A recent appeals court ruling may increase plan sponsors’ confidence about including and holding company stock in their retirement plans — especially those in the financial services industry. In White v. Marshall & Ilsley No. 11-2660, (7th Cir., April 19,…
It is clear based upon the U.S. Supreme Court decision in U.S. Airways v. McCutchen that ERISA health plans should consider modifying their plan provisions to expressly negate the application of the common fund rule in the future. This decision…
Any employee benefit program will better meet its objectives if an employer communicates about it effectively. And perhaps no other employee benefit plan requires as much careful attention to employee communication as a 401(k) plan (see ¶102 in Thompson’s The…
Fiduciaries of 401(k) plans were reminded by a recent court decision that it’s best not to accept financial consultants’ investment advice for a retirement plan’s assets without careful scrutiny. At the same time the case, which raised other issues important…
One result of the new fee disclosures requirements and retirement plan sponsors’ new duty to ensure reasonable service fees has been increased review of many plans’ provider costs. Through requests for proposals, comparative benchmarking and renewed scrutiny of current providers,…
Current and former 401(k) plan participants have sued Fidelity Investments on behalf of thousands of other plan participants and retirees to recoup account losses they say resulted from “self-dealing” by the huge asset manager. The case is worth plan sponsors’…
A federal district court blocked an effort to force an ERISA health plan to pay secondary for an expensive specialty drug that was excluded from coverage because it wasn’t filled at an in-network provider as required by plan terms. The…
Plan sponsors may take heart at a district court’s ruling supporting the interpretation of plan language by one of their own — but a partial dissent could spell more claims for equitable relief. The 6th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals…
Sometimes an employer may delay transfers of payroll deductions to employees’ retirement accounts. That’s a breach of fiduciary responsibility, but a recent decision by the U.S. District Court for the District of Massachusetts may offer them some comfort. Managing retirement…
A victory by the health plan participant in US Airways v. McCutchen, now before the U.S. Supreme Court, may erode ERISA plans’ ability to enforce plan terms as written, a legal expert tells the blog. In McCutchen, the Court has a…