As a result, insurers are scrutinizing potential customers more carefully, asking for extensive documentation and proof of compliance with stated policies.
As one of the first steps of pursuing fee levelization, plan sponsors and advisers should consider whether participants will be charged on a “pro rata” or “per capita”...
An interim ruling in the fiduciary breach case of Barrett vs. Pioneer Natural Resources, in which elements of the defendants’ motion to oppose class certification failed at the...
The letter also asks that until guidance is provided, for the DOL to stop issuing letters that allege an employer has committed a breach of fiduciary duty with respect...
In this case, the alleged knowledge of an artificially high stock price was rooted in the fact that the company had not disclosed that employees of its foreign...
The decision by the U.S. District Court for the Central District of California is short and to the point, stretching just 15 pages and ruling only weakly in...
With the judicial defeat of the Obama-era DOL fiduciary rule hanging in the air, individual states are moving to establish their own best interest regulations for the sale...
“ERISA’s limitations on who employers can exclude from ERISA plans are very narrow,” the decision states. “The law prohibits an employer from denying participation in an ERISA plan...
After siding with defendants and applying the shorter of two potential limitations periods, the district court decision states clearly that plaintiff’s claims are foreclosed by ERISA's three-year statute...
Spend any significant amount of time in the retirement planning industry and, whatever the role, one will inevitably hear about the negative impact of “regulatory uncertainty.” Has it...
Over the last few years, all three federal agencies that regulate retirement plans have been focusing on missing participants; advisers have a key role to play when it...
Previewing two new Fiduciary Focus Toolkit reports that help plan advisers optimize their workflow, Fi360’s product strategy leader pointed to increased interest in fiduciary support among traditionally wealth-focused...
Bill Beardsley, head of Retirement Partners at LPL, gives his take on the firm’s decision to close the Worksite Financial Solutions program, and on his plans for lasting...
As retirement specialist advisers shift away from commissioned service and towards relationship-based wealth management and plan design consulting, providers of brokerage and investment management services are making their...
According to the text of the complaint, the action seeks to hold MetLife accountable for the company’s conversion of more than $500 million in annuitized retirement benefits, interest,...
With the news emerging that the 5th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals has certified its ruling to vacate the DOL fiduciary rule, Scott Gehman, a retirement plan consultant...
While the deadline had already technically passed for the DOL to appeal the circuit court ruling vacating its fiduciary rule reforms, this highly anticipated move by the court...
When it comes to fiduciary liability insurance, having the broadest possible statement of coverage is generally best; this is because it is a functional test for determining whether...
When thinking about fiduciary support services and outsourcing, really the important considerations should be about process and time management, more than fiduciary risk transfer.
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...