Allen Steinberg

What does it mean for a retirement plan to “protect” data–and are barriers to unauthorized access limited to blocking hacks? Read more

Plaintiffs’ must use truly comparable benchmarks in claiming imprudent fiduciary decisions. Read more

New DOL guidance would provide advisors with incentives to sell commissionable products. Read more

The U.S. Department of Labor has issued new proposed regulations that provide guidance on the process that plan fiduciaries should use in selecting ESG investments. In issuing the proposed regulations the DOL targets ESG funds and creates new requirements–and hurdles-to the use of such funds. Read more

On May 15 the Department of Labor finalized new “safe harbor” rules for the use of electronic media to provide documents required under ERISA. These new rules represent a potentially important easing of the efforts needed for plan administrators to meet disclosure obligations under ERISA. However, a more careful review of the rules raises significant questions about whether the new rules will live up to their potential. Read more

The SECURE Act, signed by President Trump, contains a potpourri of provisions encouraging plan formation, use of annuities and adoption of safe harbor designs. Read more

Employers need to develop strategies for dealing with state/federal tug-of-war over regulatory authority. Read more

IRS Notice 2018-95 offers relief to employers who have incorrectly administered certain rules governing 403(b) plans. The Notice also provides additional planning opportunities. Read more

A number of long-term market trends are creating significant pressure on bundled recordkeepers’ revenues. The recordkeepers are responding to these revenue pressures through a variety of ways that impose additional costs on plans and participants. Read more

Disclosure on health care costs can help reduce those costs. That is not always true. Read more

A recent IRS private letter ruling approved an innovative approach that allows employees to balance student loan repayments with saving for retirement. Read more

The efforts to dismantle the Affordable Care Act, piece by piece, continue. Over the past few months the Trump Administration: •      Finalized regulations expanding Association Health Plans (“AHPs”) for unrelated employers; •      Signed the Tax Cuts and Jobs Act of 2017, eliminating the individual mandate; •      Finalized regulations expanding short-term limited duration (“STLD”) coverage; •      Stopped payments to insurance […] Read more

The battle over the appropriate standard of conduct for financial advisers rages on. One of the most important distinctions in this battle is the difference between the responsibilities of an investment adviser and a broker. And yet, the current focus on the differences between advisers and brokers is missing a huge gap – consumers do not understand the niceties of this broker vs adviser difference and the confusion created by these rules is costing consumers billions of dollars per year. Read more

A recent article in the Wall Street Journal reported that Wells Fargo bank was under investigation for practices in the bank’s retirement division. According to the article the investigation focuses on practices intended to move clients into more expensive individual retirement accounts when they retire or leave their jobs. The article also noted that the […] Read more

Our last blog (Nature Abhors a Vacuum – and So Should Fiduciaries) discussed the decision by the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit to invalidate rules, issued by the U.S. Department of Labor, for financial professionals who sell financial services and products to retirement plan participants. One part of the Court’s rationale was […] Read more

The recent decision by the U.S. Court of Appeals for the 5th Circuit to invalidate the DOL’s fiduciary rules creates further confusion in an area that had already suffered from an excess of …confusion. A few things to note in considering this state of affairs: •      The 5th Circuit’s opinion goes to the core of key […] Read more

On March 15 the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit struck down the DOL’s new fiduciary rule. This adds yet more uncertainty and confusion to a regulatory, legal and political tale that already has more than its share of … uncertainty and confusion. This blog post tries to make some sense of what […] Read more

The past year has seen a number of articles describing new state laws covering a range of benefits-related areas. Examples include New York State’s new paid leave act and Nevada’s law regulating fiduciary behavior. And more such laws are around the corner – a recent Kaiser Health News article noted that at least nine states […] Read more

A new chapter may be opening in the ongoing saga of litigation against plan fiduciaries. This new chapter could lead plan sponsors and advisors to rethink – and expand – their view of the scope of their fiduciary responsibility. On January 10, the plaintiffs in the lawsuit against New York University’s plans filed an amended […] Read more

Question: What do employers and James Bond Have in common? Answer: Both have to combat Spectre. However, the problem for employers is that in addition to fighting the new Spectre computer bug, employers must also combat the Meltdown computer bug. And, employers must do so in a way that complies with HIPAA. This blog will […] Read more

A new proposed regulation represents the latest phase of the Administration’s efforts to reshape the American health care system. The proposed regulation, issued in response to President Trump’s October 12 executive order, opens the way to expand association health plans (AHPs). An AHP is a health plan sponsored by a group of unrelated employers, linked […] Read more

The Senate has now passed its version of a revamp to the tax code (H.R. 1). The legislation makes significant changes to many provisions of the code, including dramatic changes to corporate and individual taxation. The bill now goes on to a conference committee to reconcile differences with the bill passed by the House of […] Read more

The U.S. Department of Labor has taken a series of legal actions against a multiple employer welfare association (MEWA) plan operated by Black Wolf Consulting. The actions taken by the DOL against this plan (the AEU Holdings LLC Employee Benefits Plan) include freezing bank accounts, replacing the plan fiduciaries, and issuing an order to dozens […] Read more

The Affordable Care Act (“ACA”) remains on the books, despite all of the rhetoric about potential legislative and/or administrative changes. And, in a significant new development, the IRS is poised to begin levying penalties on employers, under the ACA’s employer mandate, for 2015. This is important for a number of reasons: •      Regardless of what happens […] Read more