One underlying theme of much commentary about 401(k) plans is the idea that their replacement of pensions as the primary retirement vehicle for most private sector workers was not intended, and is the walking, talking example of the law of unintended consequences. Seen as it was in its origin myth – as a supplemental retirement
401(k) Plans
Pozek on Werewolves
By Stephen Rosenberg on
Posted in 401(k) Plans
I have mentioned to people in the past that I am reasonably confident that I am the only author of legal information who has managed to link Walker Percy, denied benefit claims and ERISA in the same publication, which I did here in this post. I think that’s a pretty good stupid human trick myself.
Me, Behavioral Finance and PlanSponsor Magazine
By Stephen Rosenberg on
Posted in 401(k) Plans
Alert reader Tom Obara of Cassidy Retirement Group here in Massachusetts – or as I have taken to calling it during this perpetually snowy winter, East Dakota – passed along to me an article on behavioral finance in January’s issue of PlanSponsor in which I am quoted on the need for plan sponsors to adequately…
On Spano and Certifying Classes in Defined Contribution Cases
By Stephen Rosenberg on
Posted in 401(k) Plans
Here is a nice article from Planadviser.com that sums up the recent opinion out of the Seventh Circuit that I discussed the other day in this post, on the propriety of certifying classes of plan participants in excessive fee cases. The article does a nice job of summing up the findings on that issue…
Class Actions, the Diamond Hypothetical and the Seventh Circuit
By Stephen Rosenberg on
I have written before about the various implications of the Supreme Court broadening fiduciary duty claims in LaRue to allow individual participants to sue for losses only to their own accounts, rather than just for harms suffered by all participants, or in other words, by the plan as a whole; among other aspects, I have…
The Ever Evolving Risks of Fiduciaries
By Stephen Rosenberg on
Posted in 401(k) Plans, Fiduciaries
Well, I am not sure I could have said this better myself, although in post after post, I have spoken of the increasing litigation risk for fiduciaries, and of the need to respond by emphasizing compliance and diligence in designing and running 401(k) plans. At the end of the day, ERISA has become a fertile…
On Disclosure and Conflicts of Interest
In my life as a trial lawyer, I have found myself in a recurrent situation, in which a judge or an arbitrator eventually looks at me in an argument over discovery and asks if I really want the information I am after, as it could run against me. I always answer the same way, to…
Talking About Compliance is Cheap – Taking Action On Compliance Is What Matters
By Stephen Rosenberg on
Posted in 401(k) Plans, ERISA Seminars and other Resources
I talk regularly, of course, about the importance of compliance in the operation of ERISA plans – just take a look at my immediately preceding post for instance – but that is just a fancy way of restating the old saw that an ounce of prevention (in the form of a well run plan) is…
Fees, Fees and More Fees – Once Again
By Stephen Rosenberg on
Posted in 401(k) Plans
I wanted to say that much ink has been spilled over the Department of Labor’s regulatory initiatives concerning fee disclosure, but no one really uses ink anymore, and we all just post on the internet, in either blogs or in intermediary sites that publish law firm client advisories. Either way, though, there is no getting…
Does LaRue Alter the Rules for Class Actions?
By Stephen Rosenberg on
As a general rule, I don’t write blog posts about cases I am handling. For the most part, nothing good can come of it. I do make an exception once and awhile, but only to the extent of passing along a particular ruling, without commentary, that may be of broader relevance and interest. Today is…