It is a fundamental principle that anyone with fiduciary responsibility for an ERISA benefit plan must continually monitor the performance of any service providers or individuals to whom they have delegated fiduciary duties. This ongoing obligation is rooted in the core "duty of prudence" outlined in ERISA, as established by both judicial interpretation and regulatory guidance. This requirement has been recognized in various forms even before the Supreme Court's explicit confirmation of it a decade ago in the well-known Tibble case. Given this context, what actions should a board of directors (or an equivalent governing body) take to effectively oversee the activities of a plan fiduciary committee to which it has delegated some or all of its fiduciary responsibilities regarding an ERISA benefit plan?
The SPARK Institute has sent this comment letter to the Internal Revenue Service regarding the proposed regulations on catch-up contributions. They say that administering the Roth catch-up mandate will be difficult, particularly in the initial years, and further simplification and clarification would be greatly beneficial. As mentioned towards the end of this letter, SPARK is also requesting that the IRS consider a postponement or offer additional good faith relief, as the final regulations will not be ready in time for implementation in 2026.
Access to employer-sponsored retirement savings plans is crucial for private sector workers to save for retirement, yet nearly 47% of U.S. private sector workers over 18 lack such access. To address this, 20 states have implemented state-facilitated retirement savings programs, which aim to enhance workplace savings opportunities for approximately 20.6 million workers without access. This study aims to analyze the retirement savings landscape across all states, evaluating access to employer-sponsored retirement plans, demographic trends related to aging populations, and the potential for supplemental retirement income from modest contributions. It will also examine initial outcomes from early adopting states -- California, Illinois, and Oregon -- in increasing access and savings through both state programs and incentivizing private plan adoption.
This educational fiduciary training webinar emphasizes the responsibilities needed to keep participants and beneficiaries well-informed. Tailored for committee members and fiduciaries engaged in retirement plan management, the session explores crucial elements of employee engagement, necessary disclosures, and effective fiduciary governance practices. Key topics covered include: Understanding Fiduciary Responsibilities, Required Disclosures, Optional Engagement Strategies, Digital and Paper Notices, and Selecting Service Providers.
In his inauguration speech, Franklin Delano Roosevelt famously stated, "the only thing we have to fear is fear itself." However, 401k plan sponsors face numerous risks beyond just fear, often without even realizing it. The article highlights the potential issues and challenges that plan sponsors must be aware of to avoid trouble.
The Investment Company Institute has sent this comment letter to the Treasury Department and the Internal Revenue Service regarding the proposed regulations on catch-up contributions. This proposal aims to amend the regulations under section 414(v) of the Internal Revenue Code to incorporate several changes to catch-up contributions introduced by sections 109, 117, and 603 of the SECURE 2.0 Act.
On March 17, 2025, the DOL introduced a "self-correction" option within its Voluntary Fiduciary Correction Program. This new option allows fiduciaries to correct certain violations without waiting for formal approval of their correction submissions. However, participating fiduciaries are still required to fulfill a notice obligation and provide information to the DOL. The self-correction option applies to two specific types of transactions that would usually be considered prohibited: late contributions for participants and loan repayments, as well as eligible inadvertent failures relating to participant loans.
The differing rulings in the HP and Clorox forfeiture cases highlight the need for a specialized court dedicated to ERISA litigation. ERISA was intended to create a uniform framework for plan sponsors to offer voluntary benefits and to ensure predictable fiduciary responsibilities across the country. However, this predictability and consistency have not been achieved, as more than forty judges are making determinations on fiduciary duty breaches related to unvested plan contributions, and twelve judges are reviewing decisions regarding independent fiduciaries selecting private-equity backed life insurance for pension risk transfers. This situation calls for reform to standardize rulings under ERISA.
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Collected Wisdom™
Our researchers look for what they think are some of the better resources available to assist you in administering your plan or helping your clients. We group these resources in our COLLECTED WISDOM™ topics to make it easy for you to locate the information you need. Each item in a category contains a summary and date of when it was placed in the group.
We also maintain some older material in these collections for perspective and context.
