So, anyone besides me remember that great scene in 48 Hours where Luther goes to pick up a car at a parking garage where it was left years before, and responds to the cashier’s comment about how long its been by shouting “I’ve been busy!”? I always think of that when I get so busy
Thoughts on the World’s Simplest ERISA Decision: Montanile v. Board of Trustees of the National Elevator Industry Health Benefit Plan
Interestingly enough, the Supreme Court’s decision last week in Montanile v. Board of Trustees of the National Elevator Industry Health Benefit Plan is about the least complicated ERISA decision any court has issued in years. You know how I know that? The number of posts, tweets and articles published within days by law firms and
What Is the Value Added of an Insurance Broker?
What does an insurance broker do, anyway? Many people – even those who run businesses – think of them as simply people who help them place their insurance, and then they forget about them once that annual ritual is finished. But its not quite that simple, and companies who approach risk management from that perspective
Thoughts on Kaplan v. Saint Peter’s Healthcare System and the Church Plan Exemption
Remember the Church Lady from Saturday Night Live? I have always wondered if she was covered by an ERISA governed retirement plan, or whether her retirement plan was exempt from ERISA as a church plan. I think the answer probably lies in the question of whether her retirement benefits were established and maintained by
Bell v. Anthem, Excessive Fee Cases, and the Economics of Settlement
Actuary and blogger John Lowell has a strong post today on the latest high profile excessive fee case filed involving a 401(k) plan, Bell v. Anthem. I will let you read it yourself for the details, but he asks some interesting questions. In one of them, John discusses the borderline nature, at least as
What the Disqualification of an ESOP Illustrates About ESOPs In General
Here’s a great little story by lawyer and blogger Jeffrey Cairns on the IRS disqualifying a professional practice’s ESOP based on significant operational defects, not the least of which was a failure to comply with the plan’s terms concerning eligibility. I like the post because it lays out the nature of the ESOP, the defects,
Top Ten List Of Things From 2015 That Are Somehow Related To ERISA And My Practice
Like many, I took some time off over the holidays. Unlike many, who used the time to do fun things like go skiing, I used the time to sit down with three fingers of my favorite small batch craft brewery bourbon and write a top ten list for my blog. Here, without further ado, is
What Can a Chief Retirement Officer Do for You?
This is so simple, its brilliant, and so brilliant, its simple – or something like that. The “this” I am talking about is the idea of appointing a Chief Retirement Officer, or CRO, as is discussed – and proposed – in Steff Chalk’s article, “The Advent of the Chief Retirement Officer,” in the
On the Human Element in Plan Governance, Officiating and other Human Endeavors
I have been thinking, more than is probably healthy, about all the hue and cry over refereeing errors in pro football, particularly on the questions of, first, whether there are more errors than there used to be (or whether instead it just seems that way) and, second, why I don’t really care, despite every
Nothing’s Ever Simple in the World of ERISA: Montanile v. Board of Trustees of the National Elevator Industry Health Benefit Plan
Here is a wonderful analysis – which manages to both review its past and guess intelligently at its future – of Montanile v Board of Trustees of the National Elevator Industry Health Benefit Plan, the latest Supreme Court case to try to determine the scope of equitable remedies available under ERISA. Montanile, scheduled