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
Retirement Benefits
My Exclusive Interview with Fiduciary News on ERISA Litigation
The good people at Fiduciary News gave me a soapbox, and I was happy to climb up on it. They interviewed me as part of their series of monthly interviews on ERISA and related topics, and I discussed ERISA litigation and a wide range of related issues. You can find the “Exclusive Interview: ERISA Attorney…
Seeking Shelter from the Storm: the Washington Post on Retirement Readiness
By Stephen Rosenberg on
Well, I am not sure how much new there is in this Washington Post article, “A Retirement Storm is Coming,” but I liked it nonetheless. It’s a good story on the problems in retirement financing people face and possible solutions. What I liked most about it are a few points. First of all…
Thoughts on Rolling Stone, Matt Taibbi and “Looting the Pension Funds”
By Stephen Rosenberg on
Well, I did not really set out to write “public pensions” week on my blog, although it ended up working out that way, solely because two different articles on the fiscal crisis impacting government pensions caught my eye earlier this week. Having, for better or worse, gone down that rabbit hole, though, I now feel…
The Lessons of Detroit for Private Sector Retirement Plans
By Stephen Rosenberg on
Much has been written over the years about the transition of employees from pension plans to 401(k)s by private industry over the past decade or so, with pensions disappearing and the obligation to fund – and risk of underfunding retirement – passed to employees. There is much to be said both for and against this…
Pensions as a Moral Issue, and the Role ERISA Can Play
By Stephen Rosenberg on
Posted in Pensions, Retirement Benefits
When you approach the Moakley federal courthouse in Boston from the direction of Boston proper, your eye is invariably drawn to a series of quotes engraved on the courthouse wall. I have walked to that courthouse an untold number of times, and still, each time, I read the quotes as I go by as though…
A Focus on Facts in the Seventh Circuit: George v. Junior Achievement of Central Indiana
By Stephen Rosenberg on
An upcoming article of mine in the Journal of Pension Benefits argues that ERISA litigation and potential exposures are moving away from strict constructionism and technical legal arguments to fact based inquiries into potential harms to participants, and traces how we came to that place. This is a more significant change than it may appear…
A Perfect Storm, ERISA Style
By Stephen Rosenberg on
This is not, at this point, a novel idea, but I do take credit for being one of the first to blog regularly on the thesis that we are approaching, if haven’t by now already hit, a perfect storm when it comes to retirement benefits and ERISA. The perfect storm consists of a series of…
An Entertaining Little Primer on Cash Balance Plans
By Stephen Rosenberg on
All right, I am getting back in the saddle after a couple weeks off from blogging to recharge my batteries and tie up some key end of the year issues in a few cases. Not wanting to do too much heavy lifting on my first day back on the blog beat, I thought I would…
Governmental Plans, Annuities, and the Intersection of ERISA with the Securities Laws
By Stephen Rosenberg on
I have discussed in many posts the idea that the plaintiffs’ class action bar has alighted on ERISA and breach of fiduciary duty claims as a preferable tactical alternative, in many cases, to proceeding under the securities laws. This approach was a particularly nice fit for stock drop cases, in which company stock held in…