Practical HR Tips, News & Advice. Updated Daily.
Hiring an auditor with limited experience auditing benefit plans, or experience auditing only small plans … may cost plan sponsors. That conclusion can be drawn from a new assessment by DOL’s Employee Benefits Security Administration of audit quality after reviewing annual reports from 400 sample retirement plans of various sizes. The agency found a nearly […]
The U.S. Supreme Court on May 18 unanimously vacated a federal appellate court ruling that found that employee retirement plan participants’ claims about fees applied to their plan were time-barred, sending a clear message that plan fiduciaries have an ongoing duty to monitor investments, their expenses and other related claims within that duty’s statute of […]
The 2015 ERISA Advisory Council plans to build on a 2013 effort by devising new draft model notices and disclosures for lump-sum pension distribution offerings to participants and retirees. Instances of pension risk transfer — often referred to as “derisking,” from the plan sponsor’s point of view — are on the rise among single-employer defined […]
A profit sharing plan is a type of defined contribution plan that is sometimes used as a supplement to a primary retirement program. Today, John Rubino of Rubino Consulting Services explains the key elements of an effective profit-sharing plan.
The U.S. Supreme Court decided to hear a case to resolve whether an ERISA health plan can recover money it spent on a plan participant’s care from his or her personal injury settlement, even if the participant has already spent those particular funds. To settle this question, the Court granted certiorari March 30 in Montanile v. Bd. of Trustees […]
ERISA stands for the Employee Retirement Income Security Act of 1974. In short, this is the federal law that creates standards for retirement, health, and pension plans. Even though such plans are typically set up privately, employers that opt to offer them have an obligation to meet the requirements under ERISA when implementing their plans. […]
Even if those administering your plan are familiar with the ERISA notice and disclosure requirements, it’s worth remembering the importance of notification during the series of benefits transfers that can occur from corporate takeovers. Not doing so, even if the accrued benefits are shifted to the new company, can leave participants unaware — and possibly […]
Simply paying an aggrieved plan participant for unpaid benefits due was enough to make him whole under ERISA, so no further money damages were warranted as a form of equitable relief, a federal appeals court has ruled. With this conclusion, a majority of the full en banc 6th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals overturned an earlier ruling […]
On Feb. 24, the first retirement plan “excessive fee” case was heard by the U.S. Supreme Court. It raises the question of how long a fiduciary must monitor its employer-sponsored plan’s investments — or whether that duty can instead be measured at a single point in time. A lower-court ruling had found the ERISA claim […]
Your company has a great new photocopier that’s making a lot of people’s jobs much easier. It’s also exponentially increasing your company’s lawsuit risks.