ERISA Archives - Page 21 of 48 - EMPLOYEE BENEFITS BLOG

View From McDermott: Conflicting Review Standards in Executive Retirement Plan Benefit Claims—Is There Really a Difference?

by McDermott Will & Emery | Feb 26, 2014 | Retirement Plans

Under the Employee Retirement Income Security Act, retirement plans generally come in two flavors – (i) retirement plans qualified under Section 401 of the Internal Revenue Code (the Code) and (ii) executive retirement plans, called “top hat” plans, which aren’t Code-qualified. What does that mean? While qualified retirement plans are subject to all of ERISA’s funding, participation and fiduciary provisions, top hat plans aren’t and may offer benefits exceeding those allowed under Code-qualified plans. Simply put, top hat plans are unique animals under ERISA.

Litigation involving top hat plans isn’t plentiful—likely due to the fact that such plans are available only to a small number of highly paid executives. However, within the limited top hat litigation realm, there exists a conflict among the federal courts of appeals over a seminal question—what review standard is to be applied to a benefit determination? While the U.S. Supreme Court has definitively answered this question for most ERISA plans in Firestone Tire & Rubber Co. v. Bruch, the unique nature of top hat plans has resulted in conflicting rules among the circuits. Whether these conflicting standards elicit similar results is an open and complex question for most ERISA practitioners.

To read the full article, click here.

Proposed Regulations Expand the Definition of Excepted Benefits

by Megan Mardy | Feb 6, 2014 | Health and Welfare Plans

Recently issued proposed regulations would expand the categories of excepted benefits under the Employee Retirement Income Security Act of 1974 (ERISA), the Internal Revenue Code (the Code) and the Public Health Service Act. In general, excepted benefits are exempt from the market reform and certain other requirements added to ERISA and the Code by the Affordable Care Act.

Click here to read the full article.

Supreme Court Takes Case About Company Stock Funds and Presumption of Prudence

by Wilber H. Boies, PC and Chris C. Scheithauer | Jan 9, 2014 | Benefit Controversies, Employee Stock Ownership Plans (ESOPs), Retirement Plans

The Supreme Court of the United States granted certiorari in Fifth Third Bancorp v. Dudenhoeffer, suggesting that the Supreme Court will resolve the current division among U.S. circuit courts regarding the application of the “presumption of prudence” in employer stock cases.

To read the full article, click here.

Supreme Court Upholds ERISA Plan’s Three-Year Deadline to File a Lawsuit

by McDermott Will & Emery and Wilber H. Boies, PC | Dec 18, 2013 | Benefit Controversies, Retirement Plans

The Supreme Court of the United States ruled that an ERISA plan may properly impose a reasonable time limit on filing a lawsuit to recover benefits. Such time may start to run even before completion of the required administrative review process.

To read the full article, click here.

Recent Case Opens Door to Civil Enforcement Claims for Negligent FICA Tax Withholding

by Patrick Ryan and Ruth Wimer | Nov 26, 2013 | Benefit Controversies, Employment, Retirement Plans

A District Court in Eastern Michigan recently rejected a motion to dismiss a participant’s benefit claim, holding that an employer legally could be liable to a participant in a nonqualified deferred compensation plan when the employer did not properly withhold FICA tax in the manner most advantageous to the participant. As a best practice, plan administrators should scrutinize any participant communications or claim responses because they can open the door to estoppel claims under ERISA.

To read the full article, click here.

Join McDermott Partners at the 2013 ERISA Basics National Institute

by Diane Morgenthaler | Oct 9, 2013 | Health and Welfare Plans, Retirement Plans

Please join McDermott partners, Diane Morgenthaler and Jamie Weyeneth, on October 16-18 at the 2013 ERISA Basics National Institute in Chicago, IL. Designed for in-house and union counsel, benefits specialists, private practitioners, litigators, consultants and accountants, this conference provides an opportunity to hear from the ERISA experts. For more information, click here.

2013 ERISA Basics National Institute

Friday, October 18
10:05-10:55 a.m.
Section 401(k) Plans
Diane Morgenthaler, Partner, McDermott Will & Emery

11:05-11:55 a.m.
Cafeteria Plans
Jamie Weyeneth, Partner, McDermott Will & Emery

The Moench Presumption: An Examination of the Third Circuit’s Standard of Prudence in Employer Stock Cases and Its Subsequent Treatment by Circuit Courts

by McDermott Will & Emery | Oct 3, 2013 | Retirement Plans

by Nancy G. Ross and Prashant Kolluri

This article, which appeared in Benefits Law Journal, discusses the standard of prudence formulated by the Third Circuit for employer stock cases brought under the Employee Retirement Income Security Act of 1974 (ERISA) and the Circuit Courts’ subsequent treatment of that standard. Although a number of Circuit Courts have adopted the Moench presumption of prudence, there is still significant disagreement over the procedural stage at which the presumption applies and how the presumption can be rebutted. Given this split between the courts, judicial intervention by the US Supreme Court is necessary to resolve these outstanding issues and fulfill Congress’s goal of attaining uniformity of benefits regulation.

To read the full article, click here.

DOL Issues Guidance on Plan Asset Status of Revenue Sharing Payments

by McDermott Will & Emery | Sep 3, 2013 | Fiduciary and Investment Issues, Retirement Plans

The U.S. Department of Labor (DOL) recently issued guidance on whether accounts holding revenue sharing payments constitute “plan assets” under ERISA. Prior to the issuance of the DOL guidance, it was unclear whether these amounts would be deemed to be ERISA plan assets. If such amounts were treated as ERISA plan assets, they would be subject to various requirements under ERISA. The DOL also addressed the responsibilities of plan fiduciaries in evaluating revenue sharing agreements. Plan fiduciaries should review their current revenue sharing arrangements in light of the new DOL guidance.

To read the full article, click here.

View From McDermott: Estoppel Claims Under ERISA–Confusion in Need of Clarification

by McDermott Will & Emery | Aug 8, 2013 | Retirement Plans

by Michael T. Graham

The Employee Retirement Income Security Act of 1974 was enacted to set minimum participation, fiduciary and nondiscrimination standards for employee benefit plans and to protect employees when an employer voluntarily established retirement and health care plans in private industry. Employers also benefited from ERISA’s enactment because ERISA made nationwide administration of benefit plans easier through federal preemption of most conflicting state laws. Although ERISA preemption covers most state laws that impact plan administration, judicial rulings on certain ERISA issues, including estoppel claims, are creating new challenges for nationwide and uniform benefit administration.

To read the full article, click here.

Multiple Class Action Complaints Challenge Church Plan Status of Hospital Pension Plans

by McDermott Will & Emery | Jul 11, 2013 | Retirement Plans

by Wilber H. Boies, PC, Ralph E. DeJong, Michael T. Graham, David E. Rogers, Nancy G. Ross, Mary K. Samsa, Kerrin B. Slattery, Todd A. Solomon and Joseph K. Urwitz

Recent complaints challenging the “church plan” status of certain pension plans maintained by church-sponsored hospital systems may signal the beginning of a new wave of lawsuits challenging underfunded church pension plans. Sponsors of church plans would be well advised to examine their church plans and assess the risk associated with the plan’s funded status and the strength of their position that the plan qualifies as a church plan.

To read the full article, please click here.

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