Custodians Need Help Cleaning Out Abandoned Plans
Metropolitan Life Insurance Company and Brighthouse Life Insurance Company have agreed to work with the DOL to determine whether more than 2,000 retirement plans in their custody are...
Tag: Department of Labor (DOL)
Reflections on a Dramatic Year for Retirement Plan Regulation
From the unexpected derailment of the DOL fiduciary rule to the expanding debate about so-called ‘open MEPs,’ your plan sponsor clients face a tremendous amount of uncertainty in...
EBSA Wins Judgement Against Cambridge Technology Group
According to EBSA Regional Director Michael Schloss, Cambridge Technology Group and its CEO made it nearly impossible for retirement plan participants to access their funds; both have been...
Industry Left Confused by DOL’s ESG ‘Clarification’
A review of industry commentary dissecting the DOL’s recently published Field Assistance Bulletin on the topic of ESG investments suggests the “sub-regulatory guidance” has left a lot of...
DOL Announces Fiduciary Responsibilities Seminar in Chicago
Its “Getting It Right – Know Your Fiduciary Responsibilities” seminar will be held in Chicago, on July 10.
Court Orders Past Trustee to Reimburse Plan Beneficiaries
The former owner is also barred from serving as a fiduciary, trustee, agent, or representative to an employee benefit plan.
DOL Wins Restitution of Misused 401(k) Assets
A federal district court has ordered eye-care company Eye Centers of Tennessee LLC, its owner Dr. Larry E. Patterson, and its office administrator Raymond K. Mays to pay...
ERISA Attorneys Help Digest DOL’s ‘Confusing’ Fiduciary Rule FAB 2018-02
Expert attorneys warn the new non-enforcement policy binds only the DOL and IRS; state regulators and private plaintiffs could potentially seek to bring an action for alleged non-compliance...
ESOP Participants to Receive More Than $2 Million for Overpayment of Stock
A federal district court has entered a consent judgment requiring the fiduciaries of the Sonnax Industries’ employee stock ownership plan (ESOP) to pay $2,225,000 to the plan.
Breaking Down Fiduciary Uncertainty for Plan Sponsor Clients
Backing away from the topic of the DOL fiduciary rule, ERISA attorney Fred Reish focused his speech at the Plan Sponsor Council of America’s national conference on general...
SEC Issues FAQs About Share Class Selection Disclosure Initiative
If an adviser reduced their fee due to the receipt of 12b-1 fees, the SEC might not ask for any disgorgement; for instance, the SEC says, if an...
Inappropriate Investments, Excessive Fees, Self-Dealing Most Common Reasons for ERISA Lawsuits
The rise in lawsuits is prompting more sponsors to turn to lower-cost index funds—and could prevent them from offering lifetime income products.
DOL Secures Prison Time for Two Florida ERISA Fraudsters
A pair of former executives of First Farmers Financial are being punished for their involvement in the sale of $179 million in fraudulent loans to a Milwaukee company...
Attorneys General, Other Third-Parties Move to Revive DOL Fiduciary Rule in 5th Circuit
Anticipating the DOL will not itself ask the 5th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals to reconsider a crucial mid-March panel ruling that vacated the Obama-era fiduciary rule expansion,...
Judge Rejects Parts of DOL ESOP Expert Commentary in Fiduciary Breach Litigation
A complicated decision out of a Virginia district court weighs the merits of third-party expert commentary in ERISA litigation, in this case pertaining to an allegedly improper ESOP...
It’s Not Déjà Vu, It’s a Brand New Best Interest Rulemaking Debate
The release of a thousand-page "best interest" rulemaking package by the SEC applying to all brokers and investment advisers is being hailed as a victory by some and...