Compliance

Several proposed tax reforms would restructure how retirement vehicles are taxed and could negatively impact retirement plans in a number of ways.

Retirement plan sponsors and advisers should become familiar with laws covering employees who have served, or are serving, in the military to ensure compliance with plan administration rules,...

About 30 investment firms and other parties responded to the Securities and Exchange Commission’s latest call for comments about a still-pending 2010 proposal to strengthen target-date fund disclosures.

“You can’t guarantee yourself a win,” says employee benefits lawyer David Weiner, describing claims appeals and litigation involving missing retirement plan participants, “but you can guarantee a loss.”

Now that the White House has taken a hand in the redrafting process, it’s anyone’s guess whether the Department of Labor (DOL) will come out with a proposal...

An investigation by the U.S. Government Accountability Office (GAO) recently identified questionable practices of companies that offer retirees pension advances.

The Department of Labor (DOL) wants to ensure that plan fiduciaries fully understand fee information they receive.

The Internal Revenue Service (IRS) has moved back the date of a phone forum on same-gender couples and retirement plans to July 17.

The Government Accountability Office (GAO) is recommending that regulators consider modifying Form 5500 plan investment and service provider fee information.

In Washington State, same-sex domestic partnerships were automatically converted to marriages as of June 30.

The U.S. Department of the Treasury issued final rules regarding longevity annuities—aimed at bringing more flexibility to retirement savers using the fixed-income vehicles as a longevity hedge.

When it comes to retirement plan fees, recent regulatory changes and litigation have highlighted the importance of plan sponsors and fiduciaries ensuring that such fees are reasonable.

The U.S. Supreme Court this week ruled employee stock ownership plan (ESOP) fiduciaries are not entitled to a presumption of prudence for keeping company stock in the plans,...

The Financial Industry Regulatory Authority (FINRA) backed off its proposal requiring broker/dealers to disclose financial incentives to move to a new firm.  

The U.S. Supreme Court has decided fiduciaries of employee stock ownership plans (ESOPs) are not entitled to any special presumption of prudence under the Employee Retirement Income Security...

TL Ventures Inc. has settled with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) in a case involving pay-to-play rules for investment advisers.

The Department of Labor’s (DOL) ERISA Advisory Council is examining practices for outsourcing employee benefit plan services.

Two U.S. Senators have introduced the Retirement and Income Security (RAISE) Act.

House Ways and Means Committee members introduced legislation designed to spur more employee-ownership in private industry.

The Financial Industry Regulatory Authority (FINRA) fined Merrill Lynch $8 million for failing to waive mutual fund sales charges for certain charities and retirement accounts.