On October 31, the U.S. Department of Labor (DOL) issued the proposed Retirement Security Rule (Proposed Rule), which would amend the existing rule that defines when a person is an investment advice fiduciary under the Employee Retirement Income Security Act of 1974, as amended (ERISA), and the Internal Revenue Code of 1986, as amended (Code).

David Uhlendorff
David is a partner in the Employee Benefits & Executive Compensation practice group. He counsels employers on a broad array of employee benefit matters including those relating to qualified retirement plans, health and welfare benefit plans, and non-qualified deferred compensation plans. David also regularly advises on employee benefit matters involved in mergers and acquisitions.

California Dreamin’: Ninth Circuit Affirmation of CalSavers Decision May Forecast State Auto-IRA Nightmare for Some Employers
State Auto-IRA Landscape
States and even municipalities across the country are taking an increasingly active role in addressing the nation’s retirement preparedness crisis. From California’s CalSavers Retirement Savings Program originating as early as 2012 to the Maine Retirement Savings Program enacted only a few weeks ago, many states – and even municipalities like New York…

Winter Is Coming: Employee Benefits Planning for the Eventual Economic Downturn
Part 2: Partial Plan Terminations
Workforce reductions seem to be an inescapable consequence of economic downturns. Whether this occurs through the sale of a business, layoffs or plant closures, employers too often overlook the potential impact on their employer-sponsored retirement plans. Unfortunately, failure to recognize and timely address the retirement plan implications of a reduction…

Winter Is Coming: Employee Benefits Planning for the Eventual Economic Downturn
Part 1: Introduction
Some economists are now predicting a global economic downturn as soon as 2020, as indicators from bonds, interest rates, currencies, and commodities signal declining growth, including the recent inversion of the yield curve. While there is not a consensus on this point (as George Bernard Shaw once said, “if all economists…

Unauthorized Workers Create Uncharted Territories for Retirement Plans
News coverage of the current administration’s enforcement of immigration policies has demanded the attention of the entire country. It should therefore come as no surprise that this issue has permeated every corner of the legal world, and the law governing retirement plans is no exception. What may come as a surprise given the prevalence and…