Yesterday, the Departments of Labor, Treasury, and Health and Human Services announced a non-enforcement policy with respect to final regulations issued under the Mental Health Parity and Addiction Equity Act of 2008 (“MHPAEA”) in September 2024. The Departments recently indicated
Compensation & Benefits Blog
The View from Proskauer on Developments in the World of Employee Benefits, Executive Compensation & ERISA Litigation
The Compensation & Benefits Blog, published by Proskauer Rose LLP, focuses on legal developments and regulatory updates related to employee compensation, retirement plans, and benefits administration. It covers topics such as ERISA compliance, qualified retirement plan limits, private investment fund regulations under ERISA, flexible spending accounts, and withdrawal liability issues affecting private equity funds and their portfolio companies. The blog addresses the intersection of labor and employment law with financial and investment considerations, providing insights on fiduciary duties, plan asset regulations, and litigation risks associated with employee benefit plans and private market investments.
Latest from Compensation & Benefits Blog - Page 5
District Court Holds Pension Fund Misapplied Prior Partial Withdrawal Liability Credit
A federal district court in Illinois became the first court to rule that an employer’s credit for a prior partial withdrawal should be applied at the end of the statute’s “waterfall” for calculating withdrawal liability. The case is Consumers Concrete…
Seventh Circuit Affirms that Employer’s Withdrawal Liability Cannot Be Based on Post-Rehabilitation Plan Contribution Increases
By Justin Alex & Neil V. Shah
We recently reported on a district court decision holding that the Central States Pension Fund’s calculation of withdrawal liability should not have included contribution rate increases imposed after the Fund’s implementation of a rehabilitation plan. In Central States, S.E. &…
Supreme Court Establishes Lower Pleading Standard for Prohibited Transaction Claims
In a unanimous decision, the U.S. Supreme Court ruled in Cunningham v. Cornell University that plaintiffs can satisfy the requirements for pleading prohibited party-in interest transactions under ERISA section 406(a) without alleging facts disproving the availability of a statutory exemption…
District Court Holds Withdrawal Liability Claim Not Barred by Employer’s Dissolution
By Neil V. Shah & Jessica Wang
In Central States, Southeast & Southwest Areas Pension Fund v. Sheets Enterprise, No. 24 cv 2277 (N.D. Ill.), a district court held that an employer could not avoid being held liable for withdrawal liability simply because it had been dissolved…
A Trap for the Unwary – Nonprofit Organization Compensation Arrangement Considerations for High Caliber Executives
Like any for-profit company, nonprofit organizations want to attract and retain high caliber executives to achieve and further their missions. To accomplish this, a nonprofit organization may have to offer a particularly robust compensation arrangement to the executive, especially because…
EBSA Releases Long-Awaited Update to Model Annual Funding Notices Reflecting SECURE 2.0 Changes
By Justin Alex & Alex Scharr
Following up on our recent blog post, SECURE 2.0’s Required Changes to Annual Funding Notice Become Effective in 2025, the Department of Labor released Field Assistance Bulletin 2025-02 on April 3, which addresses compliance questions regarding the required changes…
New “Self-Correction” Option for Voluntary Fiduciary Correction Starts March 17, 2025
By Jesse T. Foley & Seth Safra
Starting March 17, 2025, the Employee Benefits Security Administration’s Voluntary Fiduciary Correction Program (“VFCP”) will have a “self-correction” option. Although the new option eliminates the need to wait for formal approval of a correction submission, participating fiduciaries will still need…
Eleventh Circuit Confirms Foreign Tax Credits Owned by Insurance Company Not “Plan Assets” of 401(k) Plan Under ERISA
In late October 2024, the United States Court of Appeals for the Eleventh Circuit ruled in Romano v. Hancock Life Insurance Company, F.4th 729 (11th Cir. 2024) that certain foreign tax credits that were generated as a result of 401(k)…
SECURE 2.0’s Required Changes to Annual Funding Notices Become Effective in 2025
By Justin Alex & Alex Scharr
SECURE 2.0 introduced many changes for retirement plans, including updated disclosure requirements for a defined benefit plan’s annual funding notice (AFN). These updated AFN disclosure requirements apply for all plan years beginning after December 31, 2023. For calendar-year defined benefit…