The Benefit of Benefits

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Great-West Should Give Thanks SCOTUS Declines To Hear Teets Case

December 2, 2019

Just before Thanksgiving the United States Supreme Court decided not to hear the appeal of the plaintiff in Teets v. Great-West Life & Annuity Ins. Co., (U.S., No. 19-382, certiorari denied 11/25/190). The issue in the case was whether Great-West entered into a prohibited transaction when contracting with plans to permit participants to invest their accounts in Great-West’s guaranteed rate fund that provided a guaranteed rate of return for assets invested. Great-West had the discretion to…

The Benefit of Benefits

Supreme Court to Decide 3 Cases on Ability to Sue Under ERISA

By Scott E. Galbreath, J.D., LL.M (Tax)

October 21, 2019

The now conservative majority U.S. Supreme Court will hear three ERISA cases this term and decide issues involving the right to sue under ERISA. The Intel case deals with the statute of limitations for bringing a breach of fiduciary duty claim under ERISA. The Thole case involves whether participants in a fully funded defined benefit plan can sue for breach of fiduciary duty when there was no apparent effect on their benefits. And the Jander…

The Benefit of Benefits

Friday the 13th Unlucky for CalSavers as U.S. Maintains Law is Preempted by ERISA

By Scott E. Galbreath, J.D., LL.M (Tax)

September 16, 2019

The Justice Department has submitted a Statement of Interest in the litigation, Howard Jarvis Taxpayers Association et al v. CA Secure Choice Retirement Savings Program, challenging California’s CalSavers mandated payroll deduction IRA program, as preempted by ERISA. The Department previously asked the District court to refrain from ruling on the pending motion to dismiss until it decided whether to participate. See U.S. Asks California Court to Delay CalSavers Decision Again. The Department filed the Statement on September…

The Benefit of Benefits

U.S. Asks California Court to Delay CalSavers Decision Again

By Scott E. Galbreath, J.D., LL.M (Tax)

September 3, 2019

As previously reported, the U.S. Department of Justice asked the United States District Court for the Eastern District of California not to decide whether to dismiss the lawsuit by the Howard Jarvis Taxpayers Association maintaining that the CalSavers retirement program is preempted by ERISA until the Department decides whether to participate in the lawsuit on behalf of the United States. In its August 2, 2019 filing the Department indicated that it would give the court…

The Benefit of Benefits

Voluntary Closing Agreements— The Non-EPCRS Correction Program Webinar

By Scott E. Galbreath, J.D., LL.M (Tax)

August 16, 2019

Just a brief post to let you know that I will be presenting a webinar for the Western Pension and Benefits Council Governing Board titled Voluntary Closing Agreements–The Non-EPCRS Correction Program on August 21 at 10 am PST. I will discuss fixing plan issues that do not qualify for correction under the Employee Plans Correction Resolution System (EPCRS) through the Employee Plans Voluntary Closing Agreement Program, including the advantages and disadvantages of closing agreements. I will…

The Benefit of Benefits

CalSavers on Radar of Justice Department

By Scott E. Galbreath, J.D., LL.M (Tax)

August 6, 2019

CalSavers, California’s mandated payroll deduction program for certain California employees who do not have access to retirement plans at work became effective July 1, 2019. However, still pending is a lawsuit by the Howard Jarvis Taxpayers Association to invalidate the law as preempted by ERISA. See CalSavers Moves to Dismiss Amended Complaint Challenging Program under ERISA. A motion to dismiss the amended complaint is awaiting a hearing. However, interestingly, on August 2, 2019, the…

The Benefit of Benefits

A More In Depth Look At The Expansion Of Self-Correction Under EPCRS

By Scott E. Galbreath, J.D., LL.M (Tax)

July 15, 2019

This post takes a deeper dive into the expansion of the self-correction program under EPCRS by reproducing my article from this month’s Compensation Planning Journal. The article discusses the increase in user fees under the Voluntary Correction Program which caused the industry to push back on the cost and request expanded self-correction to ease the cost of correction. It also discusses issues with the concept of self-correction and some proposed resolutions. I hope you enjoy…

The Benefit of Benefits

In 21st Century We May Not Have Hoverboards But We Have Electronic Top Hats

By Scott E. Galbreath, J.D., LL.M (Tax)

July 1, 2019

In 1989’s film Back to the Future II, Marty McFly rides a hoverboard (flying skateboard) to escape Griff Tannen and his gang of teenage thugs in the year 2015. Well it’s 2019, and we still don’t have hoverboards to ride, however, thanks to the Department of Labor we now have mandatory electronic top hats. On June 17, 2019, the Department of Labor announced that effective August 16, 2019 final regulations require that all “top hat”…

The Benefit of Benefits

CalSavers Moves to Dismiss Amended Complaint Challenging Program under ERISA

By Scott E. Galbreath, J.D., LL.M (Tax)

June 3, 2019

On April 11, 2019, the Howard Jarvis Taxpayer’s Association (HJTA) filed its amended complaint challenging the propriety of California’s new CalSavers retirement program after a federal district court dismissed its first complaint on March 28, 2019 but granted leave to amend the complaint due to the Court’s awareness of the importance of the case. See HJTA Files Amended Complaint Challenging CalSavers Program, See also, CalSavers Saved from ERISA Preemption By District Court. On…

The Benefit of Benefits

How to Take Advantage of the IRS Expanded Self-Correction Program

By Scott E. Galbreath, J.D., LL.M (Tax)

May 20, 2019

By now you’ve probably read that the IRS has expanded the failures that can be self-corrected under the Employee Plans Compliance Resolution System (EPCRS) as set forth in Rev. Proc. 2019-19 issued April 19, 2019. This development comes on the heels of the IRS changing how user fees are determined under the Voluntary Correction Program (VCP) from a participant-based fee to an asset-based fee. See, Plan Mistakes are Now More Costly to Correct. The…

The Benefit of Benefits

…Because Compensation Is More Than Wages

Blog Authors

Great-West Should Give Thanks SCOTUS Declines To Hear Teets Case

Supreme Court to Decide 3 Cases on Ability to Sue Under ERISA

Friday the 13th Unlucky for CalSavers as U.S. Maintains Law is Preempted by ERISA

U.S. Asks California Court to Delay CalSavers Decision Again

Voluntary Closing Agreements— The Non-EPCRS Correction Program Webinar

CalSavers on Radar of Justice Department

A More In Depth Look At The Expansion Of Self-Correction Under EPCRS

In 21st Century We May Not Have Hoverboards But We Have Electronic Top Hats

CalSavers Moves to Dismiss Amended Complaint Challenging Program under ERISA

How to Take Advantage of the IRS Expanded Self-Correction Program

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