regulations, many providers and plan sponsors were unprepared and caught off guard, but...
Attorneys Ask for Service Provider 408(b)(2) Remedy
October 18, 2012 (PLANSPONSOR.com) – Attorneys with Drinker Biddle & Reath have asked the Department of Labor (DOL) toconsider a voluntary correction program for service providers failing to...
EEOC Sues Md. Town for Age Discrimination
October 16, 2012 (PLANSPONSOR.com) – The town of Elkton, Maryland, will pay $235,000 and furnish other relief to settle an age...
Retirement Plan Deferral Limit Increases for 2013
October 18, 2012 (PLANSPONSOR.com) – The Internal Revenue Service (IRS) announced cost of living adjustments (COLAs) affecting dollar limitations for pension plans and other retirement-related items for...
PBGC Creating Department of Quality Management
October 17, 2012 (PLANSPONSOR.com) – Diane Braunstein, an associate commissioner of the Social Security Administration, is joining the Pension Benefit Guaranty Corporation (PBGC) to create a Department...
SSA Announces COLA, New Taxable Wage Base
October 16, 2012 (PLANSPONSOR.com) – Monthly Social Security and Supplemental Security Income (SSI) benefits for nearly 62 million Americans will increase 1.7%...
ERISA Advisory Council to Hold Open Meeting
October 11, 2012 (PLANSPONSOR.com) – An open meeting of the Advisory Council on Employee Welfare and Pension Benefit Plans, known as the ERISA Advisory Council, will take...
Informal Inquiry Protected Under ERISA Section 510
October 9, 2012 (PLANSPONSOR.com) – A federal appellate court has ruled that an informal inquiry by a retirement plan participant about mismanagement of plan assets is protected activity...
Employer Reserved Right to Terminate Retiree Benefits
October 5, 2012 (PLANSPONSOR.com) – A federal appellate court has decided retirees of Acument Global Technologies are not due lifetime health benefits because Acument reserved the right to...
DOL Says Overvaluing Stock Led to ESOP Losses
October 2, 2012 (PLANSPONSOR.com) – The U.S. Department of Labor (DOL) filed a lawsuit against GreatBanc Trust Co. and Sierra Aluminum Co., alleging that stock overvaluations led to...
Regions Bank Sued for Firing of 61-Year-Old Manager
October 2, 2012 (PLANSPONSOR.com) - The U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) is suing Regions Bank for firing a 61-year-old manager because of her age and refusing to...
Plan Trustees Sentenced for Embezzling From 401(k)
October 1, 2012 (PLANSPONSOR.com) – Trustees of the Shelbyville, Kentucky-based Irotas Manufacturing Co. Inc. 401(k) plan have been sentenced for embezzling $487K from the plan, and have been...