On October 14, 2021, the U.S. Department of Labor’s Employee Benefits Security Administration (the “DOL”) published in the Federal Register a new proposed regulation (the “Proposed Rules”)[1] on fiduciary responsibility in selecting ERISA plan investments and exercising shareholder rights
Continue Reading DOL’s Latest ESG Proposal: The More Things Change, the More They Stay the Same
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COBRA Election and Payment Periods: Does One Year of “Tolling” Really Mean One Year?
Remember the DOL/Treasury relief that tolled the COBRA election and payment deadlines for up to one year due to the COVID-19 pandemic (referred to below as “Tolling Relief”)? If you have been wondering whether, under that relief, a qualified beneficiary
Continue Reading COBRA Election and Payment Periods: Does One Year of “Tolling” Really Mean One Year?
District Court Dismisses Investment and Recordkeeping Claims Against 401(k) Plan Fiduciaries
A Kentucky federal district court ruled that a participant in CommonSpirit Health’s 401(k) plan failed to state plausible claims for breach of fiduciary duty related to the fees and performance of actively managed target date funds and recordkeeping fees.
EPCRS Update Offers New Tools to Correct Retirement Plan Errors
The IRS recently updated its “Employee Plans Compliance Resolution System” (EPCRS). By way of background, EPCRS is a correction program administered by the IRS for plan sponsors to correct certain retirement plan errors. EPCRS is comprised of three different components:
Continue Reading EPCRS Update Offers New Tools to Correct Retirement Plan Errors
[Podcast]: Special Financial Assistance for Multi-employer Pension Plans (Part 2)
This episode of The Proskauer Benefits Brief is the second of our three-part series analyzing the Pension Benefit Guaranty Corporation (PBGC) guidance on the new special financial assistance program for troubled multiemployer pension plans that was created by the American
Continue Reading [Podcast]: Special Financial Assistance for Multi-employer Pension Plans (Part 2)
District Court Partially Dismisses ERISA 401(k) Fee and Performance Claims for Lack of Standing
A federal district court in New York recently granted Omnicom Group Inc.’s (“Omnicom’s”) motion to dismiss, for lack of Article III standing, claims challenging the offering of investment options in Omnicom’s 401(k) plan in which the plaintiff participants did not
Continue Reading District Court Partially Dismisses ERISA 401(k) Fee and Performance Claims for Lack of Standing
Fifth Circuit Holds Participants Lack Standing To Challenge Plan Investment Options
The Fifth Circuit affirmed the dismissal, for lack of standing, of a fiduciary breach representative action against American Airlines and its 401(k) plan investment committee. Ortiz v. American Airlines, Inc., No. 20-10817, 2021 WL 3030550 (5th Cir. July 19, 2021).
Continue Reading Fifth Circuit Holds Participants Lack Standing To Challenge Plan Investment Options
[Podcast]: Special Financial Assistance for Multiemployer Pension Plans (Part 1)
This episode of The Proskauer Benefits Brief is the first of our three-part series analyzing the Pension Benefit Guaranty Corporation (PBGC) guidance on the new special financial assistance program for troubled multiemployer pension plans that was created by the American
Continue Reading [Podcast]: Special Financial Assistance for Multiemployer Pension Plans (Part 1)
An Additional Word from IRS Regarding the ARP COBRA Subsidy
The IRS just released some new supplemental guidance on the COBRA premium subsidy in the American Rescue Plan Act (“ARP”). IRS Notice 2021-46, released July 26, 2021 provides additional color on a handful of discrete subsidy issues that had been
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A Practical Guide to Claiming the COBRA Premium Assistance Tax Credit
Over the last few months, employers and plan administrators have concentrated on identifying qualifying individuals eligible for COBRA premium assistance under the American Rescue Plan Act of 2021 (“ARP”), sending out proper notices, and collecting election forms. Now that
Continue Reading A Practical Guide to Claiming the COBRA Premium Assistance Tax Credit