Compliance

In court papers filed last week, the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) revealed for the first time details of its two-year probe into possible fraud at Fidelity Investments.

A federal judge has cleared the way for a former employee of A.G. Edwards to continue pressing forward with his Employee Retirement Income Security Act (ERISA) fiduciary breach lawsuit over excessive 401(k) fees.

As federal regulators continue filling in the detailed framework for the Pension Protection Act’s (PPA) provisions, they are now asking for public comment on the PPA’s investment advice exemption for 401(k) plans and IRAs.

The Department of Labor (DoL) announced it is suing the Iowa Association of Business and Industry over a stock windfall that the organization retained rather than turn over to its member companies’ benefit plans.

A report from the Government Accountability Office (GAO) urges Congress to amend the Employee Retirement Income Security Act (ERISA) to require more comprehensive disclosure to participants on 401(k) plan fees and business arrangements among service providers.

The Department of Labor (DoL) has announced that a model notice, which may be used by employee benefit plans electing to be treated as a multiemployer plan under the Employee Retirement Income Security Act (ERISA), will be published in the Federal Register for December 1, 2006.

The Treasury Department and IRS have issued Notice 2006-107 providing transition guidance on the provision of the Pension Protection Act of 2006 (PPA) relating to diversification rights of plan participants and beneficiaries who have accounts held in publicly traded employer securities.

The Treasury Department and the Internal Revenue Service (IRS) have issued Notice 2006-100 providing guidance to executive compensation plan sponsors and participants on how to report certain amounts deferred from executive compensation on Forms W-2 or 1009-MISC for calendar years 2005 and 2006.

A white paper released by National Retirement Partners, LLC and The Baker Companies discusses how the American Jobs Creation Act of 2004 (AJCA) and the Pension Protection Act of 2006 (PPA) have clarified administration and funding questions for sponsors of non-qualified benefit plans.

The US District Court for the Northern District of Ohio ruled that claims alleging a fiduciary breach by a retirement plan trustee must seek recovery for such breach on behalf of the plan as a whole, and not individual participant accounts.

A Florida Sheriff’s Department has sued Nationwide Life Insurance Co., over allegations Nationwide’s retirement plan fees unfairly allowed the company to make a profit through a revenue sharing arrangement.

The US District Court for the Eastern District of Michigan has ruled that a plan administrator must pay a former employee $10,500 for failing to provide her with pension plan documents she requested.

The BISYS Group announced Friday that it and staff members of the US Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) have hammered out a $25.1 million agreement in principle over the SEC investigation into company financial restatements in 2004 and 2006.

Under pressure, AIG VALIC has agreed to disclose its revenue-sharing agreements for a new 457 retirement plan offered to Los Angeles Unified School District (LAUSD) employees.

A federal judge has rebuffed the latest effort by FleetBoston Financial Corp. to derail a lawsuit charging that its cash balance plan discriminates against older workers.

The US District Court for the Western District of Kentucky ruled that, even though the surviving spouse of a retirement plan participant waived her rights to benefits in an antenuptial agreement, the plan document dictated she receive his assets in the plan.

The Hartford Financial Services Group, Inc. has announced a settlement with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) related to its use of directed brokerage and revenue sharing in its mutual fund and variable annuity business.

The National Association of Securities Dealers (NASD) has fined Chase Investment Services Corporation of Chicago and MetLife Securities, Inc. of New York $500,000 each for failing to establish systems and procedures to supervise the sales of 529 College Savings Plans.

Mapping funds remains one of the central issues in maintaining 404(c) compliance

Law firm launches lawsuits over 401(k) fees