On December 23, 2022, Congress passed the Securing a Strong Retirement Act of 2022 (Secure 2.0) as part of the Consolidated Appropriations Act of 2023,…
Operational Compliance in a Highly Regulated Environment
Avoiding Fiduciary Breaches, Regulatory Review, Corrective Contributions, and Monetary Sanctions
Plan administrators named in the plan document, or acting as administration fiduciaries by filing Form 5500, must administer their 401(k) plan in accordance with plan…
ICYMI | Department of Labor Position on Cryptocurrency Investment in 401(k) Plans
Practical and Legal Considerations
Many 401(k) plan sponsors mistakenly believe that they have no liability for investment fund options made available to participants in core investment menus and self-directed…
Department of Labor Position on Cryptocurrency Investment in 401(k) Plans
Practical and Legal Considerations
Many 401(k) plan sponsors mistakenly believe that they have no liability for investment fund options made available to participants in core investment menus and self-directed…
Best Practices to Reduce Excessive Fee Risk
401(k) Plan Governance Faces Increasing Legal Threats
The role of retirement plan governance has become increasingly important as employers face increased scrutiny of how they operate their 401(k) plans in the current…
Cybersecurity Risk Considerations for 401(k) Plans
Mitigating Plan Sponsor Liability
Many 401(k) plan sponsors mistakenly believe that when they delegate responsibilities to a record-keeping service provider, they have no liability for cybersecurity breaches. One recent…
ICYMI | 401(k) Plan Issues in the Current Environment
Practical and Legal Considerations
This article is intended to address 401(k) plan issues and concerns that develop during periods of economic uncertainty and market volatility, such as the current…
401(k) Plan Issues in the Current Environment
Practical and Legal Considerations
This article is intended to address 401(k) plan issues and concerns that develop during periods of economic uncertainty and market volatility, such as the current…
Retirement plan sponsors have become the subject of unprecedented scrutiny from plaintiffs' lawyers and Department of Labor (DOL) regulators. Litigators review filed Forms 5500 and…
The role of retirement plan governance has become extremely important as employers face increased scrutiny of the way in which they operate their plans in…
Concerns regarding litigation over excessive 401(k) plan fees and conflicts of interest dominate the current thinking of plan fiduciaries. More plan sponsors are engaged in…
Retaining a Fiduciary Investment Advisor
Employers Need Up-front Information, Not Belated Explanation
Whether or not the government enacts the Department of Labor (DOL) fiduciary rule requiring retirement plan advisors to act in the employer's best interest, employers…
Plan fiduciaries must take specific steps in the selection and retention of service providers to properly carry out their fiduciary duties. Retirement plan committees and…
EBP | 401(k) Plan Investment Selection
Passive Fund Management versus Active Fund Management
Retirement plan committees are increasingly selecting passively managed funds for their 401(k) plan investment menus, in many instances to replace actively managed funds. Recent excessive…
Participant-directed 401(k) plan investment has expanded from an investment menu to include a self-directed brokerage account option. Service providers market these accounts to provide participants…
Claims alleging breaches of fiduciary duties have historically targeted large 401(k) plans with significant levels of assets. Recently, however, a claim was filed against a…
Plan sponsors and investment committees must understand the way in which 401(k) plan assets are used to pay plan service providers and investment advisors in…
RPA | Department of Labor Finalizes Retirement Advice Regulation
A Practical Perspective for 401(k) Plan Sponsors and Investment Committees
The retirement plan marketplace has confused, if not outright misled, CPAs, their plan sponsor clients, and investment committees with the many types of non-fiduciary and…
Excessive fee litigation and class action settlements increased significantly in 2014 and 2015. These decisions and negotiations will encourage more claims against retirement plan committees…
CPAs often seek reliable information about 401(k) plan design, investment options, record keeping, and fees. The “BrightScope/ICI Defined Contribution Plan Profile: A Close Look at…
In a May 2015 decision, the U.S. Supreme Court held that a fiduciary under the Employee Retirement Income Security Act of 1974 (ERISA) who is…