I have blogged before about behavioral economics, and the question of whether how we structure retirement investment choices will affect whether plan participants successfully save for retirement. Two recent articles really drive home this point. In the first one, “Choice Architecture and Retirement Savings Plans,” the authors posit that the design of
401(k) Plans
More Education is Always Better than Less: American Conference Institute’s Upcoming Seminar on 401(k) Risks
By Stephen Rosenberg on
I mentioned in yesterday’s post that my goal for the week was to move rapidly through several items that had caught my attention over the last week or so, and that I wanted to pass on to readers of this blog. I thought the next one I would mention is this conference in New York…
401(k) Plans and Increasing Liability Risks for Fiduciaries
By Stephen Rosenberg on
Coming off the holiday weekend, I have a long list of items I want to pass on or talk about. I will try to put up as many as I can over the next few posts, to work through the backlog. I thought I would start with this one, because it ties two of the…
Another View on Whether a Cashed Out 401(k) Participant Has Standing to Sue for Losses Under ERISA
Judge Tauro, of the United States District Court for the District of Massachusetts, has weighed in lately on some of the more cutting edge and currently unsettled issues in ERISA litigation, such as the impact of ERISA preemption on the powers of a state agency. This week, he ventured into the now hot topic…
I Got Them Low Down No Good Pension Blues
By Stephen Rosenberg on
On the first Monday morning in August I expect things to lighten up with lots of people on vacation and the like, so I scheduled a breakfast meeting this morning right in the middle of one of Massachusetts’ most congested highways (well, not really in the middle of the highway, more like at a restaurant…
Why You Can Never Generalize When Considering Whether Brokers Are Plan Fiduciaries
By Stephen Rosenberg on
A couple of loyal blog readers have commented that I have veered off a good bit on digressions this past couple weeks, and I can’t deny it – maybe it’s a lawyer’s version of a summer fling. Anyway, today I return to a central focus of this blog, ERISA and, in particular today, investment advisors…
Me and LaRue, and Business Insurance Too
There is an article in Business Insurance magazine this week, the June 25th issue, on the Supreme Court accepting review of the LaRue decision, in which I am quoted. The article is here – subscription required – and if you read it, you will note that it ends on my comment that I expect the…
Common Misperceptions and The Obligations of Plan Sponsors
By Stephen Rosenberg on
I wrote, it seems to me, an awful lot over the last couple of weeks on the question of the fiduciary obligations of plan sponsors and others with regard to the investment selections made by pension funds and the investment choices offered in 401(k) plans. Susan Mangiero has a lot more to say about this…
An Evolution in Fiduciary Standards Means an Increase in Litigation Risk
By Stephen Rosenberg on
My email inbox is often inundated with seminar pitches, book offers, and informational material, much of which, even if it looks valuable, I could never get to unless I decide to give up the practice of law and just read all this stuff full time. Fortunately, though, I can cut through the junk pretty quick…
Divestment and Fiduciary Duties
By Stephen Rosenberg on
Apparently there is something in the air these days about socially responsible investing and the fiduciary obligations of pension fiduciaries. I discussed here, just the other day, the argument that it is not a fiduciary breach to utilize a particular social agenda in investing and the litigation implications of that approach. Susan Mangiero has more…