Individuals who serve as a fiduciaries to their company’s retirement plan often feel they may not be sufficiently informed or qualified to make prudent decisions for the plan. They might ask themselves: “How do I know which are prudent investments?” or “What amount of plan fees are ‘reasonable’”? Now, the
Articles Discussing Retiree Benefits.
Butch Lewis Brings No Good News for Contributing Employers
In the clamor that surrounded the current administration’s adoption of the American Rescue Act of 2021 (ARPA), quietly tucked in as Subtitle H is the Butch Lewis Emergency Pension Plan Relief Act of 2021 (Butch Lewis). Butch Lewis has been unsuccessfully bouncing around Congress since 2019. While Butch Lewis is
Musings of Retirement Plan Fiduciaries on Cybersecurity: Episode One
By now, plan fiduciaries and their service providers likely have heard about the DOL’s cybersecurity guidance. The Department of Labor’s stepping into cybersecurity in this way – a posting of best practices on the agency’s website – has left plan fiduciaries with some questions. Here are a few:
“When is
About That Pension Check… A Miscalculation Case With Broader Implications
The Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals recently addressed several issues of first impression in Bafford v. Northrop Grumman (9th Cir. April 15, 2021), a lawsuit involving retirees who received vastly overstated pension benefit estimates from the plan’s recordkeeper reminds employers of the importance of careful administration. The case highlights the
Employer-Sponsored Retirement Plans Disaster-Related Relief
In response to last year’s devastating hurricane season and other natural disasters, the Taxpayer Certainty and Disaster Tax Relief Act, which is a part of the Consolidated Appropriations Act, 2021 (the Act), included various relief provisions (similar to those under the Coronavirus Aid, Relief, and Economic Security Act of 2021 (CARES Act)), designed to assist individuals who suffered an economic loss as a result of these disasters.
The Butch Lewis Emergency Pension Plan Relief Act of 2021 Becomes Law
On March 11, 2021, President Biden signed into law the $1.9 trillion American Rescue Plan Act of 2021, which includes the Butch Lewis Emergency Pension Plan Relief Act of 2021. This law is designed to forestall the insolvency of approximately 100 multiemployer pension plans that were expected to run
U.S. Supreme Court: Courts Can Review Railroad Retirement Board’s Refusal to Reopen Claims
In a 5-4 decision, the U.S. Supreme Court has ruled that federal courts can review decisions by the U.S. Railroad Retirement Board denying claimants’ requests to reopen prior benefits denials. Salinas v. U.S. R.R. Ret. Bd., No. 19-199 (Feb. 3, 2021).
Justice Sonia Sotomayor, writing for the majority, explained the
Personal Data from Thousands of Pension Plan Accounts Breached…Third-Party Service Provider Blamed
One of the last things pension plan participants would want to learn as they get ready to celebrate the Christmas holiday is that personal data from their pension accounts may have been compromised. This is the case, unfortunately, for approximately 30,000 Now:Pensions customers whose names, postal and email addresses, birth
Pension Reform? Presidential Memorandum Focuses Attention on Failing Pension Systems
The Secretaries of the Departments of Treasury, Commerce, and Labor have been directed to review and report on the pension funding crisis in an October 22, 2020, Presidential Memorandum. The Memorandum brings renewed attention to a long-standing pension funding crisis and the failing backstops.
Retirement Plan Sponsors Must Soon Provide Annual Lifetime Income Illustrations
Last year, Congress passed the Setting Every Community Up for Retirement Enhancement Act of 2019, often called the “SECURE Act”.
DOL Finally Releases Their Much Anticipated Electronic Disclosure Safe Harbor Final Rules for Retirement Plans
The Department of Labor (DOL) recently issued the long-awaited electronic disclosure final regulations providing employers with two new safe harbor methods for electronic delivery of retirement plan disclosures. The final rules are effective July 27, 2020; however, plan administrators may rely on them prior to that date. This Client Alert provides a summary of these new rules.
DOL Guidance on ESG Investing by Retirement Plans: Investment Committees Should Handle with Care
The United States Department of Labor (the “DOL”) recently issued a proposed rule on the fiduciary requirements under the federal pension law, ERISA, that apply to the selection and monitoring of environmental, social, and corporate governance (“ESG”) investments in retirement plans. Under the proposed rule, which would be effective 60
IRS Provides Relief for Retirement Plan Elections and Consents Required to be Notarized or Witnessed
The Internal Revenue Service has relaxed spousal notarization and plan representative witness requirements in 2020 for retirement plan elections in IRS Notice 2020-42. The notice addresses the physical presence requirement for notarization or witnessing of certain plan elections and provides temporary relief permitting remote notarization and witnessing subject to certain
DOL Finally Relaxes Its Electronic Delivery Rule—But Only for Retirement Plans
On May 21, 2020, the U.S. Department of Labor (DOL) announced publication of its long-awaited guidance on electronic participant disclosures. The good news is that the DOL has taken a step in the right direction in easing some of the difficulties that were present in the prior electronic communications safe
2nd Circuit Pension Liability Ruling Is A Big Win For Employers
Following oral arguments that were held in February 2018, in a long-anticipated decision in the National Retirement Fund v. Metz Culinary Management Inc., the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit held that a multiemployer pension fund’s use of a lower interest rate that was adopted after the statutory withdrawal liability measurement date violated the Employee Retirement Income Security Act.
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