Online education is flourishing worldwide. The growth and popularity of online universities like the University of Phoenix have drawn mainline universities like Harvard, Yale, Princeton, Penn State and many others into the fold. Team-Treehouse, an independent firm providing technology education, has more than 50,000 current students learning to code.… Read More
Mistakes happen and in the case of 401(k) plans, even a “foot fault” in plan operation can be disastrous, resulting in the loss of the plans tax-favored status
followed by substantial fees including taxes, interest, and penalties. ankfully, the IRS recognizes this and created the Employee Plans Compliance Resolution System (EPCRS).… Read More
It is a given—the 401(k) rules are constantly changing. 2018 was no di erent and as can be expected, there were several changes throughout 2018 which impacted 401(k)
plans. Below is a summary of the changes—some of which require plan amendments; others do not.… Read More
President Trump issued an Executive Order on August 31, 2018, directing the Department of Labor (DOL) and the Department of Treasury (Treasury) to ease
the barriers employers face in o ering retirement plans and increase employee access to retirement bene t programs. e Executive Order addressed the following three areas of concern.… Read More
On June 21, 2018, the Department of Labor (DOL) Fiduciary Rule (the Rule) met its demise when the 5th Circuit Court of Appeals issued its final mandate certifying its earlier decision to vacate the Rule. … Read More
As part of my regular practice counseling retirement industry service providers, I
will sit down with my clients and ask
them about their “worry list” — or, to put it another way, what is keeping them up at night. More
and more, cybersecurity issues are at the top of that list. And rightly so. It seems a week cannot go by without a cybersecurity breach making the news, and increasingly,
breaches are happening in the retirement industry. Consequently, the scope of your rm’s needed attention to cybersecurity issues is immense.… Read More
Those responsible for ERISA1 governed retirement plans (called plan sponsors under the statute) are obligated to follow duties to plan participants often called the highest known to law.… Read More
The Department of Labor (DOL) recently issued Field Assistance Bulletin (FAB) 2018–01, which provides guidance to its national and regional o ces relating to how plan duciaries can take environmental, social, or governance (ESG) considerations into account when making plan investments. Perhaps, not surprisingly, the DOL’s current view on these issues is considerably narrower than those expressed by the prior Administration.… Read More
