Why Some Ex-Workers at Bed Bath & Beyond Face 401k Losses
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Court and Legal Why Some Ex-Workers at Bed Bath & Beyond Face 401k Losses Federal law generally protects savings in workers' retirement plans when a company files for bankruptcy protection or goes out of business. Yet there may still be situations when employees lose money, as some former workers at Bed Bath & Beyond have discovered. Source: Wagnerlawgroup.com Fiduciaries Fend Off Excessive Fee Claims in 401k Suit A federal judge has held that a participant who wasn't invested in the funds in question lacked standing to bring suit and that his claims about excessive recordkeeping fees weren't specific enough. The suit -- filed less than a year ago in the U.S. District Court for the Middle District of North Carolina -- made a series of familiar allegations involving the $2 billion Old Dominion 401k Retirement Plan. Source: Napa-net.org Eastern District of Pennsylvania Rules in Favor of ERISA Defendants After Rare Bench Trial Lawsuits bringing fiduciary claims under ERISA continue to surge, but trials remain a rarity. Against that backdrop, Nunez et al., v. B. Braun Medical Inc. et al. stands apart. The 63,000-member class action lawsuit alleged that B. Braun Medical Inc. and its retirement committee violated ERISA's fiduciary duties concerning the monitoring and selection of the retirement plan's investments and recordkeeping fees. After a three-day bench trial, the Eastern District of Pennsylvania found in favor of B. Braun on all counts. Source: Groom.com In a case of first impression in the Tenth Circuit, the Court recently joined the chorus of circuit courts in holding that a 401k plan participant alleging excessive investment management or recordkeeping fees must assert a "meaningful benchmark" to survive a motion to dismiss. In addition to rejecting commonly pleaded "benchmarks" because they were not meaningful, the Court's ruling is of particular significance because, unlike some other courts, it dismissed the participants' "share-class claim" ruling on a motion to dismiss that their allegation that cheaper share classes of the same mutual fund were available to the plan was demonstrably false. Source: Erisapracticecenter.com »» Click here for more Court and Other Legal Issues Insight: Studies, Research, and White Papers How 401k Plan Participants Use Loans Over Time This report analyzes 401k plan loan usage for a sample of 2.2 million consistent loan-eligible 401k plan participants, participants who maintained accounts in each year between 2016 and 2020 and were in plans offering loans. Source: Ebri.org Lack of Access Is a Crucial Factor to Preventing Retirement Savings BlackRock and Human Interest have found that a primary reason lower-income workers are not saving for the future is because they do not have access to intuitive and automated savings tools, not because they do not want to or cannot afford to. Source: Blackrock.com Best Retirement Plan Mobile Apps Ranked by J.D. Power While participant satisfaction is rising, overall just 38% give their plans high marks for digital capabilities, lagging significantly behind other industries. The study examines retirement plan participant satisfaction with plan provider digital experiences (desktop/mobile web and mobile app) across four factors: information/content; navigation; speed; and visual appeal. Source: 401kspecialistmag.com Defined Contribution Plan Sponsor Survey Findings This 24-page Defined Contribution Plan Sponsor Survey offers insights into how plans have navigated the remarkable past four years. The period began with the COVID-19 pandemic; subsequently moved through the Great Resignation, rapidly rising inflation, and elevated market volatility; and then saw the passage of the SECURE 2.0 Act. Plan sponsors appear to have emerged with an ever-expanding focus on how to help position participants for greater retirement funding success. Source: Jpmorgan.com How Financial Factors Outside of a 401k Plan Can Impact Retirement Readiness What happens to households with spending "spikes" that lack the income and cash reserves to support spending volatility? This Issue Brief provides a unique analysis of 401k plan participants' finances by linking 401k plan data with consumer banking data to better understand how 401k participants behave when faced with irregular expenses. Changes in credit card utilization, 401k plan contributions, and/or 401k plan loan use were examined after these participants experienced a significant spending spike. Source: Ebri.org »» Click here for More Studies, Research, and White Papers Items of Special Interest to Service Providers DOL Braces for Hostile Reception to Fiduciary Rule Rewrite A top DOL official pushed back against criticism of a soon-to-be-released proposal that could expand federal benefits law's reach over retirement plan advisers who give invest. advice for a fee, saying the regulations shouldn't be judged until they have been publicly unveiled. Source: Wagnerlawgroup.com Ten Questions for Advisers to Ask When Brand Building In today's market, 86% of plan sponsors are willing to commit before meeting an adviser and instead are making their decision based on advisers' offline and online reputations, says Rebecca Hourihan, founder and CMO of 401k Marketing LLC, at the PLANADVISER National Conference. There she revealed the questions her firm asks clients when onboarding a marketing strategy. Source: Planadviser.com A Condensed History of the DOL's Fiduciary Rule ERISA is less than one year away from turning 50. For nearly the entirety of those 50 years, it has defined fiduciary invest. advice using a five-part test. Attempts in 2010 and 2016 to modify the 1975 regulation containing the definition were unsuccessful. Recently, the DOL sent a new proposed regulation to the Office of Management and Budget. Here is a condensed history of the DOL's Fiduciary Rule. Source: Plansponsor.com Some Wealth Managers See Growth in Branching Out to Retirement Consulting Mergers and acquisitions by retirement, wealth management, and insurance aggregators have been rampant in recent years. Now wealth managers have been dipping their toes into retirement plan advisory acquisitions as a business line, according to a speaker at the 2023 PLANADVISER National Conference in Scottsdale, Arizona. Source: Planadviser.com Leveraging SECURE 2.0 to Earn More 401k Business The SECURE 2.0 Act will undoubtedly have a major impact on plan sponsors, but many are unaware of the specifics. As a retirement plan specialist, you can seize this opportunity to stand out, deliver value, and ultimately grow your business. Source: Napa-net.org Compliance and Regulatory The determination of who is considered a Highly Compensated Employee is one of the most important factors in maintaining 401k plan compliance. The nondiscrimination tests applicable to 401k plans rely on a correct HCE determination. Mistakes made in HCE status can have adverse consequences and may jeopardize the tax-qualified status of the plan. Source: Newfront.com The Evolution of Hardship Distributions Hardship distributions can provide a lifeline when absolutely needed. Congress continues to pass laws allowing participants better access to their retirement accounts while actively working. Source: Tri-ad.com »» Click here for more Compliance and Regulatory Material Marketplace News National Association of Plan Advisors to Launch New Research, Data Arm
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