In a previous blog post, we provided an overview concerning whether plan service provider agreements may be required to be disclosed to participants under Section 104(b)(4) of ERISA. A recent district court decision in California puts a renewed spotlight on this issue for employers and plan administrators who may receive these types of document
Retirement Plans
AT&T and Lockheed Martin Face Class Actions Over Pension Risk Transfers To Athene
Potentially signaling a new wave of litigation, AT&T Inc. and AT&T Services, Inc. (AT&T) were hit with a class-action lawsuit on March 11, 2024 filed in the United States District Court for the District of Massachusetts relating to the 2023 transfer of $8 billion of their pension liabilities – covering approximately 96,000 participants in AT&T’s…
DOL Greenlights Citibank’s Diverse Asset Manager Program
On September 29, 2023, the Department of Labor (DOL) issues Advisory Opinion 2023-01A (Opinion) approving Citibank’s Diverse Asset Manager Program (Program) as it relates to plans subject to the Employee Retirement Income Security Act of 1974 (ERISA). The Opinion provides a road map primarily for pension and 401(k) plan sponsors who wish to increase the…
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…
A Peek Inside Brokerage Windows: ERISA Industry Provides Input on DOL Advisory Committee’s Study
The 2021 Advisory Council on Employee Welfare and Pension Benefit Plans has announced that it will examine brokerage windows in participant-directed individual account retirement plans that are covered by ERISA. The work of the Council is designed to assist the Department of Labor’s effort to determine whether more guidance would be appropriate and necessary to…
Cybersecurity Considerations for Retirement Plan Fiduciaries
Retirement plans may have thousands of participants and billions of dollars in plan assets. Unfortunately, these large sums of money are attractive to bad actors who look to prey on unknowing victims by fraudulently accessing funds. Plan administrators, as fiduciaries of retirement plans, are wise to understand their legal obligations and best practices related to…
Plan Service Provider Contracts: To Provide or Not To Provide To Plan Participants
You are working hard to administer your benefit plan in accordance with all the requirements of ERISA and the Code when you receive a written request for “a copy of the bargaining agreement, trust agreement, contract or other instrument under which the plan is established or operated.” This language is directly from Section 104(b)(4) of…
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…