How Plan Sponsors Make Sure Their QDIA Is Still the Best Option
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Fiduciary and Plan Governance How Plan Sponsors Make Sure Their QDIA Is Still the Best Option Plan sponsors Dawn Foods and the Southwest Airlines Pilots Association use different qualified default investment alternatives for their 401k plans, but they share several of the same practices to make sure they are looking out for their participants. They review the defined contribution plan default regularly, performing quarterly examinations to fulfill their fiduciary duty under ERISA. Source: Plansponsor.com Exploring and Understanding What It Means to Be a Fiduciary Do you understand what it means to be an ERISA fiduciary and the associated responsibilities? Did you know that the DOL requires employers to educate retirement plan committee members on their roles and responsibilities? This recording helps build a strong foundation for understanding what is required of plan fiduciaries. Source: Multnomahgroup.com Raising Risk Literacy in Sponsor Plan Oversight Plan sponsors play a pivotal role in helping participants understand and pursue their ideal retirements. One crucial way they do that is through well-rounded and accessible education, especially in areas where the general public lacks awareness or understanding. However, there is a crucial aspect of participant education that has often been given less attention: risk literacy. Source: Planpilot.com Ideas From "Beyond Fiduciary" Hint at the Future of 401k The antiseptic compliance regime spelled out by the DOL and ERISA has to date defined fiduciary services. Perhaps, if we're going to consider what is "beyond" that sterile definition, we might want to go back to the future. In a sense, rediscovering where "fiduciary" initially came from might suggest where it is headed. Source: Fiduciarynews.com »» Click here for more Fiduciary and Plan Governance Material Insight: Studies, Research, and White Papers The Five Biggest Things That Confuse Americans About Retirement Many Americans have no idea how much they should save for retirement or how to invest whatever money they sock away. They're also baffled by many other essential facets of retirement planning. Here are the five biggest things that confuse Americans about retirement, according to a recent Schwab poll. Source: Yahoo.com How to Best Protect Workers' Retirement Savings The two most significant sources of leakage identified by the non-partisan Employee Benefits Research Institute are cash-outs and loan defaults when workers leave their jobs. Plan sponsors can utilize 401k loan insurance to maximize the power of automatic portability and protect workers' savings, according to Faegre Drinker Biddle & Reath's Campbell. Source: Planadviser.com The Case for Retirement Planning "Guardrails" A new op-ed in the Wall Street Journal this week argues that retirement plans need guardrails to help employees from messing up their investments and points to financial advisors as part of the problem. The article begins by claiming employees "are often their own worst enemies," overwhelmed by an abundance of investment options that most have only slight knowledge of. Source: 401kspecialistmag.com »» Click here for More Studies, Research, and White Papers Items of Special Interest to Service Providers The DOL's Regulatory Agenda and a New Fiduciary Rule The anticipated DOL proposed fiduciary regulation could be sent to the Office of Management & Budget in a matter of weeks. The proposal will likely say that a rollover recommendation to a participant in an ERISA-governed retirement plan is a fiduciary act. The DOL will also likely propose amendments to prohibited transaction exemptions, including PTE 84-24, the exemption used for fiduciary rollover recommendations into individual annuity contracts. Source: Fredreish.com Court and Legal Most ERISA Excessive Fee Cases Surviving Motions to Dismiss If you thought a heightened pleading standard in ERISA breach of fiduciary duty claims based on the fees or performance of funds in 401k and 403b plans was helping plan sponsors beat back these lawsuits, think again. Mid-year analysis from Euclid Fiduciary finds plan sponsors only winning about 30% of dismissal motions, fewer than in 2022. Source: 401kspecialistmag.com Appellate Court Takes Away AT&T Win in Excessive Fee Suit Writing for the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit (Bugielski v. AT&T Servs.), Circuit Judge Bridget S. Bade acknowledged their conclusions differed from other federal courts, concluding that "AT&T, by amending its contract with Fidelity to incorporate the services of BrokerageLink and Financial Engines, caused the Plan to engage in a prohibited transaction." And in making that determination, remanded the case to the district court for reconsideration. Source: Napa-net.org $13 Million Settlement By USC Shows That ERISA Litigation Continues to Be Costly ERISA litigation against universities for alleged plan mismanagement and high fees is continuing to result in the payment of settlements to avoid trials which could result in even larger damages as well as personal liability for plan trustees and university executives for breach of fiduciary duty under ERISA. Source: Cohenbuckmann.com Schlichter Widens Net for Fiduciary Claims The next wave of fiduciary litigation seems to be expanding, based on social media outreach by the law firm of Schlichter Bogard. Source: Napa-net.org Live Nation 401k Plan Escapes Class Suit, Moves to Arbitration A federal judge has ruled that allegations of fiduciary mismanagement brought by former employees participating in Live Nation Entertainment's 401k plan must be addressed by arbitration rather than in court, effectively ending the plaintiff's attempts at a class action lawsuit. Source: Planadviser.com »» Click here for more Court and Other Legal Issues Compliance and Regulatory Podcast: Auto-Enrollment Provisions Under SECURE 2.0 SECURE 2.0 mandates the adoption of auto-enrollment features for plans established after its enactment. Grab your cup of coffee and tune in to hear Richard and Sarah chat with Matthew Calloway from Mercer, about the effects that these requirements have on existing and new plans, as well as potential legislative developments, making this a must-listen for plan sponsors and HR professionals alike. Source: Seyfarth.com Employing the Proper Definition of Compensation The DOL and the IRS routinely report common operational failures that such agencies detect in the context of retirement plan audits and investigations. One of the operational failures that is always at or near the top of that list concerns plan sponsors failing to employ the correct definition of compensation for purposes of performing necessary compliance testing and/or determining benefit allocations. Source: Legacyrsllc.com »» Click here for more Compliance and Regulatory Material Marketplace News Epic Snags Recordkeeper Retirement Direct The Standard Adds PEPs, Auto Step-Up Savings, Other Recordkeeper Services EBSA Announces Additional Fiduciary Compliance Seminars Nuveen Unveils New CIT TDF Series With Guaranteed Income Component
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