The Department of Labor (DOL) has issued an interim final rule, expanding the Abandoned Plan Program regulations to also include plans of employers who are in liquidation under Chapter 7 of the U.S. Bankruptcy Code.
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The Department of Labor (DOL) recently released a regulatory package that includes a final amendment (the Retirement Security Rule) to the regulations that define what constitutes an investment advice fiduciary under the Employee Retirement Income Security Act of 1974 (ERISA) Title I and Title II (codified in the Internal Revenue Code).
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The Department of Labor recently released guidance extending the transitional relief and non-enforcement guidance related to investment advice fiduciaries who work diligently and in good faith to comply with Impartial Conduct Standards.
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The DOL has issued two pieces of guidance on its new fiduciary advice prohibited transaction exemption. The first piece contains a detailed set of FAQs for investment professionals and financial organizations. The second piece is written for retirement investors. Here are the main takeaways from this latest round of guidance.
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The DOL issued two pieces of guidance on its new fiduciary advice prohibited transaction exemption, PTE 2020-02. One is intended to educate retirement savers about considerations when choosing a potential advisor, and the other is a detailed set of frequently asked questions.
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The latest COVID-19 relief legislation comes in the form of the American Rescue Plan Act of 2021, signed into law on March 11. It contains a third round of direct payments to Americans, funding to help hard-hit industries, and many other provisions, including some that will affect health plans and defined benefit plans.
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Prohibited Transaction Exemption 2020-02 outlines the factors that determine whether financial professionals are considered fiduciaries and gives clear guidance about how fiduciaries must comply with their responsibilities when providing investment services.
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The Department of Labor released guidance to assist retirement plan fiduciaries in dealing with issues of missing or unresponsive participants. Issues typically involve terminating or abandoned plans, or terminated participants who have vested benefits remaining in a plan.
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The DOL issued a new prohibited transaction exemption that maintains the impartial conduct standard in effect since 2018 for financial advisors and retail investors to adhere to.
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The DOL recently issued investment advice guidance to replace the guidance struck down in 2018 by the United States Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit. This latest guidance package includes a proposed prohibited transaction class exemption and a technical amendment to DOL Regulations 2509 and 2510.
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Two lawsuits have recently been filed seeking to invalidate the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission’s new fiduciary standards.
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The Securities and Exchange Commission recently released a guidance package for broker-dealers and investment advisers who provide investment recommendations and investment advisory services to clients. The guidance clarifies the standard of conduct for investment advisers.
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Locating missing plan participants is one of many challenges retirement plan fiduciaries and their third party administrators face. With a written policy and consistent procedures, a retirement plan can establish best practices to handle missing plan participants.
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The U.S. Fifth Circuit Court of Appeals has finally made it official—the 2016 Department of Labor (DOL) fiduciary investment advice final regulations and accompanying guidance are repealed. What Happens Next?
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A Department of Labor bulletin announces a temporary non-enforcement policy stating that the DOL generally will not enforce the investment advice fiduciary guidance following action by the U.S. Fifth Circuit Court of Appeals to vacate its final regulations and exemptions package.
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The Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) issued proposed guidance for broker-dealers and registered investment advisors who make recommendations to retail clients. Now that the DOL conflict-of-interest (fiduciary) regulations are vacated, this SEC guidance remains the standard for broker-dealers who make investment recommendations.
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The 5th Circuit U.S. Court of Appeals has reversed a district court’s 2016 ruling in favor of the Department of Labor (DOL) fiduciary regulations, stating that the DOL exceeded its statutory authority in issuing its fiduciary regulations.
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What does it mean to be a fiduciary of a plan? Who are fiduciaries of the plan? Must a fiduciary tell participants that he is a fiduciary?
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