Federal Employment Law Articles

Benefits - Retirees

Articles Discussing Retiree Benefits.

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Second Circuit Renders Important Decision on Vested Retiree Benefits

Ogletree Deakins·

In a significant ruling on February 5, 2025, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit addressed the enforceability of an arbitration provision in an expired collective bargaining agreement (CBA) in the case of Xerox Corporation v. Local 14A, Rochester Regional Joint Board, Xerographic Divisi

Supreme Court Hears Discrimination Case Involving Retiree Benefits

Ogletree Deakins·

The Supreme Court of the United States recently heard oral arguments in a case that could broadly impact employers’ retiree benefits and liability under the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA). The court will decide whether retirees can sue for disability discrimination because of changes to retir

2025 Cost of Living Adjustments for Retirement Plans

Jackson Lewis P.C.·

The Internal Revenue Service recently announced its cost-of-living adjustments applicable to dollar limitations on benefits and contributions for

Supreme Court to Determine Whether Retirees Can Claim Disability Discrimination in Benefits

Ogletree Deakins·

The Supreme Court of the United States has agreed to hear a case that will decide whether retirees can sue for disability discrimination because of changes to retiree benefit plans.

Seventh Circuit Orders Pension Fund to Return Withdrawal Liability to Employer

Jackson Lewis P.C.·

An employer can contest a withdrawal liability assessment and ultimately prevail. That is the moral of Bulk Transport Corp. v. Teamsters Union No. 142 Pension Fund , No. 23-1563 (7th Cir. Mar. 22, 2024).

What Manufacturers Sponsoring Pension Plans Should Know About Class Actions Challenging Plan Assumptions

Jackson Lewis P.C.·

An enduring wave of novel class actions challenging the actuarial assumptions used to calculate certain pension benefits has prompted many sponsors of defined benefit pension plans to evaluate their plan’s terms for calculation various forms of benefits. In total, nearly 30 cases have been filed to

Coming to a Retirement Plan Near You in 2024—Long-Term, Part-Time Employees

Ogletree Deakins·

Beginning January 1, 2024, employers will be required to allow Long-term, part-time (LTPT) employees to make deferral contributions to qualified retirement plans that contain cash or deferred arrangements. Deferrals for LTPT employees are a departure from prior eligibility conditions rules that allo

2024 Will See Modest COLAs for Qualified Retirement Plans

Ogletree Deakins·

On November 1, 2023, the 2024 calendar year cost-of-living adjustments to the contribution and compensation limits for tax-qualified retirement plans were released by the Internal Revenue Service (IRS) in Notice 2023-75.

A Bigger and (in Some Ways) Better Version of the SECURE Act

Jones Walker LLP·

The SECURE 2.0 Act of 2022 (SECURE 2.0) was enacted on December 29, 2022, as a component of the Consolidated Appropriations Act of 2023. SECURE 2.0 made sweeping changes to the laws affecting qualified retirement plans and IRAs.

Qualified Retirement Plan Considerations in Corporate Transactions

Ogletree Deakins·

Mergers and acquisitions raise numerous issues, including whether to terminate or maintain a target company’s qualified retirement plan. The decision to terminate or maintain a plan involves various considerations, which can affect both employers and employees.

ESG: Considerations for Retirement Investments

Jackson Lewis P.C.·

The Biden Administration’s prudence in selecting plan investments and exercising shareholder rights rule allows plan fiduciaries to consider environmental, social, and governance (ESG) factors when selecting retirement plan investments.

Biden Administration Sets New Course on ESG Investing in Retirement Plans

Jones Walker LLP·

In late 2022, the Department of Labor finalized a new rule titled "Prudence in Selecting Plan Investments and Exercising Shareholder Rights," largely reversing Trump-era guidance that had strictly limited the ability of plan fiduciaries to consider "environmental, social, and governance" (ESG) facto

A List of Current “To Do’s” for Retirement Plan Sponsors – SECURE 2.0 Act of 2022

Maynard Nexsen·

President Biden signed The Consolidated Appropriations Act, 2023 in late December 2022. The final bill included the SECURE 2.0 Act of 2022 (“SECURE 2.0”). As we reported in a prior article , SECURE 2.0 contains a host of wide-ranging provisions that impact retirement plans, plan sponsors, and plan p

SECURE 2.0: Oops! So the Employer-Sponsored Retirement Plan Overpaid?

Ogletree Deakins·

SECURE 2.0 may cause some insecurity. However, the law’s changes to the treatment of overpayments from employer-sponsored retirement plans may replace that insecurity with relief.

SECURE 2.0 Retirement Legislation Has Arrived in Style and Is Here to Stay: Top 10 Contribution-Related Provisions

Ogletree Deakins·

After months of suspense and intrigue on whether SECURE 2.0 would make it to the finish line and become law, the U.S. Congress ended the suspense by attaching SECURE 2.0 to the Consolidated Appropriations Act, 2023 funding bill on December 23, 2022. President Biden made it official on December 29,

PBGC Institutes Major Changes in its Special Financial Assistance Final Rule

Littler·

On July 7, 2022, the Pension Benefit Guaranty Corporation (PBGC), the independent federal corporation that insures private-sector defined benefit plans under Title IV of the Employee Retirement Income Security Act of 1974 (ERISA), announced its final rule setting requirements and procedures for the

IRS Launches Pre-Examination Retirement Plan Compliance Program Trial

Ogletree Deakins·

Employers will have the opportunity to review and self-correct retirement plan failures upon being identified for plan examination by the Internal Revenue Service (IRS).

Deadline for ‘Pre-Approved’ Retirement Plan ‘Cycle 3’ Documents: July 31 Is Fast Approaching!

Ogletree Deakins·

Employers that provide 401(k) and other defined contribution retirement plans to their employees on plan documents that have been “pre-approved” by the Internal Revenue Service (IRS) must sign updated documents by July 31, 2022.

When Retirement Plan Service Providers Use Plan Participant Data for Purposes Unrelated to a Plan? What Employers Need to Know

Ogletree Deakins·

There is a growing trend of using participant data to cross-sell financial products unrelated to plan recordkeeping by large recordkeepers and asset custodians of employer-sponsored retirement plans. In light of the fact that plan fiduciaries are ultimately legally responsible for the management and