On November 4, 2025, the U.S. District Court for the District of Rhode Island in Williams v. Bally’s Management Group, LLC dismissed a participant challenge to an employer’s tobacco surcharge under ERISA, rejecting both statutory discrimination and fiduciary breach theories. The court held that the plaintiff failed to state a claim that the surcharge violated
Prudent appointment and monitoring of Russell Investments Trust Company (“Russell”) as an ERISA section 3(38) investment manager by the 401(k) Plan Committee (“Committee”) for the Caesars Entertainment Corporation Savings & Retirement Plan (“Plan”) recently paid dividends for the Committee and the plan sponsor, Caesars Holdings, Inc. (“Caesars”)
2. Courts Differ On What Is Required To Support Fiduciary Breach Claims
The IRS has issued long-awaited final regulations regarding the requirement included in the SECURE 2.0 Act of 2022 that catch-up contributions made during a plan year under a 401(k) or 403(b) plan by participants with FICA wages from the employer sponsoring the plan during the prior calendar year that exceed a specified dollar amount may
With a potential government shutdown as early as October 1, plan sponsors and fiduciaries should be aware of how a lapse in federal funding could affect both retirement and health and welfare plan operations, IRS filings, and regulatory oversight of plans. While some government functions are expected to continue during a shutdown, others may be
On August 7, 2025, President Trump issued an Executive Order (“Order”) directing the Department of Labor (“Department”) and U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (“SEC”) to, no later than February 3, 2026, issue rules or guidance – potentially including a safe harbor – intended to encourage the inclusion of alternative assets, such as private equity, cryptocurrency
The Department of Labor’s (“DOL”) Employee Benefits Security Administration recently issued Pooled Employer Plans: Big Plans for Small Businesses, which contains interpretive guidance that seeks to encourage the establishment and adoption of pooled employer plans (“PEPs”) by demonstrating how DOL currently believes that PEPs can minimize employers’ fiduciary risks. The
On July 4, 2025, President Trump signed into law the One Big Beautiful Bill Act (“OBBBA”). Among other things, the OBBBA created a “starter” individual retirement account called a “Trump Account” and authorized a program under which an employer can make non-taxable contributions to an employee’s Trump Account. Employers considering the new Trump
A rapidly growing line of ERISA cases seeks to impose fiduciary standards of conduct—developed by courts largely in the retirement plan context—to health plan design choices. The most recent, Barbich et al. v. Northwestern University et al., No. 1:25-cv-06849 (N.D. Ill.) filed on June 20, 2025, involves a new and potentially disruptive twist: plaintiffs
On June 30, 2025, the Supreme Court granted certiorari in M&K Employee Solutions, LLC et al. v. Trustees of the IAM Nat’l Pension Fund to address whether the requirement under ERISA section 4211 that multiemployer pension plans compute withdrawal liability based on the plan’s unfunded vested benefits “as of the end” of the plan year