1. At the request of President Obama, the DOL issued proposed regulations on the definition of an ERISA fiduciary and corresponding changes to the DOL's prohibited transaction exemptions. The proposals, if adopted, would make it more likely that [...]
1. In June 2014, the U.S. Supreme Court in Fifth Third Bancorp v. Dudenhoeffer eliminated the "Moench" presumption that employer stock is a prudent investment under ERISA.Fifth Third Bancorp v. Dudenhoeffer, 134 S. Ct. 2459 (2014). And so ESOP [...]
Background Congress created a statutory framework that encourages employee ownership of company stock through retirement plans-- including tax incentives, special dividend and loan provisions, and an exemption from ERISA’s duty to diversify plan assets. Beginning in [...]
Background It is not uncommon for retirement plans holding employer stock to incorporate in summary plan descriptions, by reference, stock filings made under securities law. This practice satisfies certain securities law disclosure requirements. Recent case law [...]
In April 2014, the IRS issued new guidance (Notice 2014-19 and website FAQs) on applicability of the Windsor decision to retirement plans.Notice 2014-19 is available at http://www.irs.gov/pub/irs-drop/n-14-19.pdf and the FAQs are available at http://www.irs.gov/Retirement-Plans/Answers-to-Frequently-Asked-Questions-Regarding-the-Application-of-the-Windsor-Decision-and-Post-Windsor-Published-Guidance-to-Qualified-Retirement-Plans. In short, the guidance provides that [...]
The DOL's two significant retirement plan fee and investment disclosure regulations issued in 2010 became applicable in 2012. First, most retirement plans should have received fee disclosures from covered service providers before July 1, 2012. 29 CFR [...]
After the DOL’s Fee Disclosure Rules: Best Practices for Fiduciaries Institutional Investor Forum | September 11, 2012 Presented by Steve McCaffrey and Ellen Mondress Click here to download the PowerPoint Presentation