Northern Trust amended its benefit formula in 2012 and provided a transitional benefit that assumed salary increases of 1.5% per year, and the court found expectations of higher salary increases was not part of an “accrued benefit.”
Former committee members for the pension plan of St. Elizabeth Medical Center moved to have themselves dismissed from a lawsuit challenging the church plan status of the pension plan, but a federal judge declined to dismiss them from a count regarding funding of the plan.
According to multiple underlying complaints, which can now proceed to a consolidated trial, all of the several dozen mutual funds offered by the plan during the proposed class period were managed by Franklin Templeton or its subsidiaries.
The fiduciary governance group is designed to counsel investment committees and service providers, with a focus on avoiding and responding to fiduciary breach litigation, among other topics.
The compliance assistance program will increase awareness and understanding about basic fiduciary responsibilities when operating a retirement plan.
The university also asks that the plaintiffs not be able to attempt to use evidence that their prudent measures and conduct that occurred subsequent to the plaintiffs’ filing of the lawsuit proves that prior conduct was imprudent.
The defendants argued that a court decision in a self-dealing lawsuit against Wells Fargo supports their motion to dismiss their suit.
According to the DOL, the fiduciary failed to remit employee contributions to the plan and used the funds instead for business and personal purposes.
The CEO pled guilty last year for paying illegal kickbacks to producers in an effort to steer employee health benefit plans to his company.
The lawsuit filed by MBA Engineering on behalf of its 401(k) and cash balance plans also accuses Vantage Benefits, MBA's TPA and recordkeeper, of stealing money from approximately 20 other retirement plans.
The central claim in the failed class action was that plaintiffs were forced to overpay significantly for advisory services; defendants successfully argued the plaintiff failed to state an actionable claim.
To help ease the immediate concerns and confusion of clients, the law firm Stroock has published a helpful guide that dissects the latest fiduciary rule developments; on one attorney’s assessment, it actually is not that likely that the U.S. Supreme Court will get involved.
The fact that two U.S. Circuit Courts of Appeals, the Fifth and the Tenth, have issued conflicting rulings about the propriety of the DOL’s process in creating and implementing a stricter fiduciary standard, leaves the retirement plan industry with a number of challenging questions.
In issuing a strong ruling to vacate the DOL fiduciary rule expansion, the Fifth U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals is now at odds with multiple other courts that have upheld the rule, including the Tenth Circuit.
In addition to a monetary payment of $4.75 million, the bank agreed to non-monetary terms regarding payment and vesting of matching contributions to its 401(k) plan.
An open letter penned by Connecticut State Treasurer Denise Nappier presents an articulate defense and endorsement of ESG investing programs—in this case suggesting divestment from gun manufacturers may be in the best long-term financial interest of the state’s pensioners and other stakeholders.
Complaints against individual defendants, however, were not dropped.
Citing other courts, an appellate court agreed that “Congress could not have intended ERISA to allow one spouse to recover benefits after intentionally killing the other spouse.”