ARA Provides Guidance on PEP & PPP Issues
The American Retirement Association, or ARA, offered the Department of Labor a series of recommendations involving potential service arrangements and proposed fee arrangements, as well as what the covered transactions may be under the possible…
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IRS Signs Off on Temporary Remote Signature Relief
The Internal Revenue Service has offered brief administrative relief to assist specific retirement beneficiaries or plan participants eager to make participant elections by permitting flexibility for remote signatures. Published on June 3, Notice 2020-42 gives…
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Detrimental Assumptions Plan Sponsors Make
When it comes to managing an employee benefit plan, even if a plan sponsor commits a very small plan violation, such an incident can result in hefty ERISA penalties. Even failing to file Form 5500…
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The Fiduciary Duty to Only Pay Reasonable Fees from ERISA Plan Assets
Plan sponsors may not realize this, but one of their numerous fiduciary duties is that they have a fiduciary duty to only pay reasonable and necessary fees from plan assets. The reason for this is that while…
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Small Retirement Plans Seeing Increasing Fiduciary Breach Lawsuits
An excessive fee suit against a retirement plan holding $9 million in assets for 114 participants is being seen as the dawning of a new era in retirement plan fiduciary breach lawsuits. The suit, Damberg…
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Plan Fiduciaries Must Make “Prudent” Investments to Avoid Liability
Employee benefit plan fiduciaries have an obligation to make prudent investments to avoid a breach of fiduciary duty. Fiduciaries are personally liable for those damages the imprudent investments caused to plan participants. This is one of the…
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An ERISA Plan Administrator’s Fiduciary Responsibilities
A person is a fiduciary under ERISA if they exercise discretionary control or authority over plan management or disposition of plan assets, provide investment advice for plan assets for a fee, or have discretionary authority…
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