"The court's finding that the managed account funds were plan assets may not be adopted by other courts. Nonetheless, [this case] makes it clear to welfare plan vendors that they need to be transparent about their fee practices and provide adequate disclosure of the fees. Concurrently, plan sponsors and administrators have a separate duty to monitor the fees being charged to the plans for which both the sponsors and administrators have oversight responsibility. [The case] also makes it evident that while not subject to the same detailed regime that defined contribution plans are under, described in Section 408(b)(2) of ERISA, failure to properly disclose welfare plan fees can result in significant liabilities, particularly with large self-insured plans." [Hi-Lex Controls v. Blue Cross Blue Shield of Michigan, Nos. 13-1773/1859 (6th Cir. May 14, 2014)]

MORE >>