Fiduciary Rules and Practices
Nevada’s Office of the Secretary of State, Securities Division, on Jan. 18 released draft regulations defining the state’s new fiduciary standard based on legislation enacted by the state’s legislature in 2017 – the first of several states to do so.
There does not appear to be an ERISA exemption,...
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“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...
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Rep. Maxine Waters (D-CA), the new chair of the House Financial Services Committee, recently outlined a full-bodied agenda that seeks to protect consumers, safeguard investors and prevent another financial crisis.
In terms of setting the committee’s agenda, Waters, who has served on the committee...
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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...
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The new year has begun, and in an NTSA webcast Susan Diehl, President of PenServ Plan Services, offers a look at important developments that will affect your plans and those whom you – and they – serve.
In a Jan. 9 webcast, Diehl focused on many important issues affecting 403(b) and 457 plans,...
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Strong majorities of 403(b) plan sponsors are expanding the tools they are using to govern their plans, according to a recent report. And that applies not only to 403(b)s governed by ERISA, but also to those that are not.
More than 70% of sponsors of ERISA-governed 403(b)s have an investment...
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“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...
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Sponsors of 403(b) plans evince a high level of awareness of fiduciary duties, the Plan Sponsor Council of America (PSCA) found in a recent study it conducted. It also found the changes to plan investments, as well as governance changes, were common.
In its study “Fiduciary Awareness in 403(b)...
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Dec. 31 is the deadline for most retirees who must make required minimum distributions (RMDs) from 401(k), 403(b) and 457(b) and other retirement plans and IRAs. The IRS has issued a reminder, which applies to many retirees born before July 1, 1948, regarding the looming deadline in IR-2018-248....
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Managing participant data is a fiduciary duty under ERISA. But doing it — and doing it well — is also a way to efficiently run a business. A recent blog entry argues that it also provides a way to meet those duties and address the problem of missing participants — if not obviate it in the first...
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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 (...
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Will the 115th Congress act on a broad tax and retirement savings package before adjourning? It looks like we’ll have to wait a little longer to find out.
Following the memorial events following the death of President George H.W. Bush, lawmakers approved a two-week funding extension on Dec. 6 to...
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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...
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ERISA requires a variety of disclosures to plan participants. This installment of ERISA Tips focuses on disclosures of investment-related information.
In “The Fiduciary Duty of Participant Disclosures,” a paper by Thorp Reed & Armstrong, Kevin A. Wiggins notes that plan administrators are...
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The New Jersey Bureau of Securities on Nov. 19 held a public hearing on the proposed state rule that would implement a uniform fiduciary standard in the Garden State. It is the second public hearing on the proposal; American Retirement Association General Counsel Craig Hoffman offered testimony at...
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“Best interest” is a very familiar term after extended discussion of fiduciary rules and standards, but its meaning is still fluid and wide-ranging. MarketBeat looks at a recent blog post that discusses what “best interest” really means.
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An employer offers a 403(b) non-ERISA plan to her employees. Its benefits administrators are aware of the need to prevent compliance violations such as borrowing more than $50,000 and taking distributions while still employed and under age 59½. But other than that, they are unsure what fiduciary...
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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...
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The ERISA Advisory Council has recommended that the Department of Labor (DOL) issue new guidance on ERISA bonding. The recommendation comes in a report to Secretary of Labor Alexander Acosta that includes the council’s evaluation of the DOL’s regulations and guidance on ERISA bonding requirements...
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In what will be his third stint as chairman, veteran senator Charles Grassley (R-IA) has decided to return as head of the powerful Senate Finance Committee.
When the 116thCongress convenes in January, Grassley, 85, plans to step down from his current position as chairman of the Senate Judiciary...
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