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Retirement Plans Newsletter

March 21, 2022

9 New Job Opportunities 9 New Job Opportunities

 

[Guidance Overview]

DOL Calls for 'Extreme Care' Before 401(k) Plans Dive Into Cryptocurrency Investments

"Most federal courts that have faced the issue have agreed that investments offered through self-directed brokerage windows are typically not investment options subject to ERISA's fiduciary duties.... If the Crypto Guidance indicates a change in the DOL's stance on this issue, there could be much more far-reaching implications beyond cryptocurrency investments."  MORE >>

Morgan Lewis

[Guidance Overview]

CRS in Focus: State-Administered IRA Programs -- Overview and Considerations for Congress (PDF)

"[S]everal states have enacted or implemented state-administered retirement savings programs to increase retirement plan access and savings among private-sector workers.... State-administered retirement programs are intended to provide savings options for workers without a workplace plan. States are taking a variety of approaches to these programs[.]" [IF11611, updated Mar. 18, 2022]  MORE >>

Congressional Research Service [CRS]

The Biggest Retirement Plan Leakage Triggers and Costs for Participants

"Plan sponsors and advisers can institute electronic transfers to minimize paperwork and simplify the investment process ... Plans should encourage participants to utilize a loan feature before taking a hardship withdrawal from their account ... Employees need to be educated on the financial impact to their retirement plan when taking a loan or hardship withdrawal by working with a financial advisory firm."  MORE >>

planadviser

Connecting the Dots: Correlation of Returns and Fiduciary Prudence

"In assessing the prudence of a plan's potential or actual investment option, do plan sponsors ... have a duty to address whether a mutual fund qualifies as a 'closet index' fund? Should they have such a duty in order to protect plan participants and other beneficiaries given the obvious harm of 'closet indexing?' "  MORE >>

The Prudent Investment Fiduciary Rules

What Do Rising Interest Rates Mean for Diversification?

"Though rising interest rates lead to increased correlations between stocks and bonds, ... anticipating the magnitude of a rate rise and the length of time for the climb is difficult.... [M]any professional investors manage strategies as duration neutral to benchmarks given the difficulty in calling interest-rate changes.... Nimble investors may mitigate pain from rising rates with some thoughtful planning."  MORE >>

Morningstar

Can Sellers Be Liable for ERISA Fiduciary Breaches in ESOP Transactions?

"Sellers often defend themselves in ESOP valuation cases by claiming that they are not valuation experts, and thus they cannot be expected to know whether the ESOP paid more than fair market value for the company's stock. After all, that's why the trustee hires its own independent appraiser. Yet, the Vinoskey and Bowers decisions show that sellers still need to be engaged in the process."  MORE >>

Porter Wright Morris & Arthur LLP

De-Risking Plans Suffer If They Don't Broaden Out to Alternative Investments

"The de-risking progression ... has reached a point of diminishing value, [a recent] study contended. It 'robs plans of the returns they need to remain fully funded and stable across time,' the report read. In short, returns suffer.... The report advocates peppering in the likes of real estate, emerging market debt, private credit, and hedge funds into portfolios."  MORE >>

Chief Investment Officer [CIO]

What Financial Professionals Think About Financial Wellness

"[1] Financial Wellness is a differentiator and business builder. [2] There is opportunity to expand the reach of wellness beyond just basic and financial topics. [3] Financial wellness solutions may work best using a range of tactics and resources."  MORE >>

T. Rowe Price

Women Have an Advantage in Savings and Investments, Author Says

"[S]tudies have shown that women substantially outperform men when it comes to their saving investments. A study by U.K's. Warwick University showed women trade less frequently than men, women are less interested in speculative investments, and women tend to take a more long-term perspective with their investments."  MORE >>

InsuranceNewsNet.com

Benefits in General

District Court Finds Biden Administration's Withdrawal of Independent Contractor Final Rule Was Unlawful

"[A] Texas federal court has concluded that the DOL's actions, both in delaying the effective date of the IC Final Rule ... and in withdrawing it ... violated the Administrative Procedure Act (APA).... ' [T]he IC Final Rule's stated purpose was to provide clarity to the analysis. Instead, the court noted, the DOL rescinded the IC Final Rule and flatly shut down any potential consideration of alternatives to its withdrawal, leaving employers and employees with the same confusion that had existed prior to the IC Final Rule." [Coalition for Workforce Innovation v. Walsh, No. 21-0130 (E.D. Tex. Mar. 14, 2022)]  MORE >>

Jackson Lewis P.C.

