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Nevin Adams

The Maryland Senate Finance Committee has overwhelmingly voted to recommend the rejection of a pending fiduciary bill. In fact, 10 out of the 11 committee members voted in favor of a motion to consider Maryland Senate Bill 786 – The Financial Consumer Protection Act of 2019 – as “unfavorable.”... READ MORE
While noting that the case “presents novel legal questions concerning state-mandated retirement savings accounts,” and “implicates a significant body of judicial and regulatory interpretations of ERISA,” a federal judge has ruled – for the moment – that California’s state-run auto IRA retirement... READ MORE
Ever since passage of the Economic Growth Tax Relief and Recovery Act of 2001 (EGTRRA), individuals who are age 50 or over at the end of the calendar year can make annual catch-up contributions – as much as $6,000 in 2019.  The provision was designed to allow workers to “catch up” on contributions... READ MORE
Nevada may be gambling with access to brokerage services for residents, based on the reactions of a number of brokerages to the Silver State’s proposed fiduciary regulation. According to published reports, Morgan Stanley says it would halt its brokerage services in Nevada entirely if the state... READ MORE
“After vigorous advocacy and negotiation,” the parties in a 403(b) university excessive fee suit have come to terms. The settlement – stuck between participant-plaintiffs Diane G. Short, Judith Daviau and Joseph Barboza and Brown University – consists of a $3.5 million cash payment and “other,... READ MORE
Democrats in both houses of Congress have introduced legislation that will tax financial transactions. "It's called the Wall Street Tax Act, but it's really a Main Street savings attack," said Brian Graff, CEO of the American Retirement Association. The Wall Street Tax Act would impose a... READ MORE
Plan fiduciaries have asked the nation’s highest court to weigh in on when ERISA’s three-year statute of limitations begins – and if disclosure alone is enough to start that clock.  In asking the U.S. Supreme Court to take up the case, plan fiduciaries at Intel said the question presented was “... READ MORE
Another settlement has been announced in the series of university 403(b) plan excessive fee suits. The latest settlement (Cassell v. Vanderbilt Univ., M.D. Tenn., No. 3:16-cv-02086, status report 2/25/19) involved Vanderbilt University, where fiduciaries of Vanderbilt’s $3.4 billion (as of 2014)... READ MORE
“Fiduciaries that manage employer-sponsored benefits plans will likely get sued no matter what they do.” Thus begins a request from a number of retirement industry groups – including the American Retirement Association – that the U.S. Supreme Court weigh in on a controversial fiduciary case. Said... READ MORE
For the second time in about as many weeks, an excessive fee suit against the fiduciaries of a university 403(b) plan has been dropped. The original suit had been filed by two participants on behalf of some 4,000 participants in the 403(b) plan of Long Island University. The plaintiffs claimed... READ MORE
The proposed settlement in a university 403(b) excessive fee case has received preliminary approval from a federal judge. Last month Judge Catherine C. Eagles of the U.S. District Court for the Middle District of North Carolina noted that, “while class counsel have adequately addressed many of the... READ MORE
The parties in the Duke University 403(b) suit have a homework assignment from the judge in the case. Very recently, the terms of the settlement in the case of Clark v. Duke University were announced – a $10,650,000 cash settlement and a series of changes in plan administration. The suit was one... READ MORE
Legislation has been introduced in the Bay State that would expand the Commonwealth’s auto-IRA program for private sector workers and establish a 401(k) parallel, with an employer mandate. The first bill, SD 1902, introduced by state senator Patricia D. Jehlen, establishes the Massachusetts Secure... READ MORE
“After protracted litigation, extensive discovery and almost six months of arm’s length negotiations with the assistance of a national mediator,” the details of a university 403(b) excessive fee suit settlement have come to light. The settlement in the case of Clark v. Duke University was... READ MORE
Putnam Investments, LLC has officially asked the nation’s highest court to weigh in on an issue on which district courts have split 6-4: Who bears the burden of proof when alleging losses due to a fiduciary breach? Indeed, the issue seems ripe for consideration. As Putnam states in its petition to... READ MORE
“If a cat were a dog, it could bark. If a retirement plan were not based on long-term investments in annuities, its assets would be more immediately accessed by plan participants. These two truisms can be summarized: cats don’t bark and annuities don’t pay out immediately.” With those words, the... READ MORE
It’s said that if at first you don’t succeed, try again. And apparently, when it comes to at least one stable value fund suit, you try again. And again. The persistent plaintiff here is one Darlene Dezelan, a participant of the Cedars-Sinai Medical Center 403(b) Retirement Plan, who initially (... READ MORE
The parties in a university 403(b) excessive fee suit have struck a deal. The news – though specifics of the deal were not disclosed – was revealed in a docket entry in North Carolina federal court. That entry indicated that the parties had settled and that a stipulation of dismissal was due by... READ MORE
OregonSaves, the first of the state-run IRA programs for private sector workers, is getting ready to take things up another notch. Specifically, the contribution rates for OregonSaves participants will, beginning Jan. 1, automatically increase 1% on the first day of each year, until they reach 10... READ MORE
Two plaintiffs in a class action suit against third-party administrator Vantage Benefits and custodian Matrix Trust company have voluntarily dismissed without prejudice their lawsuit against the latter. The two plaintiffs, who are Texas A&M University retirees, voluntarily dismissed their... READ MORE

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