DOL Issues
For the very most part, you can’t offload or outsource your ERISA fiduciary responsibility.
ERISA has a couple of very specific exceptions through which you can limit—but not eliminate—your fiduciary obligations. One has to do with the specific decisions made by a qualified investment manager—...
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Following are some tips concerning distributions of benefits.
Prepare and maintain distribution notices and elections.
Provide distribution forms to participant, including the 402(f) notice for rollover information. The IRS provides language periodically for a 402(f) notice, also referred to...
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Considering the Department of Labor’s proposed prohibited transaction class exemption for investment advice fiduciaries, Sen. Patty Murray (D-WA) indicated at the 2020 NAPA D.C. Fly-In Forum July 21 that it may be time for a legislative rewrite.
In response to a question about whether she...
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Addressing the 2020 NAPA D.C. Fly-In Forum July 21, a key Department of Labor (DOL) official confirmed that the DOL’s deadline relief provided in response to the Coronavirus pandemic also applies to initial paper notices under the DOL’s new electronic disclosure regulations.
Responding to a...
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Hiring a co-fiduciary doesn’t keep you from being an ERISA fiduciary.
All fiduciaries have potential liability for the actions of their co-fiduciaries. If a fiduciary knowingly participates in another fiduciary’s breach of responsibility, conceals that breach, or does not take steps to correct...
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Noting that the Department of Labor previously held several days of hearings under the former fiduciary rule, the ranking Democrat on the Senate committee with primary jurisdiction over ERISA-related issues has called on the DOL to hold a hearing.
The request comes from Sen. Patty Murray (D-WA...
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As an ERISA fiduciary, you’re expected to be an expert — or to hire help that is.
ERISA’s “Prudent Man” rule is a standard of care, and when fiduciaries act for the exclusive purpose of providing benefits, they must act at the level of a hypothetical knowledgeable person and must reach informed...
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Legislation has been reintroduced to create a national, online “lost and found” database to help plan participants keep track of their retirement accounts as they move from job to job.
The Retirement Savings Lost and Found Act sponsored by Sens. Elizabeth Warren (D-MA) and Steve Daines (R-MT)...
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Near the end of a term of every presidential administration, there’s always a push to finalize key regulatory proposals before a potential new president or Congress can overturn them. And this year appears to be no different.
Released by the White House’s Office of Information and Regulatory...
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The Department of Labor cautions that “fiduciaries who no longer want to serve in that role cannot simply walk away from their responsibilities, even if the plan has other fiduciaries. They need to follow plan procedures and make sure that another fiduciary is carrying out the responsibilities left...
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The Labor Department has finally unveiled its much anticipated fiduciary rule, though it’s a mixed bag and has a certain “back to the future” feel, along with some new implications for recordkeepers, Pooled Employer Plans and rollover advice.
Titled “Improving Investment Advice for Workers...
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The CalSavers Retirement Savings Program is being challenged in court—and now the Labor Department has weighed in.
It’s not the first time the Administration has weighed in on the legality of the program, specifically its preemption under ERISA,[1] or that it has expressed issues with the...
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As if filing the 5500 wasn’t enough fun for plan sponsors, there is another information return that is also required to be filed for each plan: The Form 8955-SSA.
Formerly known as Schedule SSA of Form 5500, the Form 8955-SSA is used to report participants who have terminated employment and...
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The IRS announced on June 23 that it is further extending some compliance deadlines for parts of the South that were affected by storms in April.
Specifically, the relief gives victims of tornadoes, severe storms and flooding that took place in April in parts of Mississippi, South Carolina and...
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Noting its concern “that the growing emphasis on ESG investing may be prompting ERISA plan fiduciaries to make investment decisions for purposes distinct from providing benefits to participants and beneficiaries and defraying reasonable expenses of administering the plan,” the Labor Department has...
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Summer is here, and part of the heat this year is compliance-related. Here are some deadlines to keep in mind:
July 15, 2020
Date by which, under Notice 2020-23 and 2020-32, certain actions that were due to be performed on or after March 30, 2020, and before July 15, 2020 can be performed...
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The Department of Labor’s Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) should make improvements concerning the consumer price index (CPI), says the Government Accountability Office (GAO).
In “RETIREMENT SECURITY: BLS Should Explore Ways to Improve the Accuracy, Timeliness, and Relevance of Its Cost-of-Living...
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Not all 403(b) plans must file the Form 5500—but 403(b) plans that are covered by ERISA do. The deadline for calendar year 403(b) plans that are covered by ERISA is July 31—visible on the horizon. And one of the statistics that must be reported on the Form 5500 is the number of participants.
There...
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Plan administration can be overwhelming to an employer. There are many moving parts to the day-to-day administration of a 403(b) plan. Here are some basic rules to follow:
Follow the terms of the plan. Employers must operate their 403(b) plans according to their written programs or the plans...
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Some Form 5500 filers received relief in April, but not all. And the July 31 Form 5500 deadline looms for calendar-year plans—pandemic or no pandemic. And that includes 403(b) plans covered by ERISA.
IRS Notice 2020-23 granted extensions to individuals, trusts, estates, corporations, exempt...
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