Executive Compensation and Nonqualified Plans

Executive's Change of Control Severance Benefits Were Not Subject to ERISA

"The executive asserted that the disputed amendment applied: For a short period of time (only 15 months) and to a small group of employees. Only contingently (that is, if there was a change in control and if an employee was terminated without cause or terminated her employment for good reason). The district court rejected the employer's argument that its amendment required the kind of discretionary decisionmaking that characterizes ERISA plans." [Grey v. Forescout Technologies, Inc., No. 21-4555 (N.D. Cal., Mar. 16, 2022)]  MORE >>

Thomson Reuters Practical Law

Employee Benefits Jobs

View job as Retirement Plan Administrator
for The Retirement Group, LLC. Retirement Plan Administrator

The Retirement Group, LLC.

Remote / Verona NJ / Lake Placid NY

View job as Retirement Plan Administrator
for The Retirement Group, LLC.

View job as Employee Benefits Associate - Junior Level
for Davis Wright Tremaine LLP Employee Benefits Associate - Junior Level

Davis Wright Tremaine LLP

Seattle WA

View job as Employee Benefits Associate - Junior Level
for Davis Wright Tremaine LLP

View job as Retirement Plan Administrator
for Liden, Nestle, Soled & Associates Retirement Plan Administrator

Liden, Nestle, Soled & Associates

Remote / Westlake Village CA

View job as Retirement Plan Administrator
for Liden, Nestle, Soled & Associates

View job as Retirement Plan Consultant
for Definiti Retirement Plan Consultant

Definiti

Remote / The Woodlands TX / AR / CA / FL / PA / WI

View job as Retirement Plan Consultant
for Definiti

View job as Senior Actuarial Analyst
for Definiti Senior Actuarial Analyst

Definiti

Remote / Louisville KY

View job as Senior Actuarial Analyst
for Definiti

View job as Documents Specialist
for Newport Documents Specialist

Newport

Mobile AL / Minneapolis MN / Pittsburgh PA

View job as Documents Specialist
for Newport

View job as Sr. Actuarial Analyst
for Newport Sr. Actuarial Analyst

Newport

Chicago IL / Dallas TX

View job as Sr. Actuarial Analyst
for Newport

View job as ESOP Analyst
for Newport ESOP Analyst

Newport

Remote / MI

View job as ESOP Analyst
for Newport

View job as ERISA Specialist
for Newport ERISA Specialist

Newport

Minneapolis MN

View job as ERISA Specialist
for Newport

Selected New Discussions

Rule 701 and Equity Grants to Foreign Employees

"A private U.S.-based company has two equity plans, one for granting options in the U.S. and one for granting warrants in an EU country. (As I understand it, they grant warrants to comply with local law). I would think the foreign grants are included in the Rule 701 analysis, but I'm getting a different story from a record keeper and I can't seem to find any guidance on the matter. Anyone have thoughts or a good resource to point me to?"

BenefitsLink Message Boards

Press Releases

WTW’s Rx Collaborative Adds Capital Rx As New PBM Partner

WTW

NTSA Names Glassey as New Executive Director

National Tax-Deferred Savings Association [NTSA]

Ohio Public Employees Deferred Compensation Program and iGrad's Enrich™ Financial Wellness Platform Receive Pension and Investments Eddy Award

Ohio Deferred Compensation

Webcasts and Conferences
(Retirement Plans / Executive Compensation)

Practical Issues in Preparing for a DOL Cybersecurity Audit

April 12, 2022 WEBCAST

American Bar Association Joint Committee on Employee Benefits [JCEB]

ESG, Bitcoin, and Magic Beans Investments

April 12, 2022 WEBCAST

American Bar Association Joint Committee on Employee Benefits [JCEB]

Moving the Dial: Measuring and Increasing the Impact of Financial Wellbeing Initiatives

April 23, 2022 WEBCAST

EBRI [Employee Benefit Research Institute]

Last Issue's Most Popular Items

DOL Proposes to Significantly Tighten Prohibited Transaction Exemption Procedures

Groom Law Group

CRS in Focus: State-Administered IRA Programs -- Overview and Considerations for Congress

Congressional Research Service [CRS]

DOL Sends Strong Warning to 401(k) Plan Fiduciaries About Cryptocurrency

Mercer

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BenefitsLink Retirement Plans Newsletter, ISSN no. 1536-9587.

